Old Tom Gin

[Snowy is dead]

I'm not sure who has it in stock. It actually was only made availiable this week, the container only arriving last week. I know the boys over at Eastern Standard got their hands on some to play with, but I don't know if they carry it yet. Pretty inexpensive, at $24/750 ml. There is a blurb about it over at the drinkboston site.

[gethin]

Jay Hepburn at www.ohgo.sh (and occasional contributor here on e-gullet) posted a really interesting comparison of 4 currently available Old Tom gins back in August and has just added some notes on a fifth.

Two of them (Hayman's and Jensen's are relatively easily available in London at least , two are limited editions from a German company (Haromex) that I'd never heard of and available on the web while the fifth is the Dorchester Hotel's own brand- I'd assumed this was only available in their bar but Jay seems to have got his hands on bottle so possibly they sell retail too.

gethin

[bostonapothecary]

And where in the Boston area can one find these things, pray?

←

for bars the usual suspects will carry the haymens. but as far as liquor stores go, brix with have it as soon as its available from my recent conversation with them... i usually go straight to brix for all my haus alpenz needs...

[organicmatter]

With the news that Hayman's is starting to be distributed in the U.S. I was wondering when distribution might hit Los Angeles or San Francisco (I'm assuming it will take a bit longer to get to less populous locales in California), and I figured that other people in other places might be wondering the same. So feel free to use this as a one-stop-shop for posting info about Hayman's distribution anywhere in the U.S.

But especially L.A. and the Bay Area.

Edited October 2, 2008 by organicmatter (log)

[Sneakeater]

They have it at Astor in NYC.

[Wild Bill Turkey]

Also available online

[eas]

Feel free to PM me with local availability questions for the Hayman's Old Tom Gin.

As a rule of thumb, it's always best to let your local store manager know you want a product, whether it's the the Hayman's Old Tom, the new Bols Genever or other; as not all are clairvoyant or sensitive to the needs of the cocktail enthusiast. Also, if you tell the store's buyer the name of the product's local distributor, which most suppliers list on their websites, it helps expedite the retailer's order process.

[JayHepburn]

Jay Hepburn at www.ohgo.sh  (and occasional contributor  here on e-gullet) posted  a really  interesting comparison of 4 currently available Old Tom gins  back in August  and has just added some notes on a fifth.

Two of them (Hayman's and Jensen's are relatively easily available in London at least , two are limited editions from a German company  (Haromex) that I'd never heard of  and available on the web while  the fifth is the Dorchester Hotel's own brand- I'd assumed this was only available in their bar but Jay seems to have got his hands on  bottle so possibly they sell retail too.

gethin

←

I assumed the same about the Dorchester Old Tom too, and spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Dorchester Bar trying it in various drinks (made excellently by Stefano Cossio) because I didn't think I'd be able to get hold of any. While I was there I learned, however, that they stock it in their gift shop. Though at around £60, I certainly don't use it as often as I do any of the other Old Toms!

[Chris Amirault]

Got some Hayman's from a NY friend (tx Niki) and have been playing around with it. I think it works really well in a Biter Cocktail from the Savoy:

1 1/2 oz gin (Hayman's Old Tom)

3/4 lemon

3/4 green Chartreuse

dash absinthe (Kubler)

What else are people making with theirs?

[Dan Perrigan]

Has anyone else tried Ransom Old Tom Gin? I bought a bottle in Chicago (the gin is from Oregon) and it's very good. You can sip it straight. I haven't tried Hayman's and wonder how they compare. Anyone tried both?

Dan

[KD1191]

Has anyone else tried Ransom Old Tom Gin? I bought a bottle in Chicago (the gin is from Oregon) and it's very good. You can sip it straight. I haven't tried Hayman's and wonder how they compare. Anyone tried both?

Dan

Ransom is a fantastic product. I don't know how I would really compare it to Hayman's. I guess Ransom is bolder and has more layers of flavor, Hayman's is a more traditional Old Tom. My favorite application of Ransom is in an old fashioned, sometimes with ginger syrup...I've found it plays quite nicely with Angostura Orange bitters as well. A Ransom Tom Collins at the request of a bartender friend turned out just fine. The 'Variation on a Theme' from Rogue Cocktails blog is one drink that I've found takes kindly to Ransom as well as Hayman's.

Edited December 10, 2009 by KD1191 (log)

[slkinsey]

I recently picked up a bottle of Ransom Old Tom Gin. Like KD1191, I have a bit of trouble classifying it. It is quite different from Hayman's, being overall richer, maltier, sweeter and more emphatically flavored. I guess I'd say that Ransom is a lot closer to genever than London dry gin, and if I had to pick one spirit with which it shares the closest kinship it would probably be Genevieve -- although Ransom is an altogether smoother product, and doesn't have any of the "hot bite" that Genevieve has.

Given these characteristics, I can see using it in a lot of cocktails where I might use genever or whatever-it-is we want to call Genevieve. But it's hard to think of contexts in which to conceptualize it more as a precursor to dry gin -- which is how I normally think of Old Tom. Perhaps this represents an earlier stage than Hayman's occupies in a hypothetical evolution from genever to dry?

I did have a pretty good Martinez with Ransom, Carpano Antica Formula, Luxardo La Perla Dry and a few dashes of Adam's Boker's replica.

Any Ransom-specifics and discussion would be appreciated. Dave, I understand you were involved in the development of Ransom? Anything you can tell us about it?

[Splificator]

Any Ransom-specifics and discussion would be appreciated. Dave, I understand you were involved in the development of Ransom? Anything you can tell us about it?

Tad Seestedt, the man who makes Ransom, is an old friend of mine from before we found ourselves in the booze business. Fortunately, he's also a hell of a distiller (his eaux de vie are to die for). That skill came in handy with this project, since it is indeed very different from most modern gins.

Outside of genever, almost every modern gin is based on grain neutral spirits, redistilled with botanicals (often in copper pot stills). That makes sense if you're doing a London dry, or even a late 19th century Old-Tom style.

But Old Tom gin is a moving target. At the beginning of the 19th century, when English gin distillers began really focusing on quality (in part due to a naval blockade that cut off the supplies of high-end Dutch gins), there was no such thing as grain neutral spirit. There was rectified spirit, to be sure, which was whiskey redistilled and filtered, but it was still a pot-still spirit and would have displayed artifacts of its origin, so to speak. High-proof continuous distillation didn't come into play until the 1830s, and even then it wasn't universally adopted.

Ransom Old Tom is an attempt to capture this transitional phase. Rather than monkeying with the botanicals, as most modern New-Testament gins do, Tad chose to monkey with the base spirit; to bring back he grain. To do that, he cut the GNS with a large proportion of fermented wort, and then ran it through the still. It's an unusual process, but it works. The result is then barrel-aged, since most Old Tom gins were stored and shipped in barrels, although perhaps not always such active ones as Tad uses.

The result may not be an ideal Martini gin, but it makes an ass-kicking Gin Punch, IMHO.

Hope this helps!

[slkinsey]

What's the gin punch recipe you recommend for Ransom?

Yesterday I was in the mood for something different and made a Twentieth Century using Ransom, (perhaps a "Mid-19th Century?) that was quite nice.

[eje]

After enjoying Sazeracs with Bols Genever and Anchor's Genevieve, I had high hopes for the Ransom Old Tom, as I've enjoyed it in a few drinks now.

However, I, personally, found the Ransom Old Tom to be too botanically intense to be enjoyable in a Sazerac. The strong citrus and juniper made me feel like I was drinking a sweetened spice extract.

As they say, your mileage may vary.

[slkinsey]

I wonder what a Ransom Julep would be like. . .

[davicus]

I find a Ransom / Carpano Antica Negroni to be a thing of wonder. All subsequent Negronis seem flat, boring. But then again, I'm not really one for subtlety.

[eje]

I find a Ransom / Carpano Antica Negroni to be a thing of wonder. All subsequent Negronis seem flat, boring. But then again, I'm not really one for subtlety.

Hm, I'll have to give that a try. I really enjoy the Ransom in a Lone Tree, aka 2 parts gin and one part sweet vermouth. Adding some Campari to the mix seems like it would be a "good thing".

[Vieux Carré]

Haymen's and Ransom are nothing alike. Haymen's is much closer to a contemporary London gin but sweeter and works well in things such as a Tom Collins. Ransom is quite different. I really enjoy making an old fashioned gin cocktail with the Ransom.

[Chris Amirault]

A very, very dear friend brought a bottle of Ransom back from the west coast for me. After a few Improveds, snooped around and found this:

The 'Variation on a Theme' from Rogue Cocktails blog is one drink that I've found takes kindly to Ransom as well as Hayman's.

Fantastic drink -- immediately in the rotation. Thanks KD1191 (and Maks!).

[EvergreenDan]

... Variation on a Theme ... Fantastic drink ...

Oh, an Old Tom Old Fashioned.

I'm going to have to hunt for Ransom, both for this and the Negroni.

Edited October 6, 2010 by EvergreenDan (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Anyone made one of these Fitty-Fitty variations? From the Savoy via Vermiere:

Deep Sea Cocktail

l Dash Absinthe.

1 Dash Orange Bitters.

1/2 French Vermouth.

1/2 Old Tom Gin.

Olive and lemon -- not a typo. If I have the presence of mind to get some NP tonight, I'll give it a try sans olive.

[12BottleBar]

I love both the Hayman's and Ransom. I've spent some time working with the Ransom and came up with the following. If anyone tries it, let me know what you think. The goal was to really highlight the Ransom's profile.

The Red Chief

1.5 oz Ransom Old Tom

0.75 oz Pineapple Juice

0.75 oz Orange Blossom Honey (straight from the squeeze bottle)

1 Dash Fee Aromatic Bitters

Shake and strain.

A good deal of honey will remain in the shaker. It should, the drink will be sweet enough.

I'm thinking of a roasted pineapple garnish, but I haven't yet gotten that far.

[Chris Amirault]

Interesting combination. I wonder if using pineapple syrup (demerara syrup poured over diced pineapple and left overnight) and more bitters would make for a good Old Fashioned variation....

[12BottleBar]

Chris - certainly sounds good enough to try. I like Fee's Aromatic with the Ransom, but I'd love to hear what others prefer.