Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/126443
n TANQUERAY GIN Tom Nichol "I've got the best job in the world: I get to make great gin, and people pay me for it," says Tanqueray Master Distiller Tom Nichol, a passionate response typical for the man who makes the worldfamous spirit. He began his venerable career 38 years ago when he joined the whisky distillery where his father distilled, down the road from his childhood home in Tullibody, Scotland. His respect for the craft is never more apparent than when he talks about the esteemed brand's founder Charles Tanqueray. "The guy was an absolute genius. The irst time I read his recipe journals, I was grinning like a Cheshire cat. I was like a child in a sweets shop." Inspired by Charles Tanqueray's gin genius, Tom produces not only the classic Tanqueray London Dry, but also the citrus-forward Tanqueray Ten. The highly-awarded Tanqueray Ten—one of only two spirits in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition's Hall of Fame— requires an exacting eye for ingredients and a precise nose for consistently excellent liquid. It's distinctly distilled using fresh fruit, rather than the usual dried peels. This year, Nichole artfully re-produced the legendary Tanqueray Malacca, based on a Charles Tanqueray recipe from the 1830s. An affable Scotsman, Tom enjoys talking to bartenders and Tanqueray aicionados around the world about what he does. When asked what people would be surprised to know about him, Tom replies, "I wear my heart on my sleeve, so there isn't much people don't know about me." Just don't ask him what's in the bottle. —Ed. CITADELLE GIN Alexandre Gabriel PHOTO: DANIEL KRIEGER If you're sipping Citadelle, you're tasting the handiwork of Alexandre Gabriel, owner and President of Cognac Ferrand. His first love is cognac, but he proved his prowess by launching this remarkable gin—made from 19 botanicals and distilled in copper pot stills over an open lame—based on a recipe that dates back a century. Realizing happily that he had a fair number of old cognac casks sitting around, he threw some of his remarkable gin into them and unleashed cask-aged Citadelle Gin Reserve, born as a limited-edition release beginning in 2008. Critics adore Gabriel, with The Spirits Business in the U.K. naming him Gin Master for the last two years running. His gin took Double Gold at the IWSC these last two years, as well. may 2013 / the tasting panel / 105