The Omega Course: Gin Pairings

Starting in June I’ll be running an online series of seminars called The Omega Course with hundreds of people from all over the world. To help the material go down I’m recommending a few gins to go along with the material. Instead of recommending a different gin for each week (which can start to get expensive) I’m just going to recommend some of my personal favorites. If you would like to have a drink with me and a small live audience during the course, then do track one or more of these down (depending on where you live some of them will be hard to get).

Nordés Atlantic Galician Gin

I was in Madrid recently and discovered that the Spanish love their gin. While I was there I got to try this one and loved it. Made with an Albariño-grape-based spirit and including botanicals such as lemon peels, hibiscus, liquorice and eucalyptus the result is a bold, floral flavour taste perfect for a summers day.

Monkey 47

I have to say that this heavy, woody gin from the German Black Forest his is one of my personal favorites. The 47 refers to both the number of botanicals and with the fact that it’s bottled at 47%. This plethora of ingredients has paid off, and in 2011 Monkey 47 won the World Spirits Award Gold in the Gin category and Gold for best in class for the Gin Worldwide at the International Wine and Spirits Competition London.

Monkey 47 Distiller’s 2015

As if it couldn’t get any better, each year the distillers bring out a special bottle. I was lucky enough to find a 2015 bottle when I was in Ireland, and loved it. The 2015 edition features their extensive selection of botanicals as well as the extra ingredient – spignel seeds. Spignel is a rare plant with aromatic leaves and white flowers which grows in mountainous regions. When its foliage is cut, it gives of a sweet scent said to be similar to fennel. The German distillers allowed the Distiller’s Cut 2015 to rest for three months in earthenware containers before being combined with soft spring water from the Black Forest.

G’Vine floraison

This is the drink responsible for me appreciating how amazing gin can be and is still one of my favorites. G’Vine breaks away from the traditional juniper based “London dry” going for something that employs the subtle and rare green grape flower. Based on neutral spirits distilled from grapes, G’Vine has a delicate and floral flavor that is light and smooth. The aromatic vine flower, together with the grape spirit, softens the juniper taste inherent in most gins. Best served with grapes.

Warner Edwards Rhubarb

I recently discovered this rather unusual gin when in Ireland over Christmas. It uses a variety of rhubarb originally grown in Queen Victoria’s garden, hence the name, as well as their Harrington Dry Gin. They also add just enough sugar to balance out the acidity from the rhubarb, producing a spirit with plenty of sweetness and some subtle sour notes from the rhubarb.

Shortcross

I had to add a gin from my homeland. But it definitly deserves to be on the list. Shortcross Gin is made by Northern Irish craft gin distillery, Rademon Estate. This small batch gin is made using their custom made still, which features a 450 litre copper pot still and two enrichment columns. Using botanicals like fresh apple, elderberry and wild clover, as well as juniper, coriander, orange peel, lemon peel and cassia, they produce a vibrant, floral style of gin that befits savouring it neat, as well as enjoying with tonic. Cut a slice of orange into the mix.

Four Pillars Rare Dry

Australia has a number of great gins, but this one stood out when I was last there. Made in a small distillery in Yarra Valley, Australia, they use a copper-pot called Wilma, water from Yarra Valley that is triple filtered and some great botanicals such as Tasmanian pepperberry, lemon myrtle. They also have some exotic botanicals such as cinnamon, cardamom, coriander seeds and star anise and the classics like juniper, lavender, and angelica root. Best served with a slice of orange.

If you’d like to sign up to the course, click here