Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/101724
AMERICAN GINS PREMIUM GINS Uncle Val's Gin Beefeater 24 Californian August Sebastiani released Masterson's Rye to address a shortage in that category. Now joining this all-American whiskey brand is Uncle Val's Botanical Gin, a tribute to Sebastiani's favorite uncle, Valerio Cecchetti, a retired doctor who lives in Lucca, Italy. Cecchetti spends most of his time these days gardening, and both his profession and his garden provided the inspiration for the brand. "My uncle Val is a fantastic cook and he grows the botanicals that inspired the unique lavor proile for our gin," says Sebastiani. "Uncle Val's has a contemporary lavor proile that combines lemon, sage, lavender and cucumber as dominant elements, with juniper forming a spicy note on the back of the palate," says Sebastiani. Even at 90 proof, Uncle Val's can be sipped neat thanks to its softer, slightly sweeter inish. —Deborah Parker Wong 35 Maple Street Beefeater has taken its iconic London dry gin and re-envisioned it with the help of Master Distiller Desmond Payne. Beefeater 24 starts off with Beefeater's traditional range of botanicals and then adds Chinese green tea, Japanese sencha tea and grapefruit peel to the mix. These added botanicals give Beefeater 24 a new level of dimensionality that many major craft cocktail bars are using to create a new range of gin cocktails. Beefeater 24's range is best shown off in The Statesman, a drink developed by Eric Castro, owner of Polite Provisions in San Diego. It mixes Beefeater 24 with Rothman & Winter Pear, Green Chartreuse and Regan's Bitters. "The Statesman was a cocktail I came up with when I was really trying to recreate the savory feeling you get from using herbs in a sour, except within the context of a stirred drink," says Castro. It's a complex but balanced herbal drink that could easily be considered a modern classic. Pernod Ricard USA Bluecoat American Dry Gin Launched in 2006, Bluecoat American Dry Gin was one of irst craft gins on the market, helping establish the American gin sub-category. "Our Master Distiller, Robert John Cassell, wanted to add an American twist to the traditional London dry style and make Bluecoat have a wider appeal," explains Andrew Auwerda, President of Philadelphia Distilling. To do this, Bluecoat looked to the citrus notes typically found in gin and developed a maceration and distilling process to enhance them. "Our distillation and production process is quite specialized. We start with a one of kind pot still designed to make Bluecoat Gin," says Auwerda. "We slowly heat the pot still and we have a long distillation, both of which contribute to an incredible smooth and delicate, nuanced gin." Bluecoat not only features orange along with the soft and sweet juniper notes, but also a fresh lime peel note which helps make Bluecoat really sing in classic citrus-focused cocktails like the Bees Knees and Aviation. Philadelphia Distilling 96 / the tasting panel / january 2013