A splash of tonic and hold the ruin

Gin has moved on from it's "mother's ruin" image to become the drink of choice for the younger set – but once you've added tonic, does it matter which brand you choose, asks JOHN WILSON

GIN HAS A very mixed history. Traditionally the GT has been the favoured tipple of middle-class Ireland, consumed in golf and yacht clubs throughout the country. More recently it has become very fashionable with a younger age-group as the base for exotic cocktails dreamed up by mixologists in trendy bars and night clubs. But historically it has a more dubious reputation, once known as “Mother’s Ruin”.

The man credited with inventing gin is 17th-century Dutch physician Franciscus Sylvius, although flavoured spirits had been used by monks as medical treatments for centuries before. Gin became popular first with Dutch soldiers, and then English mercenaries, seeking reassurance before battle, hence the phrase Dutch courage. It was brought back to England, but only really became popular under the reign of William of Orange. At that time, the British parliament passed laws permitting anyone to distil gin, at the same time increasing duties on French brandy. Gin rapidly became the binge drink of its day, with the infamous gin palaces of London serving the spirit, often in very crude form and at very cheap prices. It is estimated that there may have been 15,000 such establishments in London alone, famously celebrated in Hogarth’s engravings.

Gin is a flavoured vodka or neutral spirit. The name comes from Genevière, French for juniper, the main flavour component in all gin. There are two basic production methods. Compounded gin, the cheapest, is made simply by flavouring the spirit with juniper oils and other essences. The more expensive variety is distilled gin, where the spirit is redistilled with an infusion of botanicals, either by vapour infusion, made by passing the heated spirit through a basket of dried botanicals, or alternatively by maceration, where the spirit is left to soak with the flavourings.

Gin is almost always used in a cocktail of some sort, although the Dutch favour their gin drunk neat and very cold from the freezer. On trips to the Netherlands, I have enjoyed this as a chaser with beer. The three cocktails traditionally associated with gin are gin and tonic, the Martini (originally made from gin rather than vodka), and pink gin – pure gin mixed with a dash of Angostura Bitters. The latter is widely believed to have been invented by the Royal Navy as a means of making Angostura bitters palatable (bitters being used to ward off scurvy). In the British colonies, gin was used to mask the bitter taste of quinine, also taken to prevent illness, the quinine being dissolved in carbonated water. Today there is very little quinine in a tonic water.

I am very fond of the odd gin and tonic, but have always wondered how much of the original botanicals you can taste, once the gin has been blended with all sorts of other mixers. I did a blind tasting of 10 gins, varying in price from €12.25 (Tesco and Lidl) to €55 for a litre of Tanqueray No 10. At the risk of offending every gin drinker in the country, here are my findings. There were certainly marked differences in both flavour and style, the main one being the level of sweetness. Most gins taste of juniper (hardly surprising), some more strongly than others. The worst have a clumsy, spirituous edge that makes them unpleasant on their own. The best (see below) have a real elegance and citrus lift that, drunk neat, or with a drop of water, makes them interesting drinks. However, I found that in a GT, it was the tonic that stood out as much, if not more than the gin. Once you added a good serving of tonic, the most expensive gin tasted better than most of the least expensive, but it was hardly conclusive. I realise this may be anathema to those gin drinkers who swear by Gordon’s or Cork Dry Gin (neither of which fared particularly well), but it was not always easy to discern which gin I was tasting. Out of interest, I also tried three tonic waters; Schweppes, Tesco Finest Indian Tonic Water and Fentimans. The Fentimans was the most flavoursome and very enjoyable, the Tesco was probably the best value, as, by the way, was the Tesco Classic No 1 Gin.

DRINKS OF THE WEEK

Tanqueray Export Strength London Dry Gin, 43.1%, €26Tanqueray was a firm favourite of my father, who knew a thing or two about his gin. It showed very well in the tasting too, with a lively nose of juniper, citrus and spice, plenty of juniper on the palate, and very good length. Stockists: Available from specialist off-licences nationwide

Hendrick's Gin, 41.4%, €30Made in Scotland, Hendrick's is favoured by many younger gin aficionados. It uses both cucumber and rose petals in the distillation process, and has a pronounced but pleasant cucumber flavour and nice zesty freshness. It is recommended that you serve it with slices of cucumber. Stockists: Celtic Whiskey, Dawson St; O'Briens; Superquinn; Hollands, Bray; Deveneys, Dundrum; The Wine Centre, Kilkenny; Redmonds, Ranelagh; Sweeneys, Phibsboro; McCambridges, Galway

Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin, 40%, €23.49Bombay Sapphire is infused with no less than 10 botanicals. It is elegant and subtle, lightly viscous, with plenty of lemon zest on the nose and palate to balance the juniper. Stockists: Widely available

Tanqueray No 10 Batch Distilled Gin, 47.3%, €55 for a litre bottleMade using fresh (rather than dried) botanicals, this is a rich full-flavoured gin, the juniper being less obvious, with sweet orange and lemon juice, plenty of power and good length. Stockists: Specialist off-licences

BEER OF THE WEEK

Augustiner Edelstoff Export Beer, 5.6%, €3.30 for a 50cl bottle

From a venerable old Munich brewery comes this very pleasant, clean, fresh, easy-drinking beer with a subtle light hoppiness, and an attractive soft texture. This slipped down all to easily. Stockists: Drinkstore.ie; Redmonds, Ranelagh; Abbot’s Alehouse, Cork; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; Baggot Street Wines