Tales of the Cocktail - Day 3: Gin is BACK!

Let me just put it out there: gin is my favored spirit and in all of it's forms it is a wonder to the cocktail world. The fantastic news from yesterday at Tales of the Cocktail is that "Gin is back."

I attended two gin seminars yesterday, both about gin and both got quite heated in the discussions. At 21st Century Gin the debate focused on the classification of the "new" gins, those that are breaking the mold of our traditional ideas of what gin is and whether or not gins like Aviation, Hendrick's and G'Vine (just to name a few) can technically be called gin. The debate was interesting with all sides making valid points. From Ryan Magarian of Aviation defending his coined classification “new western dry gins” to Simon Difford (not on the panel) and Angus Winchester (Tanqueray) throwing out phrases like “bathtub vodka” and that a certain gin in a Gin & Tonic was like the bartender “didn’t wash the glass out.” Despite all of the strong words, I think the most poignant statement came from a member of the audience who said, “If I care, I call.” Sound advice for all of us.

The other gin seminar of the day was far calmer, although there was a notable conversation about Rose’s lime and lime cordials in the Gimlet. This was at the Cocktails that Made Gin Famous discussion in which we were taken through the history of gin styles and cocktails that used each. It was a fascinating conversation filled with history and I promise to have much more on this one soon.

On more of a personal note, I have found through the Tales of the Cocktail experience that we should give far more credit to the “little guys” in the industry than the giants of the business. Notably, I refer to a lunch we had with Melkon and Litty Khosrovian of Modern Spirits and Tru Organic yesterday. To sit down and speak with this intelligent husband and wife team was refreshing. They are deeply passionate about all of their work and their eco-friendly stance and I think it is reflected in their products. For them it is all about the ideal flavor, the way liquor interacts with foods and keeping a respect for the natural world.

To top the day off the On the Fly Competition was held at the W New Orleans Hotel. I’m going to expand on the event later but for now let’s just say it was a melee and the winner was Giuseppe Gonzales from New York City.