Aged gin

[bacchant036]

opening a bar in london next week and have managed to get my sticky little (actually short and stubby) fingers on some great gin, including a 1930's and 40's bottlings of london dry, one thing i have been trying to get for ages is some 'aged gin'

embury raves about it in his drink, anyone have some good recipes?

not afraid for some road testing - actually kind of looking forward to it but was wondering if someone could give me a head start?

cheers

[eje]

Cool!

No suggestions for aged gin cocktails, as I've never had it and didn't think it existed beyond the allegedly oak aged Extra Dry Seagram's Gin.

What's the name of the place?

Might be in London this fall and in need of libation.

-Erik

[bacchant036]

bar will be called volstead,

and the gins made by kensington, although i've heard recently that another brand is experimenting.......

[Alchemist]

There is a gin called Kensington, that is aged. It is a lovely golden color. I would just make wet martini's with it. It's pretty subtle, so keep it simple.

[Busboy]

Dumb questions: Gin, being a distilled spirit, doesn't age, does it? Is somebody barreling gin? Has the style of gin -- being that it's a neutral spirit flavored with aromatics -- changed since the 30's, so that an old gin would taste different from modern styles?

[Alchemist]

Yes Kensington is aged in oak.

[Bill Poster]

I know its a neutral spirit but would there be any benefit to aging vodka? Just a thought

Edited April 22, 2006 by Bill Poster (log)

[eje]

Well, aside from the Kensington listed above, some Genevers are aged.

I've only had Boomsma Oude Genever, which some maintain isn't a great example.

However, it ends up being quite a different spirit than regular gins. Sort of a lightly flavored young whiskey. I find it fairly pleasant neat.

In any case, as also mentioned above, David Embury loved the stuff. Raved about Booth's House of Lords Gin in "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks".

[slkinsey]

I know its a neutral spirit but would there be any benefit to aging vodka? Just a thought

Once you aged it, it wouldn't be "vodka" in my book. A vodka that was distilled from grain and then aged in wood would thereafter be "grain whiskey," one distilled from grapes and aged in wood would be "brandy" and so on. Not sure there is any precedent for an aged distillate of potatoes, so I don't know what that would be called. I should point out that all these wood-aged formerly-vodkas would be very uninteresting compared to regular aged spirits, because they would have had all the character distilled/rectified out of them when they were made into vodka.

[Alchemist]

I belive that aged vodka would taste like searing unconcentrated, liqiud smoke, that had been stored in a paper cup overnight. (to quote Ralph Wiggum "it tastes like burning").

It would be interesting to have someone age some gin in sherry casks, like Macallen. To add some sweetness, and that beautiul color.

[Bill Poster]

Googled aged vodka; Cracovia do one, as do a few other distilleries. It adds smoothness..apparently

Edited April 23, 2006 by Bill Poster (log)

[slkinsey]

They may call it "vodka" -- but any vodka aged in wood doesn't conform with the sense that we are using the word "vodka." For example, if one makes a "vodka" out of rye and corn, and then ages that vodka in wood, someone would have to explain to me why the result would be "aged vodka" and not "rye whiskey."

Starka "Aged Vodka" which is the most common google result for "aged vodka" isn't actually aged in wood. There are some chemical reactions that happen even while a spirit is sitting in a nonreactive vessel (e.g., stainless steel tank). But that's not generally though of as "aging the spirit." By the way, Starka's color and flavor comes from the addition of things like port, brandy and fruit juices. Hardly something I'd call a "vodka."

[Bill Poster]

More and more interested in this'aged' vodka thing.

Vodkas were not popular in the States until a certain company called Smirnoff introduced Smirnoff Gold, i think in the 30s. This was a vodka aged ten years in oak barrels.

[slkinsey]

Vodka became popular in the United States primarily due to the changes wrought by Prohibition, in particular the scarcity of aged spirits after repeal, and also due to Smirnoff's innovative marketing campaigns. Rudolph Kunett bought the rights to Smirnoff in 1934 and moved the company to the US. I don't think that Smirnoff, or indeed vodka at all, was sold in the US prior to that time in any quantity. Since the 18th Amendment was repealed in 1933, I don't see how they could possibly have had any ten year aged spirits available for sale in 1934. In any event, vodka's popularity didn't begin to grow until after Smirnoff was bought by Heublein in 1939 and they began their "Smirnoff Leaves You Breathless" campaign, which alluded to the fact that, as an odorless spirit, it couldn't be smelled on the breath. Clearly, at this point, we are talking about an American-produced, unaged, colorless-tasteless-odorless product. This work culminated in increased popularity for vodka sometime in the 1950s, and it wasn't until sometime in the 1970s that vodka became the top seller.

I am not aware of any historical Smirnoff product called "Smirnoff Gold" that was aged in oak barrels. Regardless, this was not what Smirnoff was selling in the US that led to the popularity of vodka in the US. That product was more or less the same flagship product they are selling today.

[mbanu]

Well, aside from the Kensington listed above, some Genevers are aged.

I've only had Boomsma Oude Genever, which some maintain isn't a great example.

However, it ends up being quite a different spirit than regular gins.  Sort of a lightly flavored young whiskey.  I find it fairly pleasant neat.

In any case, as also mentioned above, David Embury loved the stuff.  Raved about Booth's House of Lords Gin in "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks".

←

That'd be my suggestion, is treat it like an old-style genever when making drinks.

[Snowy is dead]

They may call it "vodka" -- but any vodka aged in wood doesn't conform with the sense that we are using the word "vodka."  For example, if one makes a "vodka" out of rye and corn, and then ages that vodka in wood, someone would have to explain to me why the result would be "aged vodka" and not "rye whiskey."

It would might not be vodka, anymore than peach flavored arbor mist is wine. But it's all in the marketing. Enough posters saying it is indeed vodka would be enough to convince the general public, IMHO.

Now wouldn't Ciroc be considered an eau de vie? or is there a distinct difference in the process? Honeslty, I don't know enough about the process of making booze to even hazard a guess.

Is there a thread I should look at?

[slkinsey]

Now wouldn't Ciroc be considered an eau de vie? or is there a distinct difference in the process?  Honeslty, I don't know enough about the process of making booze to even hazard a guess.

It all really has to do with how the spirits are distilled and processed. In making a vodka, the spirit is distilled out to something north of 95% abv, and then it is rectified and filtered to remove non-ethyl alcohols and other such things. This has the effect of stripping away virtually all of the characteristic flavor and presence of the primary material. Many people feel that vodkas owe more of their character to the water used to dilute it to bottle proof than to the primary material used to produce the alcohol (it is an open secret that vodka makers add back in things like glycerine and citrus oils, etc. to provide a "distinctive" hint of flavor).

An eau de vie, on the other hand, is distilled to a much lower proof and as such preserves much more of the distinctive characteristics of the primary material.

Good vodka threads may be found here:

• Vodka Suggestions
  
• NYT Vodka Tasting Article
  
• Vodka Infusions at Home: The Thread
  

[Snowy is dead]

Thank you

[bacchant036]

well can confirm the kensingto aged has a great mellowness to it, the aing seems to take the sharp white spirit edge of it woithout effecting the actual taste to much,

have started drinking the stuff as a wet martini (theres not enough vermouth being used in the world these days!) with a orange zest instead of a lemon, great drink, think it may become our volstead martini.

if you can get your hands on a bottle, and raj of specialty drinks does it in the uk, then i would rally reccomend it, just for a change suspect embury was right...............

[Blair P. Houghton]

I know its a neutral spirit but would there be any benefit to aging vodka? Just a thought

Once you aged it, it wouldn't be "vodka" in my book. A vodka that was distilled from grain and then aged in wood would thereafter be "grain whiskey," one distilled from grapes and aged in wood would be "brandy" and so on. Not sure there is any precedent for an aged distillate of potatoes, so I don't know what that would be called. I should point out that all these wood-aged formerly-vodkas would be very uninteresting compared to regular aged spirits, because they would have had all the character distilled/rectified out of them when they were made into vodka.

←

Whisky recipes specify an upper limit on the alcohol content before aging. Vodka is distilled until the alcohol and water are azeotropic (i.e., their proportions are such that the boiling mixture releases water and alcohol vapor in the same proportions as are in the liquid, so it never gets stronger), at about 190 proof; then it's diluted with water.

So aging that would be slightly different from aging whisky. In exactly the way you point out. They'd be very slightly about the spirit, and mostly about the wood.

Balsamic Vodka, perhaps?

[Dangermonkey]

Kensington is aged 2 years ( for the cheap bottle)and is a interesting gin to work with.I know of a company who is experimenting with aging in Bourbon barrels but I am not at liberty to provide details.There are quite a few aged Genevers(Dutch) Jenevers ( Belgium) ranging from 6 months to 20 years old. Aging due to climatic and storage conditions (barrels used and temps) is quitye sedate compared to some spirits.I reviewed one on my website www.spiritsreview.com and I should have something in my adventure series in a week or two about the National Gin Museum in Hasselt Belgium which has about 300 different gins in their gift shop.Yes, tasting a few is included in the admission fee.

As to aged Vodka it is called Starka (old),usually aged in wood with admixtures of port,sherry, apple and pears leaves among other things.

One of the bottles I have is made by Stoli and the vodka is reddish in color - no age statement

[Bill Poster]

Starka has herbs(?)added but is'nt aged-Cracovia do an aged Vodka. To Vodka producers, aging Vodka may not seem so stoopid

[freshherbs]

most of this aging vodka discussion assumes that Oak is the wood of choice. anyone heard of vodka aged in wood other than oak? any ideas of what might work?