GIN–GIN
Gin is a fickle spirit.
The naturally tart flavour profile makes it something of an acquired taste. Its placement in popular culture – a characteristic that has a larger effect on desirability than you’d think – is also incredibly mercurial. Are you Bond when you order a gin, brooding with enigmatic elegance and rolling a martini-drowned olive in your mouth? Or is it Orwell’s Winston Smith you see in your mind’s eye – warding off the claustrophobia of a surveillance state as he shakily dulls the pain of his varicose veins. Gin is the spirit often associated with sadness, anger and madness; with studies showing it is more likely make you tearful than wine or beer. It is Gatsby’s drink of choice. It is mother’s ruin. It is also, in part thanks to Oxley’s pioneering distillation method, enjoying a resurgence.
Unlike most other gins, Oxley uses cold distillation to harness flavour. A list of 14 botanicals are drawn upon, including fresh citrus peel that is ‘flash’ frozen at source in Murcia, Spain. Eight years and 38 recipes in the making, Oxley’s process is made possible by creating a vacuum in the still, which lowers the boiling point to -5 degrees C. Where traditional methods often leave the subtler notes lost, distilling without heat means that all 14 botanicals are present in the final drink. You’ll get your citrus peel jolt but you will also experience the more delicate botanicals such as Venezuelan cocoa and Madagascan vanilla beans.
Unearthing these hidden dimensions of gin has breathed new life into traditional cocktails. An Oxley favourite, the Gimlet, is one that really sings with the cold distillation process. From Erik Lorincz’s captivating Kwānt and their take on the serve with agave, cassia and orange flower water to East London mainstays such as Bermondsey Arts Club and HIDE and their more traditional iteration of the Gimlet cocktail using homemade lime cordials. As London and its world-leading cocktail scene continue to show their appreciation for this renowned cocktail, it is one that can easily be made at home.
The Royal Gimlet
by Blue Bar @ The Berkeley
- 50ml Oxley (frozen)
- 25ml Pink grapefruit & Champagne cordial*
- 1 dash Peychaud’s bitters
Method:
Add all the ingredients in a mixing tin, add ice, stir for 25 seconds. Double strain into a frozen martini glass. Garnish with a pink grapefruit coin.
Cordial
- *300g caster sugar
- 200g pink grapefruit juice
- 150g flat brut champagne (we used Laurent Perrier La Cuvee)
- 150g still water
- 2 whole grapefruit zest
Method:
With a grater, zest the grapefruit zest into the sugar and let it rest for 6 hrs, add the rest of the ingredients, vac pack it and rest for 12 hours. Stain it through a coffee filter and store refrigerated up to two weeks.
Using nature as its muse and science as the conductor of their ethos, Oxley has brought the more subdued members of the botanical choir to the fore. The result is a medley with balance, zeal and vigour – and pays homage to a variety of earth’s flavours. Gin may be known as mother’s ruin; but with Oxley, mother nature is honoured in every glass.
The Royal Gimlet cocktail is available at the Blue Bar in The Berkley Hotel, and the Oxley Gin available for purchase here and from all good spirit retailers.
