Tasting notes: Firkin Red Wine Cask Aged Gin (March 2022 SubscrIption)

Ahoy there shipmates!

After last month’s trip to London to learn about longitude and sip upon the seafaring delights of Greenwich Gin, this month I took the Nautilus back up to Scotland, and why not? The UK makes more gin than anyone else in the world, and 70% of it comes from Scotland.

Firkin Gin is made in Edinburgh in small batches of 250. Their signature gin is made from ten botanicals but it’s what Firkin does afterwards that really sets them apart and results in some of the best gins I’ve tried in a while. They have an incredible range of gin that they rest in casks previously used for other drinks.

They have an American Oak aged gin, Islay whisky gin and a white wine gin but to my palate, the finest is their Red Wine gin. While I have talked about gin’s history in previous months, I’d like to take this opportunity to delve into the history of wine. 

Although we think that wine was being produced in China as far back as 9000bc, the first evidence we have of wine production is from about 8000bc in what we now know as Georgia. To give that some context, it was the end of the Mesolithic era in the Stone Age when humans were moving from a hunter/gatherer existence into early agriculture. The first known large-scale production of wine harks back to 4000bc in Armenia. Its intoxicating properties saw it evolve as part of religious ritual over the centuries, something which has stayed with us -  even if the Dionysian festivals of Ancient Greece with their days of drinking, dressing up and theatrical performances sound more fun than Holy Communion.

Evidence of winemaking then pops up in many civilisations and with it, its own colourful mythology. For example in Persia, where legend has it King Hamshid banished one of his harem from his kingdom. The woman, upset at this slight, went to the king’s warehouse and decided to end her own life by drinking poison. The jar she found actually contained the remains of grapes, now fermented. Rather than killing her, this concoction lifted her spirits. Upon introducing this new drink to her king, she was invited back to the harem and the king passed a law instructing that all grapes were to be channelled into the making of wine.

Almost all civilisations over the next few thousand years developed a taste for the stuff and it was integrated into their religious and social lives. The Romans spread the love of wine to their various conquered territories including, in about 6bc, to France which brings us clumsily to the gin you see before you!

This month’s most decadent of gins was aged in barrels that used to contain the celebrated Mas Cristine Côtes Du Rousillion wine, made in Southern France near the Spanish border.

As always I would ask you to find a glass preferably with a wide bottom and narrow stem, and pour yourself some neat gin. Hover your nose over this exquisite potion and let the vapours drift up, taking care not to sniff too hard. You’ll sense berries and a subtle sweetness, reminiscent of caramel. On the palate you’ll get those unmistakable juniper notes along with red wine and whisky. Finally you’ll get a smooth but warm finish drifting slowly down. You’ll be hard pushed to find a gin quite like this.

Although this is most certainly a gin you can enjoy neat, I’ve included some plain and aromatic tonics which will result in a traditional tasting gin and tonic with a subtle twist. For garnish, I’ve included juniper berries to accentuate the classic gin flavour.

For this week’s miniature, you’ll find Firkin’s signature dry. Compare it to the main gin so you can pick out how the barrels have changed the flavour profile.

Thank you for reading, enjoy your gin and, as the French would say, à bientôt!

Jusqu'à la prochaine fois, mon équipage fidèle,

votre capitaine