It’s a hot summer’s day in Bombay and you are enjoying   soaking-up the sun in your patio at the back of the house. You are feeling thirsty and in need of a refreshing drink. What do you choose? Perhaps a Pimms, a Martini, a Gin and Lemon,a Gin with a slash of lime Juice, or a long cool Gin and Tonic! You go to your drinks cabinet and dig out your bottle of Beefeater Gin : the gin with the distinctive and colourful logo from London Town.

There are, of course, a lot of fine gins from England. There is Bombay Sapphire renowned for its smoothness, complexity and sheer class and the historic Plymouth Gin with its subtle hint of citrus, lemon, coriander and juniper. These are both premium gins perhaps best reserved for that very special occasion. Then there are widely available options such as Booth’s and Gordon’s which are stocked in the local pub, Dutch gins which may not be your ‘cup of tea’, so perhaps you open up a bottle of Beefeater Gin.

Beefeater gin was founded in I820 in London by one James Burroughs. He was a young pharmacist with a distinct fondness for gin.He reckoned he would be able to create a blend of botanicals and grains to produce a distinctively bold, aromatic gin. He soon set-up a distillery on the banks of the Thames in Chelsea and looked around for a name. He chose Beefeater which he thought was a great symbol for London, after all Beefeater is a London distilled dry gin. Today the distillery is housed in Kennington in London.

Beefeater gin contains juniper berries,coriander,angelica,citrus peel and other ingredients which remain a secret.Its alcohol by volume (ABV) content is 40%.




Beefeater Gin undoubtedly has a number of advantages. It is, I believe, available in pubs, restaurants, off-licences and in some supermarkets. Those people seeking to try gin for the first time will find this gin is a very good choice. It is priced at below Stg 13 for a bottle.

It is not too complex, compared to some other gins, but it is of good quality and is not very expensive. Basically it is dry, smooth and simple : a nice gin to sip on a hot summer’s day. Beefeater Gin is also a good mixer. You can try it with tonic, lime juice,, a slice of lemon or mix it with the likes of Martini and Rossi’s Extra Dry Vermouth. It is a tasty,refined, gin which finishes smooth and clean and does not leave on unpleasant aftertaste.

It is a pleasant pre-dinner drink and is OK with a reasonably wide range of food stuffs, although I prefer a lager beer with, eg., spicy foods such as Thai dishes, curries or Tex-Mex food.

Although not a classic, Beefeater Gin, still gets a recommendation from me. It scores well as a simple reliable, but smooth gin with great versatility and it is easy to find. It does not hit you with an overpowering juniper taste but its quality stuff at less than premium prices. It’s a good ingredient for your favourite ‘punch’, Martini, Cocktail or to give your favourite Aunt when she turns-up unexpectedly!

Here are a couple of recipes for cocktails :

Bronx

One and a half oz Beefeater Gin
Half oz Sweet Vermouth
Half oz Dry Vermouth
Juice of a a quarter of an orange

Shake the mix gently over ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an orange slice

Japanese Seduction

Two oz Beefeater gin
One oz Midori
Half Peach Schnapps
Combine ingredients. Shake well over ice. Pour into chilled martini glass and serve.
Go to the Beefeater web site (hhtp://www.beefeater.com) and you will find a lot more fascinating recipes for cocktails.
Happpy drinking !

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