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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/51774
Is Gin Still In? A closer look at the bartenders' botantical. By Kelly A. Magyarics W hen the craft cocktail movement started to gain traction a few years ago, gin became the mixologists' darling, especially since London Dry and Old Tom style gins were ubiquitous in popular pre-Prohibition era libations. Today, these gins have been joined on back bars by New Western Style gins for use in both classic and contemporary sips. But sales fi gures hint at a diff erent story: total sales of gin in the United States were down 2.5 percent from 2009 to 2010, according to Cheers' parent company Th e Beverage Information Group. Still, bartenders and operators continue to praise gin's mixability and compelling character, and the spirit remains front and center on well-designed cocktail lists. Th e top fi ve brands led the category again this year: including Seagram's Gin, Tanqueray, New Amsterdam, Bombay Sapphire and Gordon's Gin. According to operators, both these leading brands, and their lesser-known competitors are mixing it up in both classic and innovative cocktails. Th ey also had much to share about current artisanal and mainstream gin drinks, their take on the likelihood of vodka drinkers ordering them and the ways in which some newer off erings of botanically based spirits are evolving the gin category. "Gin will always be one of our go-to spirits, as it is specifi cally formulated for mixing drinks," states Owen Th omson. "Th e botanicals in gin lend themselves to cocktails." Th e lead bartender for José Andrés' Washington, D.C.-based Th inkFoodGroup— whose concepts include Jaleo, Café Atlantico and Minibar among others—always puts several gin-based cocktails on the menus of the ten diff erent venues he works for nationwide. At the 140-seat, America Eats Tavern in Washington, D.C., a pop-up restaurant in partnership with the National Archives that celebrates the history of food and drink in the United States, Th omson lists six classic gin cocktails priced $10 to $14, including the 20th Century ($14), made with gin, Lillet and Crème de Cacao. He notes that while the number of gin drinks on his menus has remained constant, consumer enthusiasm has swelled. "Guests today are ordering it on their own without www.cheersonline.com having to hand sell it." America Eats Tavern stocks ten gins priced from $10 to $12. COMPLEXITY IS A PLUS Gin's multifaceted fl avor profi le translates to more taste with less work for the bartender. "It allows for a broad range in both fl avor and complexity, while still being able to maintain as few ingredients as possible," lauds M. Blake Morley, bar manager for Woodfi re Grill in Atlanta. Th e 150-seat farm-to-table-focused spot releases a new cocktail menu every three months with at least two gin libations, and stocks eight gins priced $8 to $10. Morley considers gin's fl avor profi le crucial when mixing bitter or artisanal cocktails like the Negroni ($10) and the earthy, herbal Last Word ($10), a combination of green Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur and lime. Gin's list of inherent botanicals tends to eliminate the need for a bevy of bitters, infused syrups and liqueurs. But gin is not only reserved for eclectic and at times esoteric elixirs. Th e gin and tonic is arguably the spirit's quintessential and best-known drink, but gin is also fi nding a place in other mainstream drinks in which vodka had typically been poured. Th omson notes that guests are increasingly reverting to the original version of the Martini—which uses gin, dry Vermouth and orange bitters. And at Th inkFoodGroup's 347- seat Mediterranean mezze restaurant Zaytinya in Washington, D.C.—which carries nine gins priced $8 to $13— gin drinks such as the Martinez ($12) made with Ransom Old Tom Gin and Luxardo Maraschino are featured. Bar patrons are also experimenting with their own gin-based concoctions. "I have had a few people ask for Gin Cosmos and Gin Bloody Marys," notes Aaron Butler, bar manager for the Russell House Tavern, a 220-seat new American tavern in Boston's Harvard Square. Th e bar's list of twenty-fi ve cocktails priced $9 to $13 usually contains three gin drinks, like Journey Th rough the Night ($10), made with TRU Organic Gin, Plymouth Sloe Gin, lime and Maraschino liqueur. "Gin is very JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 | 39