Review

Jodhpur Gin

Beveland Distillers, Sant Joan les Fonts, Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Made by Langley Distillery, Birmingham, England, UK.

Beveland Distillers and Jodhpur Gin.

Beveland Distillers was founded by Ramón Masoliver in 1994. Originally focused on the manufacture and distribution of drinks within Spain, it has grown rapidly and today is an international company covering over 60 countries.

This Gin was launched in 2011 and is made in England by Langley Distillery, then shipped to Spain for bottling by Beveland Distillers.

Distilled four times in a traditional pot still. The botanicals are steeped for 7 days before the 4th and final distillation.

The Gin is presented in a squat circular bottle, a similar size and shape to Hendrick’s Gin. The bottle is screen-printed with images of juniper plants (with berries) and the color graduates from clear at the top to vivid blue at the bottom.

London Dry Gin.

43% (86 Proof).

$$ - $$$. Not widely available in the USA, try online at: Garnet Wine & Liquors.

Made with 11 botanicals (their website states 13 but this includes two types of angelica and two types of coriander): almond (bitter), angelica (Belgium & Saxony), coriander (Bulgaria & Morocco), cassia bark, ginger, grapefruit peel, juniper berries, lemon peel, liquorice root, orange peel and orris root.

The name is inspired by the City of Jodhpur in the state of Rajasthan in India. There is a strong correlation with the Empire days of the British Raj and Gin. Even today the British refer to horse riding breeches as Jodhpurs. Originally a traditional style of Indian pants known as Churidars, Pratap Singh the youngest son of the Maharaja of Jodhpur restyled them to his own personal design. Singh visited Britain for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, and being a keen polo player, brought his team with him. After winning many matches, the pants became an overnight sensation, and the Brits started wearing them too. Interestingly, these ankle length pants meant long boots didn’t need to be worn (providing for increased leg flexibility and thus horse control) and cheaper shorter boots were substituted instead. These ankle height boots are also often known as “Jodhpur” boots but can also be called “Paddock” boots.

The City of Jodhpur is (broadly speaking) in the middle of the country and is known as “Sun City” due to the year round sunny climate it enjoys. The city sprawls outwards from an old landscape dominated fortification, Mehrangarh Fort, and many buildings around it are painted a bright royal blue color. This has given rise to it also being called the “Blue City”. This is synonymous with Spain, which is known for its sunny climate, old forts and use of vivid blue colors. All in all, Jodhpur seems an ideal name to use for Gin.

On the nose are delicate aromas of juniper and citrus with a touch of spice in there somewhere. On the palate this creamy smooth oily spirit has a fresh resinous dry juniper taste with citrus, spice (coriander) and faint sweet liquorice. The close has bitter herbal spice (touching on hints of balsamic) and is warm and peppery (ginger) in the finish. A good well rounded Gin with hints of complexity and ample amounts of latent versatility.

A truly traditional offering, there is nothing abnormal, strange or weird about it except its simple but powerful delivery as a solid London Dry Gin. In a Gin and Tonic it can be slightly overpowered (muted) so we recommend going heavy on the Gin (if you like a “bite” to your drink) or using a light Tonic (e.g. Fentimans). Having said this, it has all the classic hallmarks of bitterness with dry juniper, tart citrus and warm spice to its flavor profile. In Spain many bars (and homes) have their own signature garnish for a G&T and require a classic but slightly subtle Gin for this to work effectively - this Gin provides the canvass to deliver just that. We would go with a simple slice of lime as garnish but they use various fruits (e.g. grapefruit, peach, apple etc.), seeds (e.g. peppercorns, juniper berries, coriander seeds etc.) and herbal leaves (e.g. coriander, parsley, rosemary etc.). In a Martini the flavor is lifted by the inclusion of Vermouth and makes for a real crisp pine classic drink with hints of warm spicy sweetness coming through – a nice delivery. This is a very versatile drink and we suggest trying an Aviation and a Tom Collins also.

A good smooth London Dry style at a reasonable price, we recommend this as a step up from the usual stalwarts such as Gordon’s or Beefeater Gins. Whilst this Gin does not stand out in a crowd, it is possible we are expecting new Gins to stand out that might be at fault. We have become so used to new Gins having a novelty about them (different flavor, strange style, unique story, unusual botanical etc.) we may have forgotten the pleasure brought by a good straightforward Gin!

Gold Medal, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 2011.

Silver Medal, International Wine and Spirit Competition, 2011.