Welcome To The Gin Ignite Podcast
Whether you want to party or have a quiet night in gin will ignite
News- Hello and Welcome to Episode 8
- Please support pubs and restaurants around the world
- If you stay home drink gin and support distilleries
- Please drink responsibly
Gin Recommendation
- This weeks gin recommendation is Martin Miller’s gin
- I think this is probably my joint favourite with Pitwheel's Classic Dry. I am sorry I called it Original Dry in the episode !!
- They ship the Icelandic water from Iceland and distill in the UK
- The nose is like any other dry gin in the glass but in the bottle it almost has a faint similarity to Cajun
- The taste is very dry as you would expect but smooth with a sweet finish.
- I would as you can imagine I pair this with a Mediterranean tonic but it would be quite at home with standard or Elderflower tonic.
- I also love it served as a dry martini
- I think it could be part of a cocktail but you would have to be careful not to overpower it.
The Art of Mixology
Vanessa
- Today we are joined by Vanessa
- Vanessa is an ambassador for the Hibbs Lupus trust, fitness and mixologist, studies for an MSc in Psychology and still finds time to walk her dog and listen to the podcast
Hibbs Lupus Trust
- Vanessa was diagnosed in 2006 at the very early age of 15.
- Normally it is in your thirties. Felt very alone.
- The Hibbs Lupus trust headed up by the fantastic John and Viki Hibbs who created the charity in 2011
- The charity aims to bring peoples attention to what they do and how they support Lupus sufferers across all age groups
- Difficult with Covid to help with fundraising efforts
- Find out more https://www.hibbslupustrust.org
Start Of Mixology Journey
- Cart girl on golf course offering drinks and snack.
- Found common request Blood Mary.
- Went from Bloody Mary to Pina Colada to TGI Friday cocktails where you had a sugar hangover and a hangover all at the same time
- Then moved from whisky to gin and everything in between
- Started with a cocktail book and created the perfect classic cocktails
- Then expanded on the rules to create a unique cocktail
How would you describe mixology ?
- Second level in a department store with secret collection of clothing range that you want to get into
- There are people at the front of the second level saying I am not sure you can get and everyone else saying come in this is not an exclusive club.
- Everyone has foundation to do mixology
- Expanding into other spirits or just play with gin
- Going beyond tonic pairings
What qualities do you need ?
- Research the gin. Look at its history, region, the cocktails on the company website and the botanical profile
- Categorise gin
- Spicy
- Citrusy
- Fruity or Crispy
- Piney
- Are there berries
- Floral
- Play off botanicals or partner up
- Understand what is in the alcohol to pair with
How do you get started ?
- Clover club cocktail
- Simple
- Blueprint to play off in to variations e.g. expand into mango
What tools do you need ?
- Bar kits (Asda had good deals)
- Two shaker tins
- Muddler - stick with spikey head
- Conventional Strainer
- Fine Strainer
Should you shake or stir ?
- Dependent on cocktail
- If carbonated component don't shake !!
- May shake non-carbonated components to ensure they infuse and partner together.
- Dependent on the person drinking to decide on whether they wanted shake or stirred
- Everyones different which is the beauty of mixology
What is the process of creating a cocktail ?
- What does a bar sell the most of ?
- Demographics and age range
- Social groups that revolve around specific time of the year
- E.g. LGBTQ+ revolve around pride.
- Can we make rainbow drinks which acknowledge all colours to include everyone in the spectrum ?
- Reputation and how people perceive the restaurant
- Where is the gin distilled. ?
- What is distilled in the gin?
- How does it come across ?
- Description on website.
- What do I smell and what do I taste ?
- Pair it with botanical or something unique e.g. making your own syrup such as apple and cinnamon
- Think about where made and how can it stand out
How do you get inspiration for what to put in a cocktail ?
- Look at distillation process
- If have lemon and orange botanicals then might add a more citrus based ingredient to your cocktail.
- Spiced gins fun opportunity to play with tomato for example to create a distant cousin to the Bloody Mary
- Add coriander and sugar to balance taste
- Sipsmith Chilli and Lime could also be fun
How should you taste gin ?
- Smell it first and think of the botanicals
- Write down the botanicals
- Then put in a shot glass and sip slowly
Collaborations
- Work with brands you like and are familiar with
- Manhattan cocktail reached out to Vanessa and got exposure before their gin goes to market later on this year
- She used the Winterbacher gin from Manhattan cocktails to post various cocktail ideas on Instagram
- Stonewall different in that Vanessa reached out to them because of their LGBTQ+ support
- Looking forward to it because really fun and eccentric and lots of colour including ice cream
LGBTQ+
- Import to showcase that people are different
- Everyone needs to tolerate views that people have whether they understand them or not
- Good that a partnership like Stonewall does this in a fun way
- Vanessa mentioned on her post about Stonewall that she struggle with her sexual orientation.
- It took being in Hillcrest, San Diego and the support of inclusive and accepting community that she now has a platform to encourage acceptance.
- Move towards a world where people are a bit more open and accepting of who individuals are
Gin Community
- Very inclusive and kind
- Some nice comments that were unexpected for Vanessa on various posts she had put out
Contact
- Send IM to Vanessa who is a message away
- Vanessa can be contact using nessejay91
Favourite Gin
- Agnes Arber Rhubarb gin with Martini and Aperol
What does gin mean to you ?
- Huge creative outlet
- Creative process
- Amazing who it has connected Vanessa with
Gin Community Shout Out
- Hope all went well with Worthing Gin on Saturday and Sunday launching their new product.
- I am desperate to help distilleries succeed.
- I have two key messages to small distilleries which kind of reiterate what I have said.
- Have miniatures so your gins can be tasted first.
- Think about how you package everything up. The hand written note I got from The Edge gin really made my customer experience. That is not something bigger distilleries can do.
Instagram Community Shout Out
- Shout out to jamie_and_gin.
- Posts really detailed and give you a real insight to the gin she is tasting.
- The way she presents and what she is talking about is really inspiring.
- For example she had a really lovely post with a picnic basket and another post where she had Pitwheel Raspberry Gin, some summer fruits and tonic.
- Her sense of colour is really great and the lighting is always good.
- If you have not already check her posts out they are really worth it.
Get In Contact
- IM me at @ginignite Instagram or @ginignite on Twitter
- E-Mail me at [email protected]
- If you have ideas IM me or e-mail at [email protected]
- If you want to be on the show then IM me or e-mail me at [email protected]
Final Thought
- The thing that I like about the gin community that I have met so far is that no one judges anyone for what they believe, what they look like or who they choose to be.
- The world would be a better place if everyone took that view.
- Grab your drink, toast those you love, enjoy your weekend and whether your decide to party or stay in I will be with you in spirit !!!
- Seriously though enjoy your weekend and I look forward to joining you for another episode next Friday.
- Cheers
