All about Gordon's gin

Briefly about the drink

Gordons drive gin (dry gin) is not an unambiguous phenomenon. Some consider it a textbook, classic, reliable and predictable drink. For others, it seems boring, mediocre, typical and faceless. At the same time, this drink, due to its perhaps not entirely deserved popularity, often becomes the first acquaintance of the diverse gin family for both people and others.

A few words about gin

Compared to a number of British (and not only British) juniper drinks, the composition of Gordon's Gin does not have any special zest or pleasantly surprising eccentricity.

The drink contains only such more than traditional ingredients as juniper berries, liquorice, iris and angelica root, coriander seeds, as well as lemon and orange peel.

However, the producer of Gordons gin (nowadays it is the international multi-brand Diagio) claims that the secret of the drink lies not in the ingredients themselves, but in their proportions.

How many degrees in Gordon's gin

Like many other British junipers, Gordons gin has a strength that is different for "friends" and "foes". However, the "aliens" in this case are different.

1. The version supplied to the domestic market contains 37.5 degrees of alcohol.

2. In turn, the strength of the export product intended for continental Europe and the international Duty Free chain reaches 47.3 degrees.

3. The drink, produced for South Africa, boasts only 43 revolutions.

4. The strength of gin sold in Australia and New Zealand is only 37.2 degrees, which would be unacceptable from the point of view of European legislation.

By the way, there are also differences in the design of the drink. In its historical homeland, it is sold in special branded green bottles, while outside of it - in ordinary glass or even plastic containers.

The history of Gordon's gin

The popular gin brand we are interested in is considered one of the oldest in the world. This drink was created in 1769. It was created by a Scotsman who lived in London, Alexander Gordon. Since the famous vertical distillation cubes did not exist at that time, the purity and high quality of the drink was achieved by triple distillation.

In 1898, the then owners of Gordon's Gin decided to merge their brainchild with the company that produces Tankard gin. This was the beginning of a century-long process that saw the family distillery, once created by Alexander Gordon, become part of one of the biggest sharks in the modern alcohol world: Diagio. During this rather long period of time, a solid producer of the popular juniper gin has not only become a global brand and established subsidiaries outside the country (in particular, in the United States), but also paved the way to Buckingham Palace.

In 1984, the British distillery, due to the need to expand production, moved from London to Basildon, which is located in neighboring Essex. And since 1998, it has been located in the Scottish province of Fife, not far from Edinburgh, which allows it to use excellent water from the artesian springs of the patriarchal Caledonia in the production of the drink.

How to drink Gordon's gin

To answer the question: "how to drink Gordon's gin?" you don't need to have the phenomenal wit of Sherlock Holmes. It is clear that this drink is not remarkable, but at the same time, a high-quality, conscientiously made drink will be an excellent basis for mixes and cocktails.

You can safely mix it with various juices or even soda, observing the good old one-to-one proportion or some other ratio dear to your heart. The main thing is that the juices should taste sour, sweet and sour or bitter. In this case, cranberry, pineapple, grapefruit, orange, lemon, or lime flavors are perfect.

There are countless cocktails in which you can and should use the drink created in the XVIII century by Alexander Gordon. They range from the simple and reliable Gin and Tonic to the fancy Negroni.

At the same time, there are cocktails that involve the use of Gordons. An example of such a drink is the Florida Sprite, in which the aforementioned gin is harmoniously combined with ginger lemonade and orange juice.

How to distinguish a fake Gordon's gin

In this age of counterfeit alcohol, unfortunately, it is quite easy to run into a banal fake when buying a premium alcoholic beverage. To protect yourself from such an unpleasant incident when buying Gordon's gin, do not forget to follow a few simple but time-tested rules.

1. The label

   Study the label carefully. It must be printed in good, clear colors and factory-stamped. In addition, the label should have the barcode of the country of origin (in our case, it is the UK or the USA).

2. Excise stamp

   Do not overlook the excise stamp. It should also be intact, clean, and neatly glued on.

3. What is inside the bottle?

   Also take a closer look at the contents of the bottle. In this situation, selling the export version of the drink in transparent containers will be to your advantage. The bottle should contain a crystal clear liquid without the slightest sediment or traces of suspicious turbidity. Agree that a triple distillate diluted with environmentally friendly water taken from Scottish artesian springs should look like this.

Useful properties of Gordon's gin

Do not forget that the ancestor of the drink we are interested in was juniper tincture, which is still used in medicine. Accordingly, all the healing properties inherent in juniper berries are successfully preserved in the composition of the liquid, which was first produced in 1769.

Thus, we can safely say that Gordons, if used wisely, can help to awaken appetite, overcome insomnia, or serve as an excellent, pardon me, diuretic.

In addition, the aforementioned gin can be used to combat various colds.

1. So, a mixture of juniper, honey and onion juice is an excellent remedy for bronchitis.

2. Upper respiratory tract catarrh is well treated with onion-juniper decoction.

3. And juniper in combination with grated horseradish or lemon juice has proven itself to be excellent in the treatment of sore throat.

The main thing is not to forget that, like any alcohol, Gordons gin, when fighting certain diseases, can be useful only in small doses. Otherwise, you will not get treatment, but something completely opposite to it.

Update: 23.02.2016

Category: Gin