This past June, CraveOnline traveled to England as part of a unique opportunity to learn the history, distillation process and cultural association of Plymouth Gin and Beefeater Gin. The experience allowed us to not only make our own gin, but to witness firsthand one of the fastest growing trends in modern nightlife – the long-awaited return of classic cocktail culture.
We embarked on a weeklong journey from London's Beefeater distillery and various fine restaurants in the city to the Southern coastal town of Plymouth, where the Mayflower first set sail for America and where Plymouth gin is exclusively bottled to this day, over two hundred years running. We were given the secrets to Beefeater, the five-hundred year old gin that still stands as the only major gin produced in London, and guided through its rich history by the man responsible for much of it, Master Distiller Desmond Payne. England’s finest gin ambassadors personally escorted our team of journalists through a one-of-a-kind experience that provided us with enough knowledge, hands-on production and field exposure (aka bar-hopping) to make a gin aficionado weep with jealousy.
There was only one problem. I hated gin.
The challenge of the journey ahead first came into full view during an introduction dinner at a beautiful restaurant named Comme Ça on Melrose in Hollywood - each of the five beautiful courses was accompanied by a different gin cocktail. The company was wonderful, but the cocktails underwhelmed. Half of them I simply didn't know how to appreciate, and rejected after a few uncommitted tastes. There was no mistaking or masking it - I'm a selective drinker, and gin has never worked for me.
I arrived in London feeling like I had a terrible secret. I was about to spend a week in England learning about a spirit for which I've never enjoyed, let alone developed any sort of appreciation for, and ungodly amounts of money was already spent to ensure my experience was as informative and enjoyable as possible.
I soon learned that I'd been a fool, and like most Americans, had believed that Tanqueray and Bombay represented a true quality gin standard. Looking back months later, I may as well have been calling gasoline champagne. And after several days learning about - and drinking - gin with some of the leading experts in the world, I can say with certain conviction that, when the quality is cared for and the brand carefully selected, gin is among the most flavorful and rewarding spirits in existence.
As we arrived in London and embarked on our Tale of Two Cities experience, I was introduced to my company on the trip; in addition to the host of lovely & copiously accommodating representatives from Pernod Ricard (the company funding the journey) as well as both Plymouth and Beefeater, we were joined by some of the most esteemed bartenders and master mixologists in the world. It was through them, as well as the Master Distillers of Beefeater and Plymouth, that we'd learn about the gin-making process and gain an intimate insight into why the two brands hold such significance in England.
We visited the Beefeater Distillery and met with gin legend and Master Beefeater Distiller Desmond Payne, an affable man with endless stories, inextricable ties to the brand and a captivating sense of dedication to the craft. He walked us through the true history of gin as well as the process of botanical selection, in which we learned of the painstaking process of finding precisely the right flavor mix for quality gin.
Crushing the juniper berries in my hand, the source of gin's flavor became immediately clear; it's the true core flavor of the spirit, supplemented in the steeping process by a painstakingly balanced mix of various other botanicals including coriander, lemon/orange peel, almonds, orris root and more.
Desmond explained the process behind his three current gins: Beefeater, Beefeater 24 (which he personally crafted) and the new Beefeater Summer Edition. It was through our comparative nosing/tasting of various gin brands that we came to fully discover and appreciate the quality difference between other familiar brands and that of Beefeater and Plymouth. While Tanqueray's juniper overload is heavy-handed enough to drown out flavor subtleties, and Bombay Sapphire leaves a horrendously musky, dry alcohol flavor on the palette, by contrast the Beefeater 24 is a soft delivery of short bursts of citrus with juniper understatements. The Beefeater Summer had a surprisingly long, soft finish with a very low juniper presence, while Plymouth was shown to sport a citrus-led flavor with no sharp flavor edges, allowing for optimum mixability and a meticulously balanced taste.
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We experienced some of the finest restaurants and cocktail bars in London, discovering new definitions of fine dining while meeting with world-renowned cocktail celebrities such as Tony Conigliaro and the hilariously charismatic Nick Strangeway. If you're in town, the following eateries and watering holes should be sought out at top priority: HIX, Milk & Honey, PINCHITOtapas (where I learned the art of "cocktail throwing") Calooh Callay, 69 Colebrook Row and last but certainly not least the Dukes Bar, legendary for their peerless gin martinis.
Day three found us on a southbound train down to the beautiful coastal city of Plymouth, England to tour the Plymouth Gin Distillery. The town itself is as steeped in history as it is beautiful, having been the port where the Mayflower set off for America and residing in an area that's thrived for over a thousand years. The ocean breeze was so clean & sweet it felt like my lungs were growing with each breath as we stood for photo ops outside the distillery.
After a hearty lunch of fish & chips in a cozy (crammed) seaside cafe, we embarked on tour of the Plymouth Distillery and comparative nosing in the Refectory bar with Plymouth's own esteemed Master Distiller, Sean Harrison.
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Newly armed with a wealth of knowledge on the gin-making process, each of us was given a chance to make our own mini-batch of gin, wherein we were able to select our own mix of botanicals and experience a micro version of the distillation process. This was a high point of the journey for many, allowing students of the craft a rare chance to meddle with the ingredients, control the production process and reap the rewards (or disastrous results, depending on the distiller) of their efforts.
We capped the night with a magnificent seven course meal hosted at Tanners Restaurant, tucked behind the lovely St. Andrew's church. Our accommodations at the St Elizabeth’s House hotel on the outskirts of Plymouth, a grand Elizabethan house situated in the gorgeous ancient village of Plympton St Maurice and surrounded by acres of beautifully landscaped gardens, were breathtaking. Late-night cocktails in the hotel bar, which we had all to ourselves, made for a massively memorable conclusion to our experience in a town so lushly beautiful and rich with history.
Returning to London the following day, we wound our way through the city's busy corridors to the infamous 69 Colebrooke Row cocktail bar, we embarked on a molecular mixology session with Tony Conigliaro, 2009 Bartender of the Year and one of the world's pioneering cocktail alchemists. The man's mastery of his craft and ability to orchestrate new cocktails is utterly mindblowing. Tony's belief that some of the best drinks begin as concepts allows him to build a framework of flavor and, using advanced pressure machinery called a Rotor Vapor that can actually isolate individual liquid molecules, meticulously craft a taste based as much on chemical reaction as actual ingredient components.
Mr. Conigliaro is responsible for many innovative new drinks making their mark on the revitalized cocktail culture, among them being a perfect match for tequila lovers who aren't fond of margaritas: The Gonzales. Made with tequila, caramel liqueur, honey water tuberose hydrosol and topped with a lemon twist, the concoction provides a fantastic, classy alternative to those who may be tired of that old triple sec pitcher mixture.
The Negroni, Tom Collins and White Lady were my favorites among the gin cocktails we became (quite) familiar with on our English journey. To my bewilderment, my top selection is an odd & frothy concoction called an English Breakfast - consisting of earl grey infused gin, grand marnier, orange marmalade, lemon and egg whites. A gin cocktails piece is soon to follow, but for those timid about entering the complex and rewarding world of this unique spirit, the blackberry-based Bramble is a very easy entry-point cocktail to get you started.
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Bramble
2 oz. Beefeater gin
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 barspoon of simple syrup
1/2 oz. Creme de Mure (blackberry liqueur)
Lemon slice and blackberry, for garnish.
Add gin, lemon juice & sugar to rocks glass. Stir, add crushed ice & top with Creme de Mure.
Garnish with a lemon slice and a blackberry or three.
Returning back to the States after a lovely farewell dinner (complete with private musical accompaniment) at London's gorgeous modern-boutique Sanderson Hotel and a night on some of the finest linens I've ever had the pleasure of sleeping on, I found myself alienated at my local cocktail lounge. I was simply dumbfounded by the rampant reference to inferior gins on this side of the pond. Was everyone as uninformed and dull of palette as I was before this journey? Was is possible that lesser brands had entrenched themselves so deeply in the cocktail scene that the true quality was overlooked?
Those ideas, to put it in British terms, were quite simply poppycock. Bullocks. Hogwash. American cocktail enthusiasts who have done their research know where true quality lies, and bartenders worth their weight in garnishes wouldn't be caught dead suggesting Bombay Sapphire as a gin, whether for martinis or less traditional cocktails. Plymouth and Beefeater long ago set a standard of quality that they continue to maintain hundreds of years into their prosperous existence, and they stand unrivaled in quality and taste among the most popular major brands of gin in the world.
And yes, I now consider myself a fan of gin. True, quality gin, that is.
History lesson: the term "Dutch Courage" comes from the fact that English soldiers fighting in Holland during the 17th century drank jenever, the Dutch precursor to gin, to steady their nerves before battle.
Undying gratitude and thanks to the lovely Sarah Bessette and Ashley Barrett, who saw to it that every moment of our Tale of Two Cities experience would forever remain a highlight in our traveling memories.
