New Amsterdam Gin: For People Who Don't Like Gin

Gin is the bastard step-child of the spirits world. It is the definition of love-it-or-hate-it. There is no in between.

The deal breaker for most haters is the essence of gin, the juniper berry, which gives the liquor its distinctive bitter, resiny bite. For many, the taste is akin to turpentine. I kinda like turpentine, apparently, though I have never tasted it.

For years I thought that gin was distilled from juniper berries, but the juniper is merely a flavoring, added to neutral spirits during a second distillation in better gins, or simply added afterwards in the case of compound gin. Other botanicals are typically added as well, including anise, orange peel, saffron, nutmeg, and coriander. Like many flavored liquors, its origins are in pharmacology more than mixology. Benedictine, Chartreuse, and absinthe are other examples of alcoholic concoctions infused with herbs and spices that were developed for medicinal purposes.

On a warm, breezy afternoon, a gin and tonic can have a definite medicinal effect on me, so in the hazy, pollen-yellow of spring I begin to crave gin. I generally don't like to skimp on gin or tequila, two liquors that have strong flavors that are not to be trifled with. For gin, I generally stick with Tanqueray, although it is mostly out of habit. It was one of the first premium gins I tried, and most of the others seem too dry and refined in comparison. Tanqueray lets you know it is there without stinging your taste buds and leaving them numb.

But damn, that shit is expensive, so while parusing the isles at the liquor store, I spotted New Amsterdam, a fairly recent entry that seems to have invested heavily in marketing through billboards, print ads, and cool bottles. That is usually a bad sign, but the reasonable price caught my attention. When all the marketing boils down to getting you to buy a $30 fifth of gin because you think it must be the shit cuz of its cool ads, that's when you've been had, my friend. But New Amsterdam was about $13 for a 750 ml bottle, so I thought I'd give it a try.

New Amsterdam touts it's smoothness ("Smooth enough to drink straight"), which is the result of a light hand with the juniper. It's smooth I guess, but in most traditional gin drinks, it comes up short, exhibiting none of the complexities of a good gin. I tried it first on the rocks with a generous squeeze of lime and it drank pretty well. Citrus is the main flavor, so it complements the lime, adding some floral aroma and vague herbal notes. With unsweetened grapefruit, however, it was unduly harsh and bitter, with the solventy notes of the alcohol clashing with the bite of citrus. Medicinal indeed. A shot of simple syrup may have helped here.

To see how it would hold up in my standard gin and tonic, I knocked back three of 'em made with New Amsterdam, and while they were refreshing enough, the dry, resiny finish was missing, making it a bit unsatisfying. Perhaps its best use is in the Singapore Sling, a drink I have been experimenting with because of its tiki pedigree. This is a girly looking drink because the grenadine turns it pink, but when made right, it is, to my mind, a beautifully balanced cocktail, especially if you use the Benedictine. Since gin is mixed with rum in a few other tiki concoctions, New Amsterdam might be a good one to have in your tiki bar or at your next luau, where you might run into resistance to a gin drink with a juniper berry profile that rides upfront.

Save the good stuff for your martinis, though.

Singapore Sling from the Waponi Woo Room (my house tiki bar)

3 oz New Amasterdam gin
3 oz pineapple juice
1 oz Cherry Heering (or other cherry liqueur/brandy)
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz Benedictine (optional)
juice of 1 lemon
dash of grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a collins glass filled with ice. Garnish with fresh pineapple and a marachino cherry.