Welcome again to FTW’s Beverage of the Week sequence. Right here, we principally chronicle and evaluate beers, however fortunately develop that scope to any beverage that pairs properly with sports activities. Sure, even cookie dough whiskey.
Nobody’s going to confuse Hendrick’s latest model extension with its basic gin. The most recent arrival from the corporate’s Cupboard of Curiosities is Grand Cabaret, a spirit Hendrick’s labels as an extravagant “fruity gin.”
That in itself isn’t uncommon; search “fruit gin” and also you’ll get loads of hits. However there’s a sure stuffiness that appears to comply with the bigger ginmakers. You don’t see a lot in the way in which of candy varietals from guys like Beefeater or Bombay or Tanqueray. They’re right here for traditional cocktails and pleased to remain of their lane.
That’s made the Cupboard of Curiosities a satisfying detour. Hendrick’s hit this column a yr in the past with its Flora Adora spinoff, That mix introduced additional botanicals into the combo, however other than some lingering peach didn’t dive all the way in which into fruit flavors.
Grand Cabaret does.
This mix leans closely into stone fruits — something with a pit, actually — with a purpose to throw the clock again to what wealthy people have been ingesting within the 1700s as a result of the water may kill them. The aim is a lighter gin with a stable boozy payload — 43.4 % alcohol by quantity — able to including depth to easy cocktails.
Let’s see if it really works.
with Betty Buzz tonic: B+
The summer season months are upon us. Meaning its prime gin and tonic time, and that’s how I’m going to guage Grand Cabaret. I’ll be mixing it with Betty Buzz tonic water, a premium mixer from Blake Full of life’s model.
The tonic itself is fizzy, candy and a bit of sharp. There’s sufficient citric acid in there to cowl when you don’t have a lime. I do, however I need to give this a attempt by itself first earlier than mitigating any flaws or strengths with extra citrus.
Grand Cabaret smells mild and floral. There isn’t a lot right here to inform you it isn’t a conventional gin, other than possibly a feathery contact on the juniper and extra of a fruity, natural bent.
The primary sip reveals off the stone fruit promised on the label. That is plum and cherry and far sweeter than you’d count on from a typical gin. There’s loads of berry in there as properly, providing you with the sensation you have been consuming a gin-based popsicle. This was already a summer season spirit to start with, however Hendrick’s tremendous charged that by making a fruit-forward booze you may simply flip into a really drinkable two-step cocktail.
There’s a little little bit of a priority with that. The dryness inherent to gin will get washed away by that fructose end. You wind up with one thing a bit sloppy in your lips.
However anybody who desires a normal gin expertise can all the time keep on with the common Hendrick’s (or 100 different varieties. Hendrick’s is nice however my private desire is The Botanist). I can recognize the work the model put in right here and the restraint to maintain this from being a completely fledged fruit gin and as an alternative only one that leans into the berries and herbs that make it distinctive.
with Betty Buzz tonic and a lime: A
Oohhhhhh yeah. That’s the steadiness. The candy sloppiness of the stone fruit on this gin will get cleaned up by the sharp citrus. That fixes nearly each minor drawback I had with the drink and actually takes it to a different degree.
The lime additionally brings out the depth of the fruit within the Grand Cabaret, providing you with that plum and cherry way more clearly. The style lingers lengthy after it clears your lips, not in a weak aftertaste method however as a full-bodied reminder that you just’re ingesting one thing totally different. That cherry is mild and flavorful all through, and whereas it’s clear you’re ingesting gin I can truthfully say I’ve by no means had a gin and tonic like this.
I’m gonna be crushing these all summer season. Take the additional step and slice your self a lime. Scorching rattling.
Would I drink it as an alternative of a Hamm’s?
This can be a move/fail mechanism the place I evaluate no matter I’m ingesting to my baseline low-cost beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the query to reply is: on a typical day, would I drink Hendrick’s Grand Cabaret over a chilly can of Hamm’s?
Completely. Particularly if I’ve a lime accessible.
