The Bite Magazine Issue 17

a strong citrus element came through, followed by delicate floral notes with a hint of spice which when combined, gave me a feeling that was warm and refreshing at the same time. When I took a sip, I noticed there was something distinctly sweet and exotic about the flavour, but what really struck me was how smooth it was! The indescribable defining flavour that accompanies all London dry gins was somehow there, but yet not entirely. The taste of the gin is strong yet delicate; the subtlety and depth of its flavours causes the gin to be seemingly much less complex than it actually is and it makes you surprisingly intrigued as you continue to drink it. There was so much I liked about this gin yet I couldn’t quite put my finger on it in order to do it justice. Anshuman Vohra’s love for gin began at a very young age. With a father whose favourite drink is a gin and tonic and growing up in India (where the drink was originally invented), he quickly developed a taste for it. As he got older he noticed that the popularity of gin had seriously declined and was dismayed when he discovered that most of his friends preferred vodka to gin in their martinis. He soon realised that the image that gin once had was no longer modern enough, and it needed to be more versatile and mixable to compete with vodka. This was what inspired him to create Bulldog London Dry Gin, with the first stage being to change its image to make it unique again. The second stage was finding the botanicals (medicinal plant-based ingredients of gin) that he needed to achieve this and so he sought to find a perfect mix of 12 exotic botanicals from eight different countries. Juniper, the base ingredient of gin has a strong pine taste with floral and citrus undertones and is therefore less prominent than usual. In the case of Bulldog London Dry Gin, the botanicals are combined in such a way that none of the ingredients stand out more than the other and so the end result is effortlessly drinkable. The strong citrus element comes from lemon and coriander, while the powerful floral undertones derive from a combination of angelica root, lotus leaves, lavender and orris root. Liquorice and dragon eye provide the sweet taste with hints of spice from cassia bark (a relative of cinnamon), while the softness is down to the smooth nutty flavours of almond and white poppy seed. I love floral cocktails so this gin fitted smoothly into my drink preferences. My first thoughts were to mix it with elderflower which is my favourite combination but I then considered trying a rose liqueur or even a lime and lavender liqueur or syrup. The mix of botanicals that Vohra desired has definitely been achieved, though I can imagine this gin working well with sweet or sour fruity flavours as well as warmer spicy mixes. It would enhance many cocktails without overpowering the desired taste and made the smoothest Gin & Tonic I’ve ever experienced. I really appreciated Bulldog London Dry Gin’s suggestions for winter cocktails, something I’ve struggled to come up with for gin, so I fully recommend giving them a try. The Last Word enhances the smooth and sweet elements of Bulldog London Dry Gin with cherry and herbal liqueurs (and lime juice to balance out the citrus), while the Warming Spices Gin & Tonic uses star anise, cloves and cinnamon to exaggerate the existing spice and warmth provided by sweet liquorice root and peppery cassia. Both very good reasons to forget the idea that gin is a summer drink only! Many companies claim to be ‘unique’ or ‘different’ in some way or other and it’s a difficult statement to make because what is different to each individual can vary and depends on our experiences, what we’re used to, our expectations, what factors we’re taking into consideration and so many other things. Bulldog London Dry Gin, the fastest growing premium gin in the world according to WGSN (World Global Style Network), has every right to flaunt this aspect of it because whether you talk about the bold bottle, the rebellious company ethos or the distinctive gin itself there’s something a little bit different about every aspect. If you’ve never tried gin before or you’re looking for a bit of variety to spice up your existing collection, or even if you don’t normally like gin, I’d recommend giving this rising star in the gin world a go. www.bulldoggin.com bite drinks BULLDOG LONDON DRY GIN