A big thank you to the Silent Pool Distilling Team for taking the time to answer some questions about Gin.
When was Gin first distilled?
There are many various stories about the origins and creations of gin. Some people believe that the gin can be traced back to the 11th Century, where it was used as an herbal medicine for treatment of stomach and liver problems. However, the first juniper based spirit came from the Netherlands in the 1600s. It was a high proof spirit made from grain, distilled with ingredients including juniper, coriander and citrus. It was often aged and was named Jenever. It was considered to be a health tonic and a moral booster, hence the phrase ‘Dutch Courage’.
What defines Gin as Gin?
Gin is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its predominant flavour from juniper. You can’t call a spirit gin unless the predominant flavour is juniper and it has an ABV of at least 37.5%. While there are other ingredients and botanicals many distilleries like to use, the juniper berry is the cornerstone of any gin.
How does the process of distilling Gin differ from the process of distilling other spirits?
Aquavit is probably the closest sibling you’ll find for Gin. They both start life as effectively a high strength vodka, which can be derived from any number of ‘agricultural sources’. This base spirit is distilled to as neutral as possible (>96%) which provides a blank canvas to which you add botanicals which then define the spirit. The main difference here is that Gin and Aquavit get their defining characteristics from the botanicals that they are re-distilled with. Whereas vodka, whisky, rum etc have their character derived from the base ingredient that they are made from and they’re generally distilled in such a way to retain that character.
What sets Silent Pool Gin apart from other Gins around the world?
Whilst all of our products taste distinctively different from one another, each are united by a shared purpose and vision. Rather than being reliant on one unique ingredient to shine through, all our recipes work like a symphony of flavours. Each and every ingredient serves a purpose and complements the last without dominating the palate.
The balancing of these complex flavours always involves a long and arduous process. Our distillers have experimented with hundreds of different flavour combinations over the years before landing on the perfect recipe. Taste our products side by side and you’ll find they share the same DNA; handcrafted, multi-layered and bursting with complex flavours that evolve as you experience them. There are many ways of making gin, most of them simpler than the unique four stage process we employ, but we passionately believe it’s well worth the extra effort.
For those people who might not have tried Gin before what do they need to know before trying it?
Gins are remarkably different, just because two Gins may be labelled as London Dry, does not mean that they will taste similar. They’ll both be juniper forward, but aside from that, the supporting flavours can be wildly different. They’re also generally not thought of as being made for sipping, but Silent Pool Gin is an exception to this and sips well neat. Look for balance amongst the botanicals to highlight a good quality product.
How many different Gins does Silent Pool Gin produce?
There are three gins in the Silent Pool Gin range (Silent Pool Gin, Silent Pool Rare Citrus Gin and Silent Pool Rose Expression Gin). We also have a range of Small Batch gins we produce with local fruit from leftover crops from farmers. Most recently we’ve produced Green Man Woodland Gin, the first spirit in the world packaged in a cardboard bottle.
How do you best suggest serving Silent Pool Gin?
The Silent Pool Gin signature serve is simple but delicious. Combine 50ml Silent Pool Gin, 150ml Premium Indian Tonic with a handful of large ice cubes in a Copa glass, garnished with a twist of orange peel.
When used in a martini what is the best ratio of Silent Pool to vermouth?
We make our Silent Pool Martinis with 60ml Silent Pool Gin and 25ml Dry Vermouth. We love to garnish it with our Kaffir Lime Silent Pool Mists.