celebrating World Gin Day with fragrant cocktails

By Deborah Fulsang

Martini, negroni, Gin Fizz, G&T: These classic gin cocktails are the stuff of legend, and of course are meant to be enjoyed all year round, not just on this coming Saturday, June 13, the day that has been anointed World Gin Day.

For this perfume lover, gin is an ideal spirit. It’s a perfect marriage of food and fragrance—if you count alcohol as food. Yes, I thought so.

Juniper, anise, lavender, citrus, pine, coriander: Gin’s defining botanicals read as much like a perfume as they do a beverage to be enjoyed on a beautiful June day.

In the spirit of this celebration, we look at four exceptional gins that we love as much for their scent as their flavour and taste.

Hendrick’s Gin: My go-to for a martini. This spirit is cool and clean with notes of juniper, cucumber and rose petals. Shaken please, in a cold martini glass with double olives or a zesty spiral of lemon, at 7pm on any given evening. Bliss. $49.95 at the LCBO.

Rendle’s Original Gin: I mixed this in a gin fizz this past weekend, and wow: wonderful. This gin is dry and floral without any sweetness. Divine and smooth with warm spicy notes of mace and star anise countered with fresh lime and a brisk evergreen-ness. $39.30 at the LCBO. 

Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin: For a gin and tonic, this gin—with 10, count ‘em, 10, botanicals, is just the ticket. Juniper, lemon peel, grains of paradise, coriander, cubeb berries, orris root, almonds, cassia bark, licorice and angelica deliver robust flavour and nuance to this classic summer cocktail. $39.45 at LCBO.

Dillon’s Unfiltered Gin 22: This multi-award-winning Canadian-made gin comes infused with yes, you guessed it, 22 botanicals, all plucked from the distillery’s local Niagara, Ontario region. This is a smooth gin and sexy in a martini with nary a drop of vermouth so you can taste—and smell—all of those hand-selected ingredients. Delicious. $39.95 at the LCBO.

There are so many worth sniffing and sipping: Ungava, Boodles, Plymouth, Tanqueray, Death’s Door. Do share your favourite gins by tweeting us, or sharing on Facebook.

Cheers!