Liquor

My friend Ron Rupert created a masala style absinthe which combines traditional absinthe flavors with Indian spices. The result is a unique and delicious flavor that I would love to have a case of!
 
Transcript: "Can you share an example of a unique or unexpected flavor combination you discovered in a liquor? Yeah, a very good friend of mine who is a home distiller by the name of Ron Rupert. He's particularly an absenteur. He makes a lot of absinthe. He appreciates absinthe. He really understands the history of absinthe. And he does some really cool unique things. And one of the things that he did was a masala inspired absinthe. On the face of it, when you think about it, it makes sense for those particular types of Indian spices to go into an absinthe because they're going to match well with anise and fennel and hyssop and all the different things that make absinthe what it is. But I wouldn't have thought of it on the get-go in order to even add that particular spice range to an absinthe because it just wouldn't have occurred to me. Indian food is not something that I have access to a lot, but I do like it. And it just wouldn't have been one of those things that would have been in my head that would have clicked like, oh yeah, that would work really, really well with an absinthe. But the absinthe that he produced like this is fantastic and I would love to have a case of it. I'm telling you right now, I don't know if I'd ever share even a drink of it with anybody because I'd be so stingy with it."

My background in distilling had a lot of influence from the United Kingdom and traditional gin. I created a unique gin that used 3 different processes to pack in flavor while not being overly strong. The production and treatment of the key botanical, juniper, was also unique. It won a gold medal.
 
Transcript: "It's fair to say that given the background that I've had in gin distilling, most of the influences I've had actually come from the United Kingdom and the whole notion of traditional gin. So the most unique gin I've actually produced looked at producing, looked at treating gin in three different ways. And what that meant was that we could pack a lot of flavour into a gin, deliver a really fantastic flavour outcome without it being overly strong. So not a particularly high proof or an alcoholic strength as such. Now to say it was unique is probably, yeah, that's a fairly reasonable assessment because the approach that I actually took was not common. It's one thing. It did actually leverage on a number of different techniques I've learned over the years. And plus I split it into two halves. So the actual production of it was unique in that sense. And the treatment of the key botanical juniper was unique in that sense as well. And a minimal number of botanicals gave it a really good balance, tremendous mouthfeel, and it won a gold medal."

Technical selections are absolutely crucial when it comes to the type of gin you want. Juniper berries, root (Angelica root or Orris root), coriander seeds, citrus fruits, something spicy like cubeb or grains of paradise, cinnamon, and other flourishes are all important for getting the balance right.
 
Transcript: "Botanical selection is absolutely crucial in terms of the type of gin that you actually want. It actually starts with a really simple English description, plain English description, of what the outcome is at Girafta. So everything has to start with juniper. That goes without saying, because without juniper berries, gin does not become gin. You'll need some form of root, so something like angelica root or orris root in there as well. There's another commonplace botanical that is used, so coriander seeds, as opposed to coriander leaves. A fruit of some description, so citrus, that could be a lemon, grapefruit, lime, any citrus that you choose. And something fairly spicy, like cubeb or grains of paradise. Cinnamon's a really good option to look at as well, and then it's really a case of getting all the balances right. And then throwing in a few flourishes here and there, so a few floral things or a few sort of chili type things or some other fruity things and the like. So getting that balance is absolutely crucial."

My favorite gin cocktail is the French 75. It has a sour, sweet, and strong taste that works well with a good quality gin. Martini and Negroni are also great choices, but the French 75 stands out for its history and complexity.
 
Transcript: "When you consider that there are more cocktails based on gin than any other spirit on the planet, it's really, really difficult to determine a favourite gin cocktail. But I'll try. One of my favourite cocktails of all is a Southside, not only for its history, as far as being the typical choice from people in the Chicago South, but it's absolutely fantastic. And it's actually really challenging for a gin to actually front up and deal with it, because you've got a sour component, you've got a sweet component. And if you've got a gin that can pack its way through that as well, you end up with an absolutely fantastic cocktail. Followed very closely, obviously, by a martini. I absolutely love martinis. A Last Word, mate, with an over-strength gin, or an over-strength gin, is absolutely superb as well. Love and Negroni, mate, with similarly strong gins. But I've often been described, strangely enough, if I were a cocktail, to be a French 75. I'd go, look, that one up. You probably have no idea what I'm like."

Ultimately, which type of martini to make comes down to personal preference. Quality is important, but ultimately it is up to the originator of the cocktail to decide which type of vodka or gin is preferable for the desired outcome.
 
Transcript: "This is always an absolute classic question. Do you make a martini with vodka or do you make a martini with gin? And ultimately, there are two ways to find your way through that question, which can be a chocolate block full of minefields, right? Often, quality is one aspect around cocktail production. So you can have a high-quality vodka-based martini and a high-quality gin-based martini. But here's the distinction. You can have a high-quality either one of those, but you will always have your own preference. So there is a distinction that needs to be made between what is high-quality, what is tasty, and what is your preference. So I have no firm view about what a martini ought to be made of. That's really something for the originators of that fantastic cocktail need to work their way through, I think. But I think in this day and age, it comes down to preference, even if either one is made to the highest quality possible."

Flavor and volume are two separate things. There is a trend towards smaller batch products being more flavorsome, but when they become popular, they will still maintain their flavor while reaching scale.
 
Transcript: "It's an interesting question insofar as the whole notion of flavour and volume. And from my viewpoint, they are two completely separate things. There is a trend towards smaller batch, which just happens to be more flavoursome, if you like. But ultimately, what will happen is that when these smaller brands do become more popular, through really good branding and marketing and building up your own tribe and getting their characteristics known out in the marketplace, ultimately these products then become at scale. So what that means is that you can have what started off as a flavoursome, small batch type product, and then when it reaches scale, it still needs to be flavoursome. And it still needs to be pretty much the way it was before it went to scale. So what that actually means is that at the moment there is a trend towards more flavoursome, if you like, more flavoursome gins, which suppress juniper to a certain extent, which just happen to be small batch. Ultimately, with the popularity of these batches improves and increases, they will also become large scale."