Gin and other Flavored Spirits Flashcards
(166 cards)
1
Q
What is gin?
A
A neutral or highly rectified spirit flavored with juniper berries as well as a range of other herbs, spices, roots, flowers, seeds and/or leaves.
2
Q
What are classic gin flavorings?
A
Juniper
Citrus Peel
Coriander
Angelica Root
Orris Root
3
Q
What aromas are associated with Angelica Root in gin?
A
Musky, earthy and woody aromas.
4
Q
What does Citrus peel and coriander add to gin?
A
An aromatic lift.
5
Q
What aromas does Orris root contribute to gin?
A
Like Angelica root, earth/woody aromas. Also a distinct violet aroma.
6
Q
What is a Cubeb berry (or Cubeb Pepper)
A
Unripened fruit of the Piper Cubeba plant from Indonesia. Looks like a black peppercorn with a tail. Sometimes used in gin, it adds a peppery, spicy note.
7
Q
What type of stills are used for gin production?
A
Pot or hybrid stills.
8
Q
Why are gin stills usually made of copper?
A
Because that is what most are made of. It is not needed to remove sulfur since it starts with a base spirit.
9
Q
Do gin distillers typically recycle their heads and tails?
A
No, they are usually sold to other distilleries for the ethanol.
10
Q
Do gins use the one shot or multi shot redistillation technique?
A
Both, neither is considered better than the others.
11
Q
Are botanicals distilled together at the same time or individually in gin production?
A
Most are distilled together. There are a small number of distillers distilling each individually to blend later.
12
Q
Is chill filtration common in gin production?
A
No, it is not used often.
13
Q
How do gin producers prevent louching from citrus oils?
A
Still management techniques. They distil slowly to ensure that there is a greater degree of separation among the fractions to keep the oils at a sufficiently low level so they do not louche.
14
Q
Is Old Tom always sweetened?
A
No, an example is Jensen’s that uses licorice that has a naturally sweet taste.
15
Q
What is a Juniper-flavored spirit drink?
A
A category in the EU for juniper spirits with an abv of 30% or more. Must have a discernible juniper character. Must be made using a neutral spirit or a grain spirit that is distilled to less than 96% abv.
16
Q
Is gin aged in oak?
A
There are a very small number of gins aged in oak, almost always old oak for a short period of time.
17
Q
Is a neutral spirit required for producing gin?
A
In the EU, yes. In the US, can be highly rectified.
18
Q
What is compounding in Gin production?
A
A term used in the gin industry to refer to adding other flavorings. It does not involve heating the spirit and is sometimes called cold compounding.
19
Q
What is Old Tom Gin?
A
The predominant style of gin in the mid 1800s. Slightly sweet, seeing a resurgence for use in craft cocktails.
20
Q
What is Plymouth Gin?
A
A gin produced in Plymouth, England that is distinctive due to its full body, fruity aromas. Very aromatic - an example is Black Friars.
21
Q
Is Plymouth Gin a GI?
A
No, it was, but now it has been trademarked by Pernod Ricard.
22
Q
What are the two main styles of gin?
A
Classic juniper forward gins.
Contemporary gins.
23
Q
How is Plymouth Gin distilled?
A
A grain spirit is “rectified” by redistilling in pot stills with botanicals.
24
Q
Describe London Dry Gin.
A
A category for gin in the EU. Has less than 1 gram of sugar per liter, no added flavoring, clean, juniper berry flavor, light, dry, and crisp.
25
What is a compound gin?
Gin made by mixing neutral spirits with natural extracts/flavoring.
26
What type of base spirit is used for most flavored spirits?
Neutral spirits.
27
What are some examples of flavored spirits that use a more characterful spirit?
Genever (Unaged grain spirit)
Grand Marnier (Cognac)
Drambuie (Scotch whisky).
28
What is maceration?
Similar to using a teabag, botanicals are placed in a perforated container or bag and immersed in a spirit.
29
What is a tincture?
The product of maceration.
30
What is percolation?
A variation of maceration, where the botanicals are held in a perforated container and spirit is drips on them.
31
What is cold distillation of gin?
The use of lowering air pressure to lower the boiling point. Can be macerated with no heat, makes for a more intense/fresh flavor.
32
What is redistillation of gin?
A mash is distilled, and then cut with water. It is distilled again with added botanicals. It may steep with the botanicals prior to redistillation.
33
What is a distilled gin in the US?
A sub-category of gin in the US produced by original distillation or redistillation. No other flavorings may be used.
34
What is distilled gin in the EU?
Made by redistilling a neutral spirit with Juniper berries. Other botanicals and flavorings may be added to the distillate after redsitillation. Must taste predominately of juniper and be bottled at 37.5% abv or above.
35
What is original distillation of gin also known as?
Direct Distillation
36
What is original distillation?
Fermented mash is distilled with juniper berries and other botanicals in a "gin head". Vapors pass through the gin head, flavoring the distillate.
37
What is cold compounding in gin production?
Crushed botanicals are added to a base of neutral spirits and left to soak for a week or more, sometimes in mesh bags
38
What is the essential oils method of compound distillation of gin?
Essential oils are added to a neutral spirit, blended, and left to rest for a week.
39
What is the second most commonly used botanical in gin?
Coriander
40
What is the minimum ABV for flavored gin?
30% ABV in the US
Not a special category in the EU.
41
What is the dominant flavor of gin?
Juniper berry
42
What product is used for the neutral spirit base for gin?
Can be any neutral spirit, but a mash of cereal grain is most common.
43
Who was Fanciscus Sylvius?
A Dutch physician often credited with the invention of gin.
44
What are some anise flavored plants?
Star Anise
Green Anise
Fennel
Licorice Root
45
What is anethole?
A flavor compound that has a licorice-like aroma and flavor.
46
Where may Genever be produced under the GI standards?
Netherlands
Belgium
2 Departments in France (Nord and Pas-de-Calais)
Some areas in Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony
47
Where does the name Genever come from?
The French baie de genièvre - juniper berry.
48
What are the two most common sub categories of Genever?
Oude (old) and Jonge (Young)
49
What is the minimum bottling strength for Genever?
35% ABV
50
What is required for labeling if Oude Jenever is aged?
If ageing is mentioned on the label, it must be for a minimum of one year in barrels of less than 700 L (185 gallons).
51
What is Moutwijn?
An unaged characterful grain-based spirit used for making Genever. Translates to malt wine.
52
Is Genever made exclusively from Moutvijn?
No, it more commonly also contains neutral spirit.
53
How is Moutwijn made?
A mash of corn, malted barley and rye is fermented and then distilled at least three times in a pot still to a strength of between 46-48% ABV.
54
What type of neutral spirit is used in Genever production?
Typically grain, but some inexpensive brands may use other raw materials.
55
What is Graanjenever?
A Genever where all of the raw materials used for the base spirit are from grains.
56
How are Genevers flavored?
Redistillation
57
What are the differences between Oude and Jonge Genever?
It describes the style of the genever, not the aging requirements. Oude must contain a minimum 15% malt spirit and is straw colored and relatively sweet. Jonge is drier and lighter in body, and may not contain more than 15% malt spirit.
58
Can Oude Genever be unaged?
Yes.
59
What is a main difference between gin and genever?
Juniper is not traditionally the dominant flavor/aroma of genever, and fewer botancials are used. Also has slightly lower ABA requirements. Genever has an established tradition of oak aging unlike gin.
60
What is the most popular style of Genever in the Netherlands and Belgium?
Jonge - makes up about 98% of the Dutch Genever market.
61
Which style of Genever is most frequently exported?
Oude Genever.
62
Is Genever sweetened?
Genevers are commonly sweetened before bottling.
63
Is caramel coloring allowed in Genever production?
Yes, but only in the production of Oude Jenever.
64
What is the maximum amount of sugar allowed in Genever?
Jonge - 10 g/L
Oude - 20 g/L
65
Describe Norwegian Akvavit.
It is a spirit flavored with either dill or caraway (as the dominant flavor), many other botanicals are allowed to be used as well. Requires again of at least six months in wooden casks before bottling, or 12 months if the barrel is larger than 1000 L (264 gallons) Has GI status.
66
Is maceration used in the production of Akvavit?
No, it can extract overly bitter tastes from caraway.
67
Besides caraway and dill, what are some other botanicals used in the making of Akvavit?
Fennel
Coriander
Aniseed
Star Anise
Grains of paradise.
68
Is caramel color used in the making of Aquavit?
Yes.
69
What is Arcus?
An Aquavit producer.
70
What is Taffel?
An unaged Akvavit.
71
Describe Svensk Akvavit.
It is a spirit made with a neutral base spirit derived from wheat, rye, barley, oats or potatoes grown in Sweden. Caraway is typically dominant, and fennel is required. Dill, and cumin are often present as well. Has GI status.
72
Which countries have GI status for their Akvavit?
Sweden and Norway.
73
What are the additional requirements for Norwegian Aquavit?
It must be made from Norwegian potatoes and spend at least 6 months aging in barrels.
74
What is Linje Aquavit?
A Norwegian Aquavit. Aged on a boat that travels to Australia and back again. Made by Arcus.
75
How is Linie Aquavit produced?
It is double distilled from a base of potatoes. The first is column still, the second is pot still with the flavoring botanicals.
76
Is Linie Aquavit aged prior to being sent out to sea?
Yes, for 12 months in Oloroso Sherry casks.
77
When was Linie Aquavit first produced?
1805, by accident.
78
What are the requirements to be Aquavit in the EU?
Made from a neutral spirit flavored with caraway/dill seeds.
Flavor must be "largely attributable to caraway and/or dill.
Minimum bottling strength of 37.5% ABV
Bitter tastes must not obviously dominate.
79
How do the US requirements for Aquavit differ from the EU?
The US requires only the use of Caraway, while the EU requires either Caraway or dill.
80
What is Akvavit?
A caraway flavored spirit from Scandinavia. Also includes others spices, herb, or fruit oil, often dill.
81
What is Ouzo?
An anise flavored spirit from Greece.
82
What is Pastis?
An anise based spirit containing anise, fennel, licorice root, and 48 other botanicals
83
What is required to qualify as a Pastis in the EU?
It must be made using licorice root, can be sweetened up to 100 g/L and must be bottled at 40% abv. Anethole levels must be between 1.5 and 2 g/L.
84
What is Pastis de Marseille?
A Pastis that has anethole levels between 1.9 and 2.1 g/L and a minimum bottling strength of 45% abv.
85
What brand dominates the Pastis category?
Ricard.
86
How is absinthe made?
A base spirit is infused with botanicals (anise, fennel, wormwood, others). Macerated, and then redistilled.
87
At what ABV is Absinthe typically bottled?
Between 55-72% ABV
88
When was Absinthe banned in the US?
In 1912.
89
How is Absinthe typically used in cocktails?
In small amounts, much like bitters.
90
By how much is Absinthe typically diluted?
One part Absinthe to five parts water.
91
When was Absinthe banned in Switzerland and France?
Switzerland in 1910, France in 1915.
92
What is "la fée verte"?
A nickname for green absinthe - French for the green fairy.
93
What is thujone?
A chemical compound found in trace amounts in wormwood.
94
What are the maximum thujone levels allowed in Absinthe?
10 ppm in the USA
35 ppm in the EU
95
What is Artemisia Absinthium?
Wormwood
96
What is the only country with a legal definition for Absinthe?
Switzerland
97
What aroma and flavor does wormwood give Absinthe?
A distinctly floral aroma and bitter taste.
98
How is traditional French absinthe made?
Using a two stage process, where the botanicals are placed in a pot still with diluted neutral spirit. In the second stage, they are macerated in the flavored spirit produced by redistillation.
99
What botanicals are commonly used in the second stage of French Absinthe production?
Petite Wormwood, Hyssop, and/or Melissa.
100
What is Scheele's Green?
A popular but poisonous dye used to color some fake absinthes in the 1800s.
101
What is Absinthe?
A spirit produced using anise, sweet fennel, and wormwood.
102
What is added to a base spirit to make Raki?
The base spirit is redistilled with aniseed.
103
What type of still is used to produce Raki?
An Alembic Still
104
What is Suma?
The raisin/grape base spirit used for making Raki. It is not a neutral spirit because it is distilled to a maximum of 94.5% abv.
105
What is the most high quality Raki made from today?
Grapes - Primarily Sultana and Razaki varieties.
106
What is Raki?
An Anise flavored spirit from Turkey.
107
What are some spirits associated with louching?
Pastis, Pernod, Absinthe, Ouzo, Raki, and Sambuca.
108
What is louching?
When a spirit is diluted with water and the spirit appears cloudy.
109
What causes louching?
Botanical oils (anethole) present in the spirit are readily dissolved in high-proof alcohol but not so easily combined with water. When water is added, the oils fall out of emulsion and forms a suspension of microscopic oil droplets in the water..
110
What is Hendrick's Gin?
A Scottish gin flavored with cucumber and rose essences, developed in the 1990s.
111
What are some ways pre-prepared flavorings can be made?
Distilled botanicals
Chemical isolated and used as flavoring
Flavoring created entirely in a lab.
112
What is an example of a chemical that has been isolated and can be used as a flavoring?
Iso-amyl acetate - flavor of bananas. However, since it is only one using it does not truly reproduce the aroma of bananas.
113
What are the only techniques that can extract color and bitterness from a botanical?
Maceration and Percolation
114
Why is it not possible to extract color or bitterness during redistillation?
The boiling points of the individual chemicals that cause color and bitterness are too high.
115
Are characterful spirits used for redistillation?
Not usually, it would make significant changes to the aromas of the original spirit.
116
What is One-Shot Redistillation?
The botanicals are measured and redistilled with the diluted spirit. The flavored spirit is diluted with and bottled at around 40% abv.
117
What is a Multi-Shot Redistillation?
The botanicals are redistilled with a neutral spirit, but the distiller uses a much greater quantity of botanicals. The result is a highly concentrated spirit. Therefore, it must be diluted with both water and a neutral spirit to get the right abv and flavor combination.
118
What is the benefit of multi-shot redistillation?
It is much more time and space efficient. A greater number of bottles can be produced from one distillation batch.
119
What are the three ways a distiller can manipulate temperature, pressure and the interaction between a spirit and botanicals in redistillation?
Steep and boil
Vapor infusion
Vacuum Stills
120
What is the steep and boil method in redistillation?
Botanicals are place in a diluted neutral spirit to infuse. After the distiller feels they have infused long enough, the liquid is boiled. This is the most common technique.
121
What is the Vapor infusion method in redistillation?
Botanicals are suspended in a specially designed vapor infusion box, typically on the lyne arm. Vapor passes through the botanicals. There is less contact between the spirit and botanicals.
122
What is the vacuum still method in redistillation?
A partial vacuum is created in a vacuum still, which reduces pressure and lowers the boiling point of a liquid. Typically, botanicals are placed in the pot with the spirit.
123
When is the vacuum still method of redistillation usde?
For certain ingredients like cucumber and rose, whose aroma and flavor molecules are destroyed at higher temperatures.
124
What is an advantage of a slower flow from the condenser during redistillation?
The distiller can more precisely separate flavors.
125
When was the gin craze in London?
1720-1751
126
What is Vilnius Gin?
A Lithuanian gin flavored with, in addition to juniper, coriander seed, dill seed, and orange peel. Bottled at 45% ABV. Similar in style to London Dry.
127
What is Destilerias Xoriguer?
The sole producer of Gin de Mahon.
128
What are some common gin cocktails?
Dry Martini
Gin and Tonic
Tom Collins
Pink Lady
Singapore Sling
129
What is Beefeater?
A traditional London dry gin.
130
Who owns Beefeater Gin?
Pernod Ricard.
131
What is Booth's?
The oldest major gin brand. Formerly one of the largest gin producers in England, now distilled only in the US.
132
Who currently owns Booth's Gin?
Diageo.
133
What was the Cow Cross Distillery?
The Booth Gin distillery established in 1772 and located in Clerkenwell, England. It was badly damaged in WWII, rebuilt and renamed the Red Lion Distillery, but demolished in the 1990s.
134
What is Pink Gin?
Gin and Bitters, a popular officers drink in the British navy. Originally almost always Plymouth Gin and Angostura bitters. Popular in Britain and North America from WWI through the 1960s.
135
What is Britain's oldest continually operating gin distillery?
Black Friars Distillery.
136
Who currently owns the Black Friars Distillery?
Pernod-Ricard.
137
What are some differences between London Dry Gin and Plymouth Gin?
Plymouth Gin is a bit sweeter (orange and lemony zing) and a bit more earthy (from angelica and orris).
138
What are some anise flavored spirits?
Rakii
Arak
Absinthe
Pernod
Pastis
Herbsaint
Ouzo
139
What are some juniper flavored spirits other than gin?
Steinhäger
Genever
Wacholder
140
What is Brennerei Everbusch
One of the oldest operating Wacholder distilleries located in Hagen, Germany.
141
What is Wacholder?
A classic German juniper flavored spirit. Mainly found in North Rhine - Westphalia.
142
What is H.W. Schichte?
The oldest producer of Steinhäger in Germany.
143
What is Steinhäger?
A German juniper flavored spirit over 500 years old. A triple distilled, mellow, grain spirit. It's packaged in bottles that resemble traditional stone crocks.
144
What is the minimum ABV for juniper flavored spirits (other than gin) in the EU?
30% ABV
145
What is Pacharán?
A flavored spirit produced in northern Spain using sloe berries. May be dry or slightly sweet.
146
What is used to produce Pacharán
Sloe berries, coffee beans, and vanilla, soaked in anise flavored spirits.
147
At what ABV is Pacharán bottled?
25-30%
148
What are three areas of Greece outside of Lesvos with GI designations for Ouzo?
Kalamata
Thrace
Macedonia
149
What Greek island is a traditional center of Ouzo production?
Lesvos
150
Where is Ouzo as a protected product produced?
Cyprus
Greece
151
Who were J. Marion Legendre and Reginald Parker?
The creators of Herbsaint.
152
What is Herbsaint?
An American anise liqueur created in New Orleans
153
What is Pernod Ricard?
The company formed after a merger of Pernod and Pastis.
154
What is Pernod?
An anise spirit similar to absinthe, but without the wormwood and lower in alcohol. Created when Maison Pernod Fils Distillery in Pontarlier reopened in 1928.
155
What is Absinthe de Pontarlier?
An absinthe produced in France (in the Jura Mountains) with GI status. Must use locally grown wormwood. Required to be bottled at a minimum 45% ABV.
156
What was Maison Pernod Fils?
An absinthe distillery in Pontarlier France, the second opened by Major Henri Dubied and Henry-Louis Pernod.
157
Who was Major Henri Dubied?
Along with Henry-Louis Pernod, acquired the formula for absinthe and opened the first absinthe distillery in Couvet, Switzerland
158
Who were the Henriod sisters?
According to one legend, the first producers of Absinthe.
159
Who was Dr. Piere Ordinarie?
A French doctor living in Switzerland who, according to one legend, may have invented Absinthe.
160
Where was Absinthe believed to have been first produced?
Neuchatel, Switzerland.
161
What is Arak?
An anise-flavored spirit produced in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.
162
What is Lion's Milk?
Another name for Raki.
163
What is a kopstoot?
The name for a chilled shot of Jonge genever consumed with a small beer on the side. Literal translation is headbutt.
164
Who was Tom Nichol?
Master distiller at Tanqueray gin from 2006 - 2015. Important in the 21st century revival of gin.
165
Where and when was Tanqueray Gordon & Co. founded?
1898 in the UK by a merger of Gordon's Dry Gin and Tanqueray.
166
Who currently owns Tanqueray and Gordon gins?
Diageo.
