Regular gin and me ================ I've been a bit of a fan of gin since I was a teenager and never really got that 'mother's ruin' sadness from it that some people experience. Thank goodness for that! So, for many years I enjoyed the odd G&T (or two) at pubs, clubs and elegant soirees (aka house parties), and it became known as 'my drink'. Yep, when it was someone else's turn to get the drinks in, they didn't have to ask what my tipple of choice was; they knew that "KP's for a G&T."
In the early days I was drinking those bottom of the range, no-name gins - the sort that local pubs flog punters in double doses as it tastes so manky they need to be steaming drunk just to finish it. Of course, it'd be mixed with the obligatory tonic - I'm not hardcore enough to drink it neat or on the rocks.
Then, I got older and progressed onto the far more sophisticated (I thought anyway) Gordon's - them of the fancy adverts with dancing bubbles and glorious green bottles. It was with Gordon's I first discovered the joy of gin and bitter lemon - super-refreshing and possibly even better a mixer than tonic.
My next step up in the world of gin-drinking was Bombay Sapphire. Wow - this one has an even more beautiful bottle - a lovely tall rectangular shape with fancy indentations, a pretty pale blue colour and a great label design that is just really exotic and appealing-looking. I always seemed to be given Bombay Sapphire on birthdays and for Christmas - but never got round to mentioning that I kind of preferred the taste of Gordon's ...!
Okay, you get the picture ... I'm known as a gin-meister.
Hendrick's and me ============== When I left my first job, one of my colleagues gave me a parcel. I wasn't sure what was going to be inside but was told not to shake it. Ooooh, breakable things are always exciting! I tore open the box; then ripped at the container within; peeled back the tissue paper to reveal ... the most amazing looking bottle I have ever seen!
My job (designer) is a huge part of my life and graphic design (design in general really) is something that interests and enthuses me, so forgive me this paragraph going on about the packaging! The shape of a stumpy cylindrical old-fashioned medicine bottle - and the same sort of colour, a dark, dark brown, almost black - it had an incredible stretched diamond-shaped label, a leaflet around its neck and a cork stopper with plastic top. So charming! Both the label and leaflet were designed with a traditional looking serif typeface and amazingly cute illustrations and graphical flourishes. The label read HENDRICK'S GIN, set beautifully in upper-case lettering in a dark colour that stood out perfectly from the slightly off-white label. Wow! I didn't care what it tasted like - it was a brilliant gift!
Of course, being at work still at the time I was given the gift meant that trying the stuff there and then was out of the question, so I had to stick to different sorts of investigation initially. So, first things first ...
Hendrick's - A most unusual gin ============================ "What can be so strange about it?" I wondered. Some of the headlines on the little leaflet that's tied around the bottle neck include: 'It is NOT for everybody'; 'Loved By A Tiny Handful Of People All Over The World'; 'Preferred by 1 in 1000 gin drinkers'.
And all because it's infused with ... cucumber! Yes, cucumber! Not content with the usual botanicals, this one is made using coriander, juniper, citrus peel, rose petals and the humble cucumber.
All of this information is conveyed with fantastic olde-worlde-style drawings and brilliant tongue-in-cheek copywriting. Great stuff!
The website ========= Yep, the next investigative stage was to take a look at the website. It didn't disappoint. The olde style continues and the writing just gets better - there's even more about the history, a section on special Hendrick's cocktails (one of which later!), the bars that sell it and even Hendrick's events. I'm not going to be able to do it justice describing it here so I'd recommend a visit: www.hendricksgin.com
Ta-daaaaaa - the taste test! ===================== Finally, I managed to drag myself through the day and take my pressie home to try.
I pulled out the cork from the bottle and the aroma that drifted out was magnificent! (though not overwhelmingly cucumbery as I'd been expecting from the big cucumber build-up). Really 'spicy' somehow, or perhaps fragrant would be a better word for it. Then, as instructed by my friend, I poured a measure over ice into a glass, topped it up with tonic, then proceeded to cut a slice of cucumber to use as a stirrer! Oh my goodness, it was so refreshing! And you get a lovely, healthy snack of cucumber at the end of the drink. Ahhhh!
Hendrick's as it should be drunk ========================= Now, another friend of mine had a party at an uber-swanky bar some years later and, you guessed it, they served Hendrick's gin. Hooray! And the way they made it was the best. Here's what to do:
Chill a collins glass (I think that's what they're called - they're the tall ones anyway) and add some crushed ice and a measure (or two) of gin. Then, slice some cucumber peel to use as a stirrer and blitz half of the remaining cucumber, without the skin. Add this crushed slush to the drink, stir with the cucumber stirrer and sip happily away! It's good to use a straw I think too - so much more elegant.
Who make this stuff? ================ It's produced by William Grant and Sons Ltd in Ayrshire, Scotland. They only make it in small batches because of the crazy process used to make it.
So, where can I get it? ================= As I mentioned, I got my first bottle as a gift and at the time it was only available by mail order. Boo! Now, thankfully, word has spread and some supermarkets now stock it (Waitrose os one of them) so it's much easier to get hold of. It also seems to be cropping up in more and more bars - I just hope they're serving it properly!
It sounds pricey, what's the damage? ============================ Yep, here's the catch folks. It's fairly costly at £19.99 for 70cl (add £5.50 per order if you're getting it through the Hendrick's website). It is a lot of money so it's only for special occasions really, unless you're rich!
Summary ======= Not an everyday kind of gin (not that I drink it every day mind you, but you know what I mean!) but I think it makes a fantastic present for someone who's fond of the old 'mother's ruin'. Even if you're not keen, I'd say it's well worth a visit to their website as it's so well-done, has great pictures and is highly amusing.
(Of course, only people of drinking-age should be having this stuff, and everyone should drink responsibly.)
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