Tasting Notes: Zing 72 (Ocean Dry & Colourful Cargo Subscriptions/July 2020)
Welcome, my bold braves of the blue. My audacious army of the ocean. For those returning to active duty, I welcome thee back to the deck. For those lily-livered land-lubbers looking forward to excitement I will explain what you can expect. Every month you’ll receive a bottle of craft gin, carefully selected garnishes and mixers. Now it’s time for me to get loquacious and lyrical about the elixir you find contained within your cargo.
Although we derive the name Gin from the Dutch drink Genever, the Netherlands were far from the first of our European cousins to stumble upon its wonder. Southern France was probably the second place to discover it after its origins in the monasteries of Italy.
A man called Nik took this picture. Friendly chap with a delightful wife. You’d like him.
How wonderful then, that this is precisely where I found myself disembarking from the Nautilus in my quest for Gin for you lucky people. Zing 72 is from the Provence region. The drink itself is named after the 72 hours they allow the botanicals to macerate with the spirit.
After June’s magnificent but complex Black Powder Sidelock, I fancied something a little more subtle, dare I say accessible? As ever, I recommend feasting your senses first on the gin’s nose and then tasting it neat before finally adding your mixer.
Before you’ve even poured it, the first thing to delight you about this month’s gin will be the striking bottle, inspired by the copper stills employed to create it. The base spirit for Zing 72 is winter wheat. The local botanicals added include juniper, chamomile, lavender, lemon, thyme, marjoram, and blueberries.
First let’s take in the aroma. To my nose, juniper is the most dominant aspect, with berries if you’re looking out for them. Tasting the Zing neat, again, you’ll notice the juniper first and then the lemon before some herbal notes flutter in towards the end. However, unlike last month’s gin where you could pick out each botanical really clearly, they’re not nearly as distinct with Zing where the flavours combine more thoroughly into a smooth whole. To me, Zing 72 has a beautifully produced clean flavour - juniper forward but with a refreshing lemon background. As such, it’s a very versatile gin. The garnishes I chose to go with it were lime and rosemary to bring out the citric and herbal parts respectively. It will work with most tonics but it’s also excellent in that simplest of cocktails, the Gimlet, which is why along with some tonics, you’ll find some Lime and Lemongrass Cordial along with a recipe for The Captain’s Gimlet, my twist on the nautical classic.