Named for a turn-of-the-century men’s club in Philadelphia, this frothy gin sipper belongs to the pre-Prohibition era of classic cocktails, but has lately been revived on craft bar menus. An earlier recipe appeared in Jack’s Manual (1908), by a bartender famed for his “fancy mixed drinks.” A cousin of the Pink Lady, it needs to be dry shaken to emulsify the egg white, and the addition of raspberry syrup—Monin is a reliable ready-made brand—creates a delicate blush for a summery refreshment.

Featured in “Our New Favorite Single Malt Whisky Comes From … New York?” by Shane Mitchell.

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Equal parts gin, chartreuse, Maraschino liqueur, and fresh lime juice, The Last Word cocktail is a foolproof classic that goes down as easily as it is to make. This recipe takes well to scaling: Quadruple it for four, or for a party, make a pitcher for guests to pour over ice. It can also be adapted to individual tastes; for a less sweet result, up the gin to 1¼ ounces.

WATCH: How to Shake a Cocktail

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Don’t fear the dinner party! We’re of the opinion that hosting is so much more fun when guests are welcomed into the kitchen. This is Dinner at Kat’s—a new series wherein SAVEUR editorial director Kat Craddock welcomes buzzy chefs, cookbook authors, and wine and spirits pros into her home for a day of cooking and connection. There’s no mystery behind throwing a successful dinner party. Find the menus, recipes, drinks, shopping tips, and tricks to make it happen right here.

The Guest: 

Team SAVEUR has long admired U.K.-based chef and cookbook author Romy Gill. We featured her back in 2016, when the late Queen Elizabeth II awarded her the MBE, an honor granted for “significant achievement or outstanding service to the community.” In 2019, I cooked with her when she joined superstar pastry chef Caroline Schiff and the feminist British chefware company Polka Pants for an epic dinner party in our test kitchen. Since then, I’ve counted Romy among my very good friends and watched with delight from across an ocean as she released two incredible Indian cookbooks. Her most recent, On the Himalayan Trail, is a gorgeously photographed chronicle of the food and landscapes she experienced while traveling through India’s mountainous northern regions, Kashmir and Ladakh. 

When I heard Romy’s book tour would be bringing her through New York City, I knew right away that she needed to be the guest of honor at the first dinner party in my new apartment. She offered to make some of the recipes from her book, and I decided to make a few accompaniments to round out our meal. 

The Menu: 

• Watermelon Gin Punch with Himalayan Salt
• Tomato Salad with Scallions, Panch Phoron, and Warm Brown Butter Vinaigrette
• Chaman Kaliya (Kashmiri Paneer Curry with Cardamom and Turmeric)
• Basmati Rice
• Kashmiri Sour Cherry Chutney
• Parisian Flan with Cardamom-Fennel Apple Compote
• Kahwa (Kashmiri Spiced Honey Tea)

The Big Night:

After over a decade in cramped New York City apartments, I finally have just about enough space for a proper dinner party. Before moving to the city, I lived in a Boston warehouse full of punks and artists and one of my favorite things to do was to throw open my door and invite friends, lovers, and the occasional stranger into my loft for a hot meal and a few too many drinks. 

I’m now aggressively pushing 40, so when searching for a new apartment earlier this year I decided to make room in my home for dinner parties once again. Most importantly I was looking for an open kitchen with plenty of windows, and—a rarity in NYC rentals—a hood over the range. We lucked out in landing the perfect place: a roomy and sun-filled spot in Stuyvesant Town, the post-war residential development just north of the East Village. 

After months of waiting for a dining table to make its way through supply chain delays, I finally got to planning. While Romy was on her way over from England, we curated a vegetarian menu via Whatsapp using a mix of Kashmiri recipes from her book and a few seasonally-inspired accompaniments. We invited a few friends and the rest of the SAVEUR gang to join us for dinner.

The morning before the party, she met me at the Union Square Greenmarket. We picked up a handful of fresh ingredients: a few hot chiles for a Kashmiri-style paneer in turmeric gravy; an off-script quart of sour cherries for a cheerful, tangy chutney; and heirloom tomatoes and scallions for a warm spiced salad. We also picked up a few honeycrisp apples that we’d later braise down to a buttery compote with raisins, cardamom, fennel seeds, and Lillet to top a simple custard tart from my favorite local bakery.

At the Bar:

While Romy’s book contains plenty of beautiful tea recipes, there are no cocktails—alcohol is not widely consumed in the largely Muslim regions of Kashmir and Ladakh. But we both knew that we wanted to kick off our mashup meal with a fun, boozy drink. I hoped for a flavor profile suitable for toasting Romy’s fragrant mountain fare, so I asked bartender extraordinaire Luccia Corichi to help us out.

Luccia has worked in restaurants throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan, most recently with Unapologetic Foods of Adda and Dhamaka fame. She’s currently the bar manager over at Semma, the group’s new South Indian concept, but had no problem looking further north to design a gorgeous, Himalayan-inspired cocktail. It was a warm night, so Luccia blitzed Hapusa Dry Gin, which is distilled with Indian botanicals including wild Himalayan juniper berries, into a lemony watermelon punch. A splash of homemade syrup with Darjeeling tea, lemon verbena, and Kashmir’s sulfurous black salt gave Luccia’s fruity refreshment layers of savory nuance that sparkled alongside the chile heat of our rich vegetarian meal.

All-Star Ingredients: 

•Diaspora & Co. Kashmiri Saffron

•Vermont Creamery Salted Cultured Butter

•Hapusa Himalayan Dry Gin

Pro Tip: 

Romy grew up eating loads of homemade paneer in West Bengal, and the fresh, pressed farm cheese also pops up frequently in her book (paneer factors heavily in Kashmiri cuisine). Commercial versions are increasingly available at supermarkets and South Asian grocery stores, but Romy knew I worked as a cheesemonger for many years and she was eager to show me how quick and easy it is to make this unaged cheese from scratch. 

Homemade paneer requires just two ingredients, and I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that this simple process results in a cheese that’s far softer and more delicate than the store-bought stuff. We used the results to make a creamy, Kashmiri-style yellow curry with turmeric, green chiles, and cardamom (check out Romy’s DIY paneer method, which she learned from her mother, for yourself.)

The Playlist:

As we all bustled in the kitchen, I put on my go-to party mix of boppy ’80s New Wave. When dinnertime rolled around, Romy took over the speakers with a cool mix of groovy South Asian pop and Bollywood love songs.

Get the Recipes

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Luccia Corichi, the bar manager at New York City’s Southern Indian restaurant Semma, developed this watermelon gin punch recipe to celebrate chef Romy Gill’s new cookbook, On the Himalayan Trail. Himalayan black salt is mined at the base of the mountains in both India and Pakistan and it has distinctive, smoky-sulfurous notes. The ingredient, when paired with floral pink peppercorns and black tea, lends Corichi’s cheerful fruity cocktail an elegant and layered depth. While any gin will work nicely in this recipe, she recommends seeking out Hapusa Himalayan Dry Gin, which is distilled with wild Himalayan juniper berries and other Indian botanicals. 

While Corichi serves this punch straight-up in coupes, she encourages guests looking for a lower ABV drink to enjoy the mix over ice, topped off to taste with a splash of soda water or tonic. (For more on how to incorporate salt into cocktails, check out our primer here.)

Featured in: “Don’t Fear the Dinner Party: Toasting Romy Gill’s Cookbook from Home.”

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Among this country’s artisan cheesemakers, there are a few names even non-”cheese nerds” recognize: Cypress Grove Chèvre, Uplands Cheese, Rogue Creamery. Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont, might be at the top of that list. The pasture-to-cave operation nabbed two (two!) of the 20 most prestigious awards at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Wisconsin this year; in 2019, Jasper Hill’s Bayley Hazen Blue became the first cheese ever to beat out the Brits at the UK’s International Cheese Awards.

In addition to producing its regular star-studded roster, the farm’s founders, brothers Mateo and Andy Kehler, occasionally collaborate with craft breweries, cideries, wineries, and distilleries to create limited-edition mashups. The duo joined forces with their Vermont neighbor ­Caledonia Spirits three years ago, washing Jasper Hill’s ­popular Winnimere—a spruce-wrapped cow’s milk cheese with an earthy, nearly bacony flavor—in the distillery’s Barr Hill Gin. Though these special releases aren’t widely distributed, they are offered online, but be warned: The fan base is eager. This year, more than a hundred wheels of the “Ginnimere” sold out in under an hour.

This winter, Jasper Hill and Caledonia are switching things up, with a midseason version using the amber-colored, barrel-aged Tom Cat Gin, which lends the cheese a faintly botanical sweetness and even deeper wood notes. So, how do you snag some when it goes on sale in January?

If you follow these guys on Instagram (@jasperhillfarm), poised to snap up a wheel the moment it drops on both companies’ websites, you might get one ($32 per 13-ounce wheel). There is a way to claim your Tom Cat Ginnimere in advance, however, by dipping into Jasper Hill’s monthly Cheese Club. A subscription costs $100 per shipment, and includes three cheeses, plus a few choice accompaniments. The Tom Cat Ginnimere will arrive in the first box of 2021. During the winter’s coldest months, it’s the perfect dessert course, especially when paired with a finger or two of the gin itself.

The post Cheese + Gin: A Perfect Partnership in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom appeared first on Saveur.

Los Gintonic

Plymouth Gin Tonic

Hierba Gin and Tonic

Quick Like a Bunny

Queen Victoria Tonic

Mother-of-Pearl

Conquistador

Bar Code Tonic

The Pretty Tony

Nuestra Casa

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For a clear spirit, gin has a murky past. As the world’s first “flavored vodka”—that is to say, a neutral grain spirit redistilled with juniper berries—it traces its origins back to the genever of the Netherlands, which was developed in the 16th century as a medicine. (It’s important to note that genever still exists, as a different, maltier category of spirit).

Within the next century, gin swept through England, aided by the ascension of Dutch ruler William of Orange to the British throne, eventually leading to the notorious 18th century British Gin Craze. It was during this time that the spirit became known as “mother’s ruin” for its adverse effects on the British family structure.

Thankfully, the Brits eventually learned to control their thirst for gin, and these days, England continues its proud tradition of gin production. Perhaps the most well-known style of gin is still the London Dry, a light-bodied variety that’s seemingly made for martinis. The older, sweeter Old Tom is more reminiscent of gin’s Dutch ancestor, which is distilled with a malted grain base.

In the context of the craft spirits revolution of the 21st century, the gin “renaissance” has been a relatively quiet one: The older, traditional brands still dominate the market, but there has been in recent years a huge push towards “American” and “Western” products, many of which allow the juniper to take a backseat to new and unconventional botanicals. And there are of course a number of total outliers, such as Mahon, a standout Spanish bottling.

Floral, fruity, herbaceous, even spicy—there are so many profiles and flavors that gin can take on. Whether you’re shaking and stirring your own gin cocktails or just sipping it on ice with a citrus wedge, here are the gins that we’re loving right now.

Matt Taylor-Gross

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Okay, maybe we’re not exactly “excited” for Beefeater, but it’s a workhorse of a gin that will satisfy most of your mixing needs. Named after the titular ceremonial guards of the Tower of London, it’s notable as a staple in bar wells all over the world, and for being the only London Dry gin still produced in London (Tanqueray 10, another excellent, albeit slightly pricey London Dry, is produced in Scotland). A gin that relies heavily on its juniper base, it simply can’t be beat when it comes to the classic gin and tonic.

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Matt Taylor-Gross

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Producers of whiskey and brandy have long experimented with gin as a side project—after all, it’s cost-friendly and doesn’t require any aging time. Take the apple-brandy–based gin distilled by American brandy pioneers Copper & Kings, or this super-flowery version produced by Islay Scotch producer Bruichladdich.

The small-batch bottling taps into the Hebridean Islands’ rich green offerings, fusing nine classic gin botanicals with a hand-picked harvest of 22 local ingredients—mugwort, creeping thistle, and bob myrtle, to name a few—in a slow, 17-hour distillation process. The resulting product, the first and only “Islay Dry gin,” is one of the most interesting we’ve tried.

"The Botanist has a tremendous depth and versatility that I've found to be ideally suited for gin cocktails with a lot of really loud flavors," says Justin Elliott of Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, who likes to use it in his bold version of a Negroni, which swaps sweet vermouth for Cocchi Barolo Chinato. "The gentle green, zesty tones of the gin provide an inviting canvas for the loud flavors in the other ingredients to play upon."

Matt Taylor-Gross

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As we mentioned, Dutch genever, sometimes called Holland gin, is distinguished from other gins by its malt base, which gives it “a much rounder mouthfeel with a lighter herbal touch,” according to Crystal Chasse of Bar 54 in New York City. Booze history geeks will get a kick out of mixing with the stuff, which uses the original recipe of Lucas Bols—a 17th century distiller and shareholder in the Dutch East India Company—and was re-released in 2008.

The sweeter malt base is layered with notes of citrus and a floral honey, while its lighter body makes it perfect for classic cocktails (and it's authentic!). "I love using Bols Genever in a Martinez if I'm feeling a stirred cocktail or in a classic smash if I'm wanting a brighter citrus-based cocktail," says Chasse. "Classically, a Martinez is made with Old Tom gin; Bols still has the body without the extra sweetness. The mint and fresh muddled lemon of the smash paired with Bols Genever make for a delightfully refreshing and layered cocktail perfect for warm summer days."

Matt Taylor-Gross

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Another Dutch import, this gin comes from the Nolet family of Ketel One vodka fame. Based in Schiedam, the Netherlands, the Nolets have been distilling genever-style gins since the 17th century. The juniper is more subdued in this lighter bottling, with berries and floral notes taking center stage. Steve Mazzuca, beverage director of Bathtub Gin in New York City, uses Nolet’s in the bar’s top-selling cocktail, which combines the gin with sage, lavender, fresh ginger, and lemon.

Matt Taylor-Gross

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You may be surprised, as we were, to discover that there exists a fine gin-producing operation on the tiny Spanish island of Menorca in the Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, the British brought gin to their erstwhile military outpost during the 1708 War of Spanish Succession, due to the demand for gin by naval officers.

Laura Carlson, bartender at Contra and buyer at Discovery Wines, explains that unlike most British gins, those from Menorca aren’t derived from grain at all, but rather from grapes, making them more similar to brandy or eau de vie that is infused, during a direct-fire copper pot distillation, with juniper and botanicals gathered from nearby mountains. The result is piney, weighty, and an incredible representation of the range of the gin category. Carlson’s recommendation? Xoriguer, lime, simple syrup, and a pinch of salt for “simply the best gimlet you will ever have.”

Matt Taylor-Gross

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Named after the iconic New York poet who once sat at the Algonquin Round Table, this New York-born gin honors her legacy (and well-documented love of gin) with a feisty, forward-thinking fusion of traditional and new ingredients. Here, juniper meets elderberries, citrus, cinnamon, and hibiscus in a fun-loving, easy-to-mix gin that highlights floral components without losing the juniper foundation.

"Dorothy Parker stands out, as it is a lighter-style gin, with a slightly spicy, exotic, tropical flavor profile, lent by hibiscus, cinnamon, and elderberry," says Jim Kearns of New York's Slowly Shirley. "It lends itself well to shaken, fruity drinks. Because of the hibiscus and elderberry, I tend to like it in drinks with "red" ingredients and flavors, like a Pink Lady or a Singapore Sling."

Matt Taylor-Gross

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Gin gets an interesting Asian riff with Bombay Sapphire’s iconic East bottling, which uses an array of ingredients native to East and Southeast Asia, including lemongrass from Thailand and peppercorn from Vietnam—both pair excellently with traditional juniper.

“The addition of Thai lemongrass and Vietnamese black peppercorn botanicals pairs perfectly with our spicy style of Sichuan cuisine,” says Ran Duan, bartender at The Baldwin Bar, which he opened inside of his parents' Chinese restaurant, Sichuan Garden, in Woburn, Massachusetts. He shakes the gin with the French apéritif Maurin Quina, lime juice, aquafaba (chickpea water, in place of egg white), and simple syrup for a refreshing, herbal, perfect-for-spring sipper.

Matt Taylor-Gross

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Biddeford, Maine’s Bimini crafts a citrus-forward gin that makes it ideal for mixing in a tall cocktail with, you guessed it, refreshing, citrusy drinks. Here, juniper takes a backseat, allowing grapefruit zest and hops to dominate the palate.

“The spirit is not chilled before filtration, leaving many of the oils in the distillate behind, explains The Up & Up barman Chaim Dauermann. “The result is a full-bodied and bold gin that not only stands up in citrusy drinks, but shines.” He splashes the gin with lime cordial and doubles up on the grapefruit with a bit of grapefruit liqueur.

Matt Taylor-Gross

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The first thing you'll notice about Anchor Distilling's Junipero is the proof point, which, at 98.6 percent, is way higher than the usual 42-46 range. Suffice to say: it makes a stiff martini. The next thing that hits you is the juniper. While many modern American gins shy away from the berry, Junipero, which is distilled in San Francisco, brings it back to the forefront. We loved this gin for its ability to be smooth, cool, and balanced despite packing the heat proof-wise.

"We tend to use it mostly with citrus cocktails because the higher proof really helps bring the botanicals and spices forward and cut through other ingredients that could bury a more retiring gin," says Del Pedro of Tooker Alley, in Brooklyn, New York. "For instance, it works well in the Last Word cocktail where it has to compete with high-proof, big-flavored ingredients like green Chartreuse."

Matt Taylor-Gross

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Another non-juniper–forward gin, Portland, Oregon’s Aviation is one of the most influential American gins to date, helping to define the American dry category when it launched in 2006. The Art Deco-style bottle holds a dry-style gin infused with a few freewheeling botanicals, including lavender, sarsaparilla, and orange peel.

Bartender Brett Esler of Whisler’s in Austin, Texas says it was one of the first gins to make him more open-minded about the category as a whole. He uses it in a Negroni variation that replaces the Campari with ginger liqueur and a splash of Combier.

Matt Taylor-Gross

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One of the newer gins on this list, Coastal Spirits' Gin Farallon has received positive attention in the West Coast bartending community (and a gold medal from the American Distilling Institute). Founder Brad Plummer uses a multi-stage process that brightens heavier botanicals with floral and citrus ingredients: the gin is blended with a cucumber infusion, then rested for six weeks. The resulting product layers notes of grapefruit and lavender onto the traditional juniper and coriander.

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It’s only been two years since artisanal gin-making took off in Japan, and yet it’s already enjoying its own, exciting category on the global stage. Last year, Japanese drinks goliaths Beam Suntory and Asahi released their Nikka brand, including two of the country’s first craft gins, and it wasn’t long before Kyoto Distillery, the country’s first dedicated gin distillery, threw their own into the mix.

The U.K., known to be the world’s largest exporter of gin, has already seen exports to the US rise by 553% in the past decade, and Japanese companies took notice: Beam Suntory made a dynamic entrance into the gin scene by purchasing the world-renowned London Sipsmith distillery. Japan’s cheap, commercial London Dry–style expressions, like Nikka Wilkinson and Suntory Dry, have been around for years, but these recent developments mark a new movement toward craft expressions, a brand new industry in the island nation.

For Japan, unlike the U.K., gin-making isn’t based on history and tradition. Nevertheless, as with most things Japanese, their gin has quickly been sculpted and bound by a rich, colorful attention to craft. While juniper and other common gin botanicals like cinnamon and coriander remain present in most offerings, Japanese distillers have been utilizing the abundance of produce unique to Japan, including yuzu and other local citrus fruits, sansho pepper, green tea, and sakura, or cherry blossoms.

Since this past summer, Japan has also seen many of its sake- and shochu-makers try their hand at gin production. With new brands already aligning with expressions from Japan’s most obvious botanicals, these small makers have expanded the search, using plants not only native to Japan, but to the islands or prefectures surrounding each distillery.

The newest gin to the market in 2018 is by Hiroshima’s new Sakurao distillery. It will be the first craft gin from Hiroshima, and will include local oyster shells among its list of botanicals. Others are turning to alternative methods to further differentiate themselves: The Ki Noh Bi release by Kyoto Distillery was aged in casks from the legendary Karuizawa whisky distillery. Shuttered in 2000, Karuizawa bottlings are some of the rarest and most expensive in the world today.

Booming but still very young, Japan’s domestic gin scene is only expected to grow in the coming years. In the meantime, here are some bottles to try for a summary of the progress so far. Be warned: Some of them aren’t yet available in the U.S. Enjoyed straight, the Japanese botanicals shine. Add ice and tonic to witness the strength of the key ingredients, illustrated here.

The Global Superstar: Suntory Roku

Roku, which means “six” in Japanese, refers to the six Japanese botanicals used in this craft gin. While traditional botanicals are also used, as well as yuzu, sansho pepper, and tea, the emphasis is on the sakura flowers and leaves, depicted prominently on the front of the bottle.

Produced at Liquor Atelier, Suntory’s spirits site in Osaka, Roku launched domestically in July 2017, only reaching Western shores at the end of 2017. The Japanese version comes in at 47% ABV, while the exported version has been lowered to 43%. Before adding the tonic, try the Roku straight for the intense, buttery mouthfeel and spicy, citrus character.

The Minimalist Gem: Nikka Coffey Gin

Mad in Sendai, Nikka’s Coffey gin takes its name from the Coffey stills, located in the company’s Miyagikyo distillery, the second site after the company’s more globally renowned Yoichi distillery.

The citrus-forward recipe includes yuzu, shikuwasa, and kabosu, as well as amanatsu, which deliver an intense burst of tangy juiciness. Meant to draw out the flavour of each, the key botanicals, which includes local sansho pepper, are distilled separately and blended, a rather unique approach to gin production. The barley and corn base spirit provides a light body, allowing the botanicals to shine, but at the expense of some balance and weight.

The Little Guy: Wa Bi Gin

Hombo Shuzo is the company behind Japan’s exciting Mars Shinshu whisky distillery, which ceased whisky production in 1992 before relighting its stills in 2011 amidst the Japanese whisky boom. Alongside great whisky, Mars has brought us the delightful Wa Bi gin, made at their Kagoshima distillery, Mars Tsunuki. Grown in the surrounding area, unique botanicals include Saigon cinnamon leaf, kumquat, and bitter orange from Hetsuka. Look for citrus, tea and spice on the palate, followed by tangy, bitter orange on the finish.

The Matcha Injection: Ki No Tea

Before Suntory and Nikka released their gins, the Kyoto Distillery claimed the title of the first artisanal gin distillery in Japan. Since its launch in 2016, their flagship Ki No Bi has seen great success both domestically and internationally.

This bottle, Ki No Tea, is a new limited edition by the distillery, heavily influenced by Japanese Matcha tea. Made in collaboration with Kyoto-based tea grower, Horii Shichimeien, it uses large amounts of Tencha and Gyokuro tea in its recipe. As a result, the gin’s character is extremely unique, bursting with the aromatic, sweet influence of matcha, alongside balanced hints of spice and bitterness.

The Tropical Storm: Masahiro Okinawa Gin

The Masahiro gin is the first to come out of the tropical Japanese island of Okinawa. The distillery’s expertise lies in Awamori, Okinawa’s traditional spirit, making gin a new endeavour for the company.

The botanicals include roselle hibiscus flowers, guava leaves, and Balinese long pepper, but the most interesting addition is goya, the green, bumpy Okinawan bitter melon. The gin is also distilled in pots stills, as opposed to more traditional columns. At 47% ABV, it’s bursting with floral flavors, tropical fruit, and green notes from the bitter melon.

The Mouthful of Forest: Kozue gin

Kozue gin is the first expression to use komayaki, also known as Japanese pine umbrella. Nakano Biochemical, the company behind the brand, has a long history of producing sake, umeshu, and many other liquors. The Kozue, however, is their first venture into craft gin.

Pine, forest, and vegetal notes are strong on both the nose and palate, while the addition of mandarin and lemon peel brings in the subtle, juicy presence of citrus. It’s very smooth and drinkable for a 47% ABV gin.

The Citrus Bomb: Yuzu gin

The Kyoya distillery and brewery was founded back in 1834 in Miyazaki, and has since been primarily producing shochu. Now helmed by Shinichiro Watanabe, the Yuzu gin is built on a potato shochu base, playing to the company’s expertise. Ginger, sansho pepper, and cucumber are used, along with several traditional botanicals, while the emphasis and character of the gin is based around the eponymous yuzu citrus.

The sleek black bottle, wax top, and bright yellow writing shows the traditional distillery shifting towards the modern, constantly evolving spirits market. At 47%, it’s bursting with notes of juicy, sweet citrus, playful spice, and earthy complexity.

The Sake Starter: Wa 10 Year-Old gin

The famous sake-maker Meiri Shurui has taken a different approach to gin production. Instead of focusing on Japanese botanicals, the company has created their Wa Gin with a base made from sake, or rice wine.

Adding further value to the expression, the gin has rested for 10 years before being bottled, making it one of the oldest gins released in Japan so far. Using only seven botanicals allows each one to shine through. On the palate are notes of cinnamon, orange and lemon peel, and juniper, all atop the clean, fresh base of sake. Sold in a gorgeous box, and featuring classic Japanese cherry blossoms on the label, the Wa Gin is as premium a Japanese gin as there is.

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Sometime in the past dozen years, bartenders in Spain stopped asking what you wanted to drink. They didn’t have to; everyone wanted a gin tonic. (The Spanish drop the “and” for a smoother phrase.)

A G&T in a large, bulbous goblet packed with beefy ice cubes continues to be Spain’s reigning cocktail. Even a dive bar in Barcelona or Bilbao might have a dozen different tonics and twice as many gins behind the counter, plus a selection of garnishes so profuse that some wags refer to the final concoctions as “gin salads.” (Purée for a slushy gin gazpacho, then?)

So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Spain is the world’s third largest consumer of gin.

While the cocktail might be an import—the British developed it in India centuries ago—the gin used for it is often local. Among the hundreds of brands available in the country, dozens are distilled in Spain. Rather than adhering to a consistent school such as London dry, Spanish gin exhibits a mixture styles (from dry to the sweeter side), alcohol bases (distilled from grains but also wine), and flavorings (only juniper to dozens of exotic botanicals). Some are craft upstarts riding the wave of gin tonic popularity. But not all.

The oldest and most unique is Xoriguer (sho-ri-gair) from the Balearic Island of Menorca, a tipple so distinctive as to be one of only three gins to receive geographic indication status from the Europe Union, which recognized “Gin de Mahón” back in 1989.

Menorca has particularly strong historical links with Britain, which gained control of the island in 1708 during the War of Spanish Succession and then negotiated to keep it afterwards. In Mahón it had one of the most protected ports in the Mediterranean. The Royal Navy built dockyards and used it as their main Mediterranean base for most of the 18th century. Using alcohol from wine (rather than grain), Menorcans distilled gin to supply the British flotilla, and kept on doing so after it finally sailed away a century later.

The Pons family have been producing the Xoriguer label since the 1940s. Fittingly, the modest factory is located at the end of the city’s long, narrow port. Still made in wood-fired copped stills and cooled with salt water, Xoriguer uses a mix of alcohol from wine and molasses along with a heady infusion of juniper. That’s it: no botanicals. The juniper comes from the Catalan Pyrenees and is dried in the floor above the stills for two to three years before being used.

The gin drink of choice on the island is the pomada. Prepared with Fanta or Kas lemon soda, fresh lemon juice, and a touch of sugar, popped in the freezer, and often served slushy, it is synonymous with summer and village fiestas. The island is tiny—just 25 by 15 miles in size, and home to some 90,000 people—yet consumes some 60 percent of Xoriguer’s production, not to mention vast quantities of bottles imported from elsewhere.

Xoriguer certainly makes a dazzling gin tonic. But if you order one in Menorca and your bartender asks what type of gin you want in it, he or she is probably just being polite.

Jeff Koehler

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A bold, juniper-forward gin. For a sophisticated, minimalist version of the pomada, try a pellofa, with a medallion of lemon and a spritz of soda from a siphon. Labels on the iconic green glass bottles are adorned with the 18-century windmill that gives its name to the brand. (For copyright reasons, it is sold as “Mahón Gin” in the U.S.)

Gin Mare

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Distilled in the small fishing port of Vilanova i la Geltrú, 30 miles south of Barcelona, Gin Mare is herbal, with a zesty finish. Reflecting the company’s name—Mare is Latin for “sea”—it casts a Mediterranean-wide net for botanicals: Italian basil, Greek thyme, Turkish rosemary, and Spanish citruses, plus local arbequina olives.

Alkkemist Gin

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During its triple distillation, Alkkemist’s gin gets infused with a basket of 21 different botanicals, drawing out the citric scents of verbena, spiciness of sage, warmth of cardamom, and fragrance of Muscat grapes. Uniquely, the grain spirit is distilled just 12 times a year—only under the full moon, adding a touch of mystery to its flavors.

Nordés Atlantic Galician Gin

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Nordés gin is made from an Albariño grape-based spirit. Grown along the wild coasts and rías (inlets) of Galicia, the small grapes make crisp, refreshing white wines. In Nordés’ gin, classic juniper flavors are pared back, revealing more fruity, perfumed accepts from a dozen botanicals, including hibiscus, eucalyptus, and lemongrass.

W&H Cubical

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Founded in 1877 and best known for their sherries, Destilerías Williams & Humberts, in Jerez de la Frontera, gained a new audience with a trio of cube-shaped bottles of London dry gin. W&H distills the gin from English grains and infuses it with a basket of botanicals that include coriander, cassia bark, and even a touch of mango.

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Move aside, whiskey. This month, London’s Notting Hill district welcomes The Distillery, a hotel dedicated to the production, consumption, and history of gin. Brought to life by the team behind Portobello Road Gin, it will also be home to the company’s distillery, two bars, a museum, and the already popular gin-making experience The Ginstitute.

Consider it the next step of an interactive distillery tour. As spirits producers look to ways to bring consumers more into the booze-making process, sleeping and eating in one may be the next logical step. Visitors can look in on the 400-liter copper alembic still located on site, and following the design-centric approach of boutique hotels these days, the three guest rooms, each designed by one of the company’s founders, come fitted with handmade record players and a minibar that skips the standard bottles for a focus on local craft spirits.

The hotel’s ground-floor bar will have more than gin (though there will be plenty of limited edition blends). Think experimental spirits like avocado- and olive-oil-infused vodkas, and barrels for aging spirits hanging right over the bar. A second bar takes a Spanish approach “gin tonics” served in the typical balloon-shaped goblets and plenty of Spanish small plates.

Still thirsty? Gin veterans may be interested in The Ginstitute, the famed immersive experience that allows guests to make their own personal blend of gin. There’s also a museum, which will showcase artifacts like the first-ever English cocktail book, and an on-site shop selling gin-soaked memorabilia and, of course, bottles of the stuff.

The Distillery may be the most gin-focused hotel in the world, but it’s far from the only drinking-centric hotel concept. Across the Atlantic in Louisville, Kentucky, which is to bourbon as the city of London is to gin, there’s no shortage of bourbon-themed hotels and B&Bs for thirsty travelers. And in Uruguay, Francis Mallmann’s Bodega Garzon is a hotel and restaurant combo all about open-fire cooking and opening your mind to Uruguayan wine.

The Distillery opens on Friday, December 16th at 186 Portobello Road. You can join the mailing list for a chance to nab one of those three rooms ahead of time.

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