Gin History and a Contest

G'Vine gin is sponsoring a big contest for bartenders here, but even non-professionals may want to do the online study part to learn more about the history and production of gin, spirits tasting, and cocktail development philosophy.

The contest was developed by Philip Duff of door74 in Amsterdam, my favorite bar I've never been to. This contest emphasizes not just G'Vine's production, but that of other brands, with the goal being to create or reward an international gin connoisseur/ambassador. (There are quizzes, and essay, and cocktail creation portions of the exams.) At a contest briefing in San Francisco, they told me that even people who aren't bartenders can take the course, so I gave it a try. (Just fill in "n/a" or something in the registration page for your bar/workplace.)

The course has modules on gin history, gin production, G'vine specifically, gin tasting, and cocktail theory. I've been to many, many events on these topics, but was delighted to see some of the information taught in a different way and to pick up many new details. For example, I learned that one of the early notables in distilling was a woman- Maria the Jewess; different flavoring methods for distilled gin (infusion, maceration, compounding, vapor infusion); some additional tasting tips; a list of the botanicals in 60% of all gins; and balancing not just sweet to sour, but also bitter to sweet and salt to umami.

If you're interested, get started here.