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Gins with extravagant botanicals are ‘educational’
While it’s best to keep things simple when it comes to gin distillation, producers could “learn a lot” from the growing use of extravagant botanicals, said the master distiller of Gordon’s gin.
According to Tom Nichol, master distiller for Gordon’s, gin producers could “learn a lot” from experimental companies
Speaking to The Spirits Business at a tasting of the brand’s new elderflower expression in London this week, Tom Nichol, master distiller of Gordon’s, said that despite controversy surrounding the emerging use of non-traditional botanicals in gin, this might serve to increase the industry’s knowledge.
“I completely support any gin distiller who want to try using extravagant botanicals, as long as they make a good product and as long as the gin is still juniper led,” said Nichol.
“Personally, I don’t want to make products like that and I think simplicity is best, but if another company does, and they make a good job, then that’s great. If anything, we can learn a lot from these experimental companies, and that’s not a bad thing.”
In February this year, Gordon’s, owned by Diageo, expanded its flavoured collection with the release of an elderflower gin, called Gordon’s With a Spot of Elderflower – a blend of Original Gordon’s London Dry Gin with natural elderflower flavouring.
This followed the launch of Gordon’s released a Crisp Cucumber gin in February 2013.
Nichol said that the ratio of botanicals used to create the gin is “exactly” the same in the flavoured bottlings as the original variant.
“I would not be happy if any of the juniper content was lessened,” he added. “For the flavoured bottles, we make the gin exactly as we do the original, adding natural extracts at the end of distillation.”
Joined by gin historian Jo McKerchar, Nichol also recounted Gordon’s extensive history of flavour experimentation, claiming that this shows “we are not really trying anything that new”.
The brand introduced a sloe gin in 1906, Gordon’s Orange gin in 1929, Gordon’s Lemon gin in 1931, and ginger and damson flavours throughout the 1900s.