We don’t want to start again now – but it doesn’t help! Because this time we may have really found it, the perfect gin for the ultimate dry martini. Admittedly, we’ve thought that a couple of times. For example, when we discovered The Botanist at the time, a rather gentle but intensely juniper-scented and tasting gin from the Scottish whiskey distillery Bruichladdich on the island of Islay.
And then of course when we tried the London Dry from the East London Liquor Company for the first time: an incredibly aromatic drop with a crisp juniper note, fresh citrus aromas, a gentle spice and a mild, almost creamy finish. Well, and now we suddenly run into this Hepple. In view of the gin and tonic wave that was sloshing on and on, we had already sworn not to try any other types of this trend spirit. But then the Hamburg bartender Jörg Meyer poured us a Hepple – and it was all over.
An exceptionally intense aroma
This thoroughly classic gin without any gimmicks is distilled in a complicated and complex process by the British Moorland distillery near the eponymous village of Hepple in Northumberland, just a few kilometers from the border with Scotland. Just this much: The Hepple is, so to speak, a cuvée made from six different distillates, a juniper extract created under high pressure and pure spring water, giving it an exceptionally intense aroma that reveals piquant juniper notes paired with fir and blackcurrant in the mouth and in the mouth Shows citrus, herbal, fennel and liquorice aromas. Above everything, however, there is an imposing, yet supple juniper tone that literally calls for a dry martini.
So: stir 6 cl Hepple Gin and 1 cl dry vermouth (preferably Noilly Prat) in a mixing glass with plenty of ice, strain into a chilled martini glass and decorate with a large olive on a skewer. It doesn’t get any better! And if it really has to be a gin and tonic, then best with Thomas Henry Botanical Tonic or Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic: slowly pour the tonic into a large glass with lots of ice, a large lemon zest and 6 cl Hepple – but not the whole Bottle, otherwise you can drink a soda straight away. The 0.7 liter bottle of Hepple is available online for around 40 euros. It is enough for seven gin and tonics – or better: seven perfect martinis.
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