Only four more parties, two buffets and three carol concerts to go until Christmas and the kitchen is packed with Christmas cakes and chocolate truffles lovingly made whilst listening to the latest round of who wants to the be the Christmas number one on the radio. Not having television here at the end of the world, we only get the weakest of radio signals, which can cause confusion. Take the afore mentioned Christmas number one for example – either Radio 1 has gone tri-lingual and ‘Ik ben een dansende elf Kerstmis’ is in the running or Scooter really has collaborated with Status Quo to redo ‘Whatever you want’. As both seem fairly unlikely, I’m guessing we’re picking up Radio Holland again.
Anyway, after a hard day feeding whisky to our famous drunken Christmas cakes, what do I get to drink? The kitchen is closed, the children asleep upstairs, the baby monitor is in its usual position on the bar and I don’t have to drive home. The world is my pint glass!
Now, I’d usually go for the 80 shilling, but it is a touch on the heavy side – no pun intended – and being in a festive mood I thought I go for a G&T, something I rarely drink save at someone’s house desperately trying to avoid the Chardonnay. You’d think this would be simple; the name even gives it away. Gin and Tonic. But before we even get to the ice and lemon additions there is the question of tonic. Fairly easy; for me it has to be Schweppes; only the full fat version will do and although it doesn’t contain anywhere near as much quinine as perhaps it did when it was first produced in 1790, it still has that smell that conjures up colonial images of men in pith helmets and ladies drinking gin out of teapots. Now comes the gin….. It’s pretty pointless doing a tasting online, so I thought we’d go about it by deciding which had the more interesting history (marketing or otherwise!!)
We’ve four different ones behind the bar so let’s start with the infamous Gordon’s. Apart from being linked to an alleged adulterer, it’s probably the best known of the lot and certainly one of the oldest, made by a chap by the name of Alexander Gordon in 1769. Distilled no less than 3 times, it’s made with a secret recipe of botanical herbs and the bottle cap bears the symbol of a boar’s head. Apparently, whilst out hunting, one of the original Gordon clan saved the King of Scotland from a wild boar the symbol stuck….
Now, Tanqueray, first made in 1830 by the son of a vicar is distilled even more times, four to be accurate, and it too has the usual secret recipe, but this time it has the crest of two battle axes and a pineapple – yep, you heard. Obviously, the pineapple is the universal symbol of hospitality and the axes come from the family’s adventures with Richard the Loin Heart. Tanqueray is also associated with famous seducers – it was allegedly the gin of choice at Rat Pack parties and at the White House including being used in the first Martini made to celebrate the end of prohibition. For some reason, I always think of James Bond when I drink Tanquery – no idea why as I’m sure if there was a connection the marketing bods would have jumped on it….
Beefeater is the less assuming of the lot, it doesn’t enter the distillation race and is fairly straight laced in its claim to fame, namely being the only gin available on the maiden voyage of the QE2 to New York (it doesn’t mention anything about coming back!). There’s no mystery to its bottle other than being named after the guards at the Tower of London and it’s even open about its ingredients – botanicals as everyone else seem to call them – bitter almonds, coriander seeds, orange peel, juniper…. The list goes on. They don’t seem to give quantities though, so a tad difficult to replicate in the kitchen sink.
We’re back to secret recipes again with the last gin – Hendricks – the relatively new kid on the block. Although it does give cucumber and rose petals, Bulgarian to be precise, as some of its more usual ingredients. A small batched gin, it’s made in a Carter Head Still, one of only 4 in the world (don’t tell me, the others are owned by Gordon’s, Beefeater……) which is looked after by a team of full time coppersmiths no less. Apparently, the drink of the season was a tea time martini made with Hendricks, rose petal jam, lemon and mint served in a teacup martini glass (a ceramic tea cup stuck on a glass martini stem). It doesn’t have a crest or a symbol but…. Its bottle is based on an old apothecary’s bottle to make you feel like it will cure you of all ills.
So, there you have it. Only you can decide – should you transport yourself to the QE2 or rub shoulders with the Rat Pack. Let your imagination run wild. Now, who’s for ice, lemon or should it be lime…………..
The Coastguard
Oh, and if you need the recipe for our famous drunken Christmas cake, do email me and I’ll buzz it straight back!
