A few days ago I had a conversation with my friend Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh, a expert on cocktails and spirits, and especially Old Tom Gin. He says that Tanqueray Malacca gin is probably as close as you can get to an Old Tom Gin, not the later version from the mid to late 1800's, but the early version from 1800-1850. Prior to the 1800's Old Tom was a pretty rough spirit, but the around 1800 it was developed into a much finer product. According to ted, Tanqueray Malacca's recipe from 1839 is relatively unchanged, except that back then it probably was sweetened a bit and sold as an Old Tom. So if you want to know what a real Old Tom tastes like, or want to make a cocktail from a old recipe that calls for Old Tom, you can use Malacca and sweeten it a bit. If anyone is interested, I have few unopened bottles of Tanqueray Malacca I might consider letting go. Email me at princelyrogue@aol.com
