Gin Gin...It's all about Gin. #WorldGinDay

World Gin Day is the second Saturday of June each year. We will take this opportunity to dedicate an entire episode to Gin!

• It's the Bartender Journey Podcast No. 215!  Listen with the audio player on this page, or subscribe on iTunes,Android or Stitcher Radio.
• Use the hashtag #worldginday to tell the world what you are doing to celebrate Gin.
• This week on the podcast we talk with Tristan Stephenson, Bartender, Bar Owner & Author from England. He wrote among others, The Curious Bartender’s Gin Palace, which is an amazing resource for gin knowledge.
• Also, later in the show we’ll talk to the Frey’s who are producing wonderful Estate Grown Gins in Nevada. This is delishous stuff and so interesting that they are producing they are doing a grain to glass gin. Its rare for a gin maker to grow their own grain and distill and bottle it onsite.
• The Cocktail of the Week has to be the Martini since we are talking all about Gin!
• Martini’s are of course classically made with gin. Many consumers these drink vodka Martinis, in fact as a Bartender you can not assume one way or the other. Its best to determine first Gin or Vodka and then ask if there is a brand preference. Vermouth? If its good quality and fresh vermouth, its wonderful. On the other hand, if its not good quality and its been sitting in the well for 6 months, you can’t blame someone for requesting an extra-extra dry Martini, because it tastes terrible.
• Ganish? Olives are the default, but a lemon twist is awesome! An orange twist is great too, and is traditional.
• Bitters? Orange bitters are in the classic Martini recipe.
• Glasswear? Of course the glass should be chilled, but what shape glass? The giant “Steakhouse Martini Glass” has become what many consumers expect these days, but do we really want to give our guests so much alcohol all at once? The martini glasses are difficult for servers to transport when full, and are no good for guests at a stand up cocktail party. Plus the drink gets warm.
• Here’s how I made mine.
  • 2 oz Frey Ranch Gin
  • 1 oz Imbue Bittersweet Vermouth (from Oregon)
  • 2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6
  • Stir with ice
  • Stain into a chilled cocktail coup
  • Express oils from a lemon twist into drink. Rub lemon twist on rim of glass. Drop twist into drink.
  • Every time I get somebody trying to be clever at the bar and brings up “shaken not stirred” I always say “the reason James Bond ordered it ‘shaken not stirred’ is because that’s the EXCEPTION to the rule. It should really be stirred”. I was once served a Mantini in an airport bar that looked like a slurpy from 7-11. This guy shook that drink within an inch of its life! There was so much ice in the drink that it had more in common with a pina coloda than a martini. Some people will say shaking “brueses” the gin…I don’t know what the heck that means, BUT there should be no shards of ice in your Martini.
  • Another point of interest with a Martini – are we stirring this drink with ice just to make it cold, or is there something else going on here? Well do an experiment…mix up a batch of Martinis with what ever proportions you like – with no ice. Put half in the freezer to chill for IDK lets say 2 hours. Save the other half…keep it covered at room temperature.   After the one in the freezer is super cold, take the room temperature one and stir it with ice in a mixing cup for a good 20 seconds or so. Now taste the 2 side by side. The one from the freezer is going to be cold, but HOT from alchol…its too strong! The stirred one should be velvetly and pleasant to drink. Its been chilled, but also diluted from the melting ice…you are adding water to the drink. It’s an interesting experiment, and I hope you’ll give it a try. It helped me understand the Martini a lot better.
• Speaking of experiments, we got lots of great feedback on last week’s lime juice experiment! Also on the sustainability in bars angle…and we thank David Eden-Sangwell from the Bartender HQ podcast for being our guest on that show and for bringing up the sustainability issue on his show. This is important stuff…to try to reduce waste behind the bar and lesson our environmental impact. David and his co-host Sam did an entire episode about it recently and are already planning another. I’ve been inspired by those guys to talk about it more and put it into practice at my bar.
• I even heard from a listener who is working on a brand new bar program and he told me that he now plans to look into efforts to incorporate sustainability into the new bar he is working on!
• Please help support the Bartender Journey Podcast by contributing to our Tip Cup Page!
• Next week on the Podcast we will keep the Gin conversation going! We’ll talk to the proprietor of Frey Ranch Gin.