The friendly family of these drinks is widespread throughout the world. Someone likes cocktails with their use, and there are connoisseurs of pure product. Gene "Hendricks" (Hendrick's Gin) rightfully takes its rightful place among other "classmates". But it differs, no doubt, by its originality and unusual taste, delicate aroma and nuances of cooking.
Gene Hendricks. History
And it began relatively recently. In 1999, this brand appeared in Scotland. The drink begins to be produced in Girvan by William Grant and Sons. And already in 2000, the Hendrix genie received a gold medal at a competition in San Francisco. Among the awards and achievements are the title "Gene of the Year" in 2003, gold medals in the competition for packaging design and other world-revered awards. In addition to the juniper traditional flavor, the Hendrix gin has the aromas of Bulgarian roses and cucumbers. And this noble drink is bottled in opaque bottles, the so-called pharmacy, with a proprietary design.
The subtleties of production
What is characteristic of this process, as many as two different distillation apparatuses are used in distillation. In the first of them, the Carter head, which has an original design that resembles a basket, does not boil herbs, but "bathe" in steam. This "Carter" - almost the only one that has survived to this day, was built in 1948, and at the end of the last century - carefully restored. The second distillation cube is an apparatus made by the Bennett brothers in London in 1860! He is the oldest of the existing cubes.
Distillation process
At the beginning of the process, the Bennett apparatus is filled with grain alcohol, water and 11 types of various aromatics - plants, including juniper, chamomile, elderberry, coriander, caraway seeds. For a day, this mixture of herbs is soaked in alcohol, then heated, the resulting vapors are discharged into a condenser, where liquid again forms up to 80% strength.
Next, a portion of herbs is loaded into the distillation cube basket (the number of ingredients and the bookmarking procedure are kept secret by the brand owners). The basket is located inside the pipe to drain the fluid. Vapors of alcohol resulting from heating overflow herbs. The whole process requires continuous monitoring and manual regulation. After the "basket" distilled alcohol is even stronger: 83%. So it turns out two different alcohols, which are then mixed in special containers of 450 liters in volume, making blending. And at the very end add the essence of the Bulgarian rose and cucumber puree. This is followed by cold filtration of the drink. In this way, the Hendrix gin is obtained. The strength of the final drink to be bottled is from 41.4 to 44%. The first digit is for Scotland and England.
Small parties are the guarantee of quality!
A characteristic nuance of production is the fact that the Hendrix gin is produced in very small batches of 450 liters. This allows the master of the blend to more accurately exercise control over the production process. And it turns out a high-quality drink of Hendrix gin (a photo of a bottled drink is at the bottom).
More on ingredients
The cocktail of vegetable spices of the drink is very extensive and has 11 ingredients. Coriander seeds give a special, specific flavor. Ginger invigorates and gives strength. Lemon and wormwood were brought from Morocco, juniper berries from Italy. They give a spicy and sweet, at the same time bitter taste, very exotic. Belgian angelica root has healing properties and strengthens the immune system, sets off the bouquet with a musky aroma. The violet root completes the blend, truly intricate and rich. Each of the components in certain doses is introduced during the distillation process (the blending master performs manual control and knows the secrets). And at the very end of the production of the drink, two original additional ingredients are introduced: Bulgarian rose extract (petals) and Belgian fresh cucumber extract.
Water quality
It is believed that in the production of this drink, the quality of the water used is of particular importance. Girvana (Scotland) is located on the southeast coast. In the valley there is soft water with special properties and quality. It ideally connects grain alcohol with a complex palette of aromatic herbal supplements, creating a delicate and unique bouquet of a drink such as Hendrix gin. Reviews about its taste among consumers and cocktail makers in bars are only positive. And they love it mainly for a very rich taste and aromatic bouquet, which slightly distinguishes this drink from a series of traditional high-quality gins.
Gene "Hendrix": cocktails with his participation
- The easiest option: take a tonic (you can "Schweppes") 2 parts, a couple of pieces of ice and 1 part of "Hendrix". And drink until the bottle with the main ingredient runs out. You can add a slice of lime or lemon to the cocktail: these citrus fruits perfectly emphasize the taste. If you do not like it to be too strong, then you can use other proportions (1: 3 or even 1: 4 - in the ratio of gin and tonic). You can also use other drinks to dilute, for example, Sprite.
- But for some connoisseurs of this strong drink, this option may seem unacceptable. By analogy with the fact that many deny the way of using good whiskey with cola, believing that this only spoils the noble composition. For such comrades, the strong and courageous Vesper cocktail, described in Fleming’s novel “Royal Casino”, is very suitable. The drink is named by James Bond after Vesper Lind. True, another genie was present there - Gordons. So, we take 60 mg of gin, 15 mg of vodka and 10 mg of vermouth. We also add a lot of ice - and to the shaker: shake, but do not mix!
- The third option is to mix the appropriate gin with freshly squeezed citrus juice. It turns out to be a weak, but very tasty cocktail (add a lot of ice), perfect for youth parties.
- Another option: mix the Hendrix gin with any beater or fruit and berry liquor. Of course, you need to add more ice and serve the drink in the appropriate glasses, garnishing with slices of lemon or lime.
- The Bronx cocktail is as follows: gin - 20 ml, vermouth Rosso - 10 ml, dry vermouth - 10 ml, orange juice - 20 ml, cook, of course, in a shaker and use ice.
- Cocktail Lady Chatterley is prepared as follows: gin - 30 ml, Curacao - 10 ml, vermouth - 10 ml, orange juice - 10 ml. Serve in a glass on a high leg.
- We prepare apple Martini in the following way: we take 15 ml of gin, 40 ml of freshly squeezed apple juice, 25 ml of dry vermouth , ice. Decorate with apple slices.
- Gin mixed with grapefruit juice and ice is called Grapefruit Splash.
- A punch with the participation of this noble drink is also good. We use the old recipe voiced by Charles Dickens. Such a punch with the addition of cinnamon, madeira, lemon juice, pineapple and honey must be drunk hot.