Hendrick’s Gin is universally recognised and loved, and we daresay it is the gin to get if you can only have one. Naturally, this means that a bottle of Hendrick’s Gin will be welcomed anywhere as a gift, which makes it a compelling option this festive season.
A winning formula
The popularity of Hendrick’s Gin didn’t come about by accident. Instead, this gin’s flavour profile has been carefully crafted, and actually requires two separate copper stills to achieve. The larger between them is a Carter-Head still from 1948 that basically extracts flavours from the botanicals by “steaming” them with alcohol vapours. This process results in lighter, sweeter floral flavours. In contrast, the smaller Bennett still, which dates back to 1860, is responsible for contributing the heavier flavours in Hendrick’s Gin. Botanicals are first steeped for 24 hours in a mixture of spirit and water inside the still before distillation occurs to produce a heavy, oily spirit that’s rich and complex.
A total of 11 botanicals are used to distil the two spirits described above. They are then blended to combine their flavour profiles, and finished with the essences of rose and cucumber. This explains why a Gin and Tonic made with Hendrick’s Gin is best garnished with a slice of cucumber to accentuate the gin’s crisp, refreshing flavour, instead of using a slice of citrus instead. Indeed, while there are myriad options for cocktails that can be made with Hendrick’s Gin, you just can’t go wrong with the good ol’ G&T.
Hendrick’s Gin has one other secret up its sleeve: it’s crafted in small batches of just 500 litres each. This has been the practice since its introduction in 1999, and for good reason: the limited production affords master distiller Lesley Gracie finer control over the quality of every batch of gin.
A bottle of Hendrick’s Gin will be a wonderful addition to any collection of fine spirits. You can purchase it directly from William Grant & Sons’ Lazada flagship store.