Tasting Notes: Defiance Old Tom (May Subscription)

Ahoy shipmates,

So, the sun has been somewhat absent so far, but who cares for the sun when you have the ocean!  What can the sky tell us about blue when we have it in abundance under the waves? What can we learn from birds about the grace of flight when we have the rippling wings of manta rays? 

If you find yourself on land, forlornly gazing through the window into the pattering rain, don’t be saddened by your predicament. Instead, pour yourself a glass of this month’s gin. 

I love an Old Tom. For those of you unaware, an Old Tom gin is a dry gin that has been sweetened. So what you get is not the flavoured sweetness of a pink gin, but something truer to the botanicals of the base gin.

The sweetness makes Old Toms easier to sip neat. I’ve developed a passion for them on the Nautilus,  and they’re often a labour of love for craft distilleries. Those that prefer dry gins and those that prefer flavoured tend to agree on Old Toms. They also bring a slightly different flavour to gin-based cocktails. One of my absolute favourites is this month’s exquisite cargo, courtesy of Defiance Spirits in Oldham, Lancashire.

Most distilleries are lucky to make one exceptional gin, Defiance has three (that I’ve tried) - one of which is their Old Tom. It’s made from steeping and boiling juniper from Speyside in Scotland (the majority of gins use juniper from the coastal regions around the Adriatic Sea), tips of conifer leaves, tangerine root from Lancashire leaves and many more!  What sets it apart from others is their choice of sweetener. Constantly experimenting with botanicals, dedicated to foraging, and with something of a perfectionist approach to their concoctions, it’s no surprise that they eschewed the obvious path.

Defiance Old Tom is sweetened with Pine Tree Sap Syrup - far more expensive and complex than the more common choice of sugar syrup. It takes about 100 litres of sap to produce 1 litre of syrup. One of the interesting aspects about this particular Old Tom, is that the colour and taste can vary from batch to batch depending on the effects on the sap from the weather in the preceding year.

Enough briefing, Captain! More tasting! 

On the nose, it has the juniper hit of a London Dry coupled with citrus notes. On the palate there’s an earthiness, more citrus, and smokiness from the Pine sap. All of it with a dignified sweetness and the smooth finish you’d expect from an Old Tom. This gin can be drunk neat, over ice or with a tonic. If you want to experiment with other mixers I’d recommend a citrus tonic or even a lemonade. I’ve included some plain tonics as well as a Grapefruit and Rosemary which works well but go easy so you don’t overpower the gin. I’ve also included Defiance’s recommended mixers - cinnamon and orange, dehydrated aboard the Nautilus. 

Happy sippin’