The Making of Chemist Gin | What is American Gin?
By Andrew Tardif
At Chemist Spirits, we use new techniques and recipes matched with old methods from Scotland to make our Chemist American Gin. But what is American gin and what makes it different from all the other gins out there?
What is American Gin?
American gin, also referred to as contemporary gin or new world gin, is a newer style of gin that has taken off in the last few decades. These gins tend to lean more experimental, typically going lighter on the juniper flavor and playing with other flavors such as lavender, cucumber, and citrus.
Some popular contemporary gins include Aviation, Hendricks, and our Chemist American Gin. Our gin focuses on vapor infusion using Appalachian-inspired ingredients like rose hip, peppermint leaf, lemon, and bilberry.
The result is a more approachable gin that embraces the potential for a more botanic backbone.
What Makes American Gin Different?
Before American gin there was London Dry Gin. This gin is what people think of when they think of gin: pine-forward and dry. This particular flavor profile can be abrasive to some drinkers, and it seems that many folks have a dislike of gin for this reason.
It also doesn’t help that many drinkers have their first experience with gin in college or party settings where low-quality gin is imbibed and the result is…well, a gin sickness. Over time, London Dry Gin had sugar introduced to make it more approachable. The result was Old Tom Gin.
These gins were the dominant types for centuries, although throughout the 20th century gin lost its popularity as vodka took over, especially in the cocktail world.
With the resurgence of cocktails, new gin distilleries emerged, making way for more experimentation.
Main Ingredients in American Gin
As mentioned, gin must include juniper as its main ingredient, however there are other compenents that balance out and enhance the flavor. Typical ingredients that you will find in gin include:
Juniper berries
Orris root
Angelica root
Lemon peel
Coriander
Cassia
Almond
Cinnamon
Cardamom
Ginger
Grains of paradise
Since American, new world, and contemporary gins bend the rules a bit, they can include a wide variety of ingredients. Some of note worth mentioning:
Lavender
Cucumber
Asparagus
Rose Petals (our Biltmore Conservatory Rose Gin)
Galangal
Violet flowers
Butterfly pea flower
Yuzu
Olives
Keep in mind, this list is not exhaustive and new gins are being developed all of the time. Many gin distilleries are inspired by local ingredients that can only be found in their region, making them unique.
What Makes our Chemist American Gin Special
Many American gins are unique and ours is no different. Part of it has to do with our ingredients since we use a wide variety of herbs, botanicals, roots, and spices inspired by our home in Appalachia. These ingredients include:
Juniper
Angelica root
Orris root
Grains of Paradise peppercorns
Orange peel
Sweet orange peel
Rose petals
Rose hips
Bilberry
Lemon verbena
Grapefruit peel
Green aniseed
Cassia bark
Tangerine peel
Lemon peel
Peppermint leaf
Our process for infusing many of these botanicals is through vapor infusion. This means filling a botanic basket connected to the lyne arm with the botanicals and allowing the vapor from the neutral spirit to pass through as it’s heated.
This extracts the oils and allows for a rich flavor profile without being too overpowering or bitter. The result is a gin that is complex, approachable, and light on its feet.
The 3 Best Cocktails with American Gin
There are countless cocktails with gin, and American gin is a vast category with a variety of ingredients and flavor profiles. For American gin like our own, we recommend cocktails that would benefit from more floral and citrus-forward flavors.
Here are a couple cocktails that would benefit from our Chemist American Gin, and are popular and are frequently ordered at Antidote Cocktail Lounge:
Negroni:
The Negroni is a classic cocktail that blends the best of bitter and sweet. An American gin adds a level of citrus that helps support the Campari, and a botanical backbone that pairs well with an aromatized wine.
Ingredients:
1 oz Chemist American Gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth
Instructions:
Pour ingredients into a mixing glass
Add ice
Stir for 30 seconds or until thoroughly chilled
Strain into a rocks glass with ice
Express orange oil over top
Garnish with orange peel
Gimlet:
This cocktail comes from naval tradition where naval officers were given rations of gin and were told to combine it with lime juice to fight off scurvy.
Ingredients:
¾ oz lime juice
¾ oz simple syrup
Instructions:
Combine ingredients into a shaker tin with ice
Shake ingredients for 10-15 seconds or until thoroughly chilled
Strain into a chilled coupe
Garnish with a lime wheel
Corpse Reviver No. 2
The corpse reviver is a type of cocktail that served as a hangover cure. Although many renditions exist through history, this particular recipe has survived the test of time and can be found in many cocktail bars.
Ingredients:
¾ oz orange curacao
¾ oz Cocchi Americano
¾ oz lemon juice
absinthe rinse
Instructions:
Put all ingredients into a shaker tin with ice
Shake for 10-15 seconds or until thoroughly chilled
Spray absinthe into a chilled coupe
Strain chilled ingredients into the coupe
Express lemon oil over top
Garnish with lemon peel (optional)
Where to Get Award-Winning American Gin
There are plenty of new world gins out there, but we think Chemist American Gin is perfectly balanced with citrus and floral notes making it great as a simple mixer with soda or tonic or as the perfect base for a cocktail.
Want to explore more of the world of American gins? Stop by the Chemist Spirits tasting room for a tour to try our gins as well as our whiskeys, or head into Antidote Cocktail Lounge to try our spirits in bartender-curated cocktails so you can really taste what an Amercan Gin is..
American Gin FAQs
What is Gin?
Gin is a spirit that is flavored primarily with juniper. The flavor is imparted mainly through distillation, infusion, or compounding. Gin typically uses ingredients like angelica root, orris root, and citrus.
Where Does Gin Come From?
Gin originated from Genever, a Dutch grain spirit flavored with juniper berries. The English gained a taste for Genever and eventually began making it themselves using a neutral spirit as its base, resulting in the well known London Dry Gin.
Does American Gin Follow Any Rules?
In order to be considered gin, there are particular rules, mainly that the spirit must have juniper as its dominant ingredient and flavor. American gin, contemporary gin, or new world gin only needs to follow the basic rules of gin to be considered that spirit, but it doesn’t need to follow any particular rules to be called “American,” “Contemporary,” or “New World.”
