I knew I’d fallen irrevocably into the spirit world, and by that I mean HARD LIQUOR type spirits and not the kind who haunted a person or place, when I started loving Gin. Gin isn’t for the faint of heart. And many will tell you they hate the stuff. I was was on of those not too long ago.
But then it all changed.
I found Hendrick’s gin. And all its iterations. And while the juniper-forward gins made famous by the London Dry style left a lot to be desired for a young gin drinker like me, the floral-forward Hendrick’s was right up my alley. It was everything I’d been missing in gin. A little cucumber, a little rose, and juniper took a back seat. I mean, that pine flavor was still there, letting everyone and their brother know that this spirit was gin, but it was tempered and softened. And the limited edition release known as Midsummer’s Eve edition was all that and two bags of chips. I LOVED it. And I am so sad it is no more.
I like Hendricks for my French Gimlets. I tried it with Plymouth gin, which I normally favor for anything with sage in it, and I thought it would play well with the Elderflower liqueur, and it did. But I think it played too well. The French Gimlet with Plymouth gin was too soft. If you know what I mean. And then I tried it with a French gin, Citadelle, and I knew I had a winner, winner chicken dinner.
And that’s when I knew.
I’d been able to make a cocktail with various gins I had in my repertoire and some I didn’t and found the one I liked the best in the recipe.
I’d become a gin lover.
For a delicious French Gimlet shake in a shaker:
- 2 oz gin
- 1.5 oz elderflower liqueur
- .5 oz lime juice
Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.
