All The Wine – Gin Eva La Mallorquina
In a time where every possible eatable is used as a gin botanical, it does not come as a surprise that also olives are distilled. However, since the regular Gin Eva was able to win me over, I also was intrigued by this combination of herbal and savoury flavours. Especially, when thinking of a Dirty Martini variation.
It has been a long time since I read about a Dirty Martini variation from Brooklyn. A bartender created a drink using an olive eau de vie. So far, I was not able to get my hands on this spirit or a similar one. This is why I was very glad to read about the Gin Eva Mallorquina. This special gin from Mallorca uses olives as a botanical. Similar to the regular Gin Eva, this gin uses Mallorcan juniper berries and citrus fruits in its recipe. However, the special thing is the use of the “Mallorquina” olive variety. After some experimenting with olives, Stefan Winterling teamed up with a local olive producer from Valldemossa. So one day, Eva Maier and Stefan Winterling and two photographers loaded as much olive pomace into the Gin Eva van as they could. In total, the La Mallorquina Gin is comprised of a reduced mix of botanicals just including juniper, olive and cilantro.
In contrast to the regular Gin Eva, the La Mallorquina has a very dry aroma and taste. There is nothing to distract you from the prominent juniper notes. After a while, a noticeable umami note appears, which reminds me of candied black olives. The olive note is very subtle so that it does not overwhelm you or the other key components of the gin. In the after taste there are slightly herbal notes rounding out the flavour. In the end, I would almost call the La Mallorquina Gin juniper forward, because of its lack of other botanicals which could distract you from its essential flavour.
More than a Dirty Martini
Yes, my intention was to create a Dirty Martini variation using the Gin Eva. Therefore, I started off with the Martini recipe suggested by Gin Eva using Fino sherry instead of dry vermouth. However, the drink ended up being a little bit too dry for a Summer drink. This is why, I slightly altered the recipe to included also dry vermouth and a hint of simple syrup. The absinthe should take care of the cloudiness of the drink. However, the amount used without overwhelming the drink, was not enough to do so. Nevertheless, the All The Wine is a dry, but yet refreshing Martini variation.
1,5 cl Emilio Lustau Jarana Fino Sherry
1,5 cl Belsazar Dry Vermouth
0,5 cl Simple Syrup
Stir – strain – chilled small cocktail glass and chilled carafe on crushed ice;
Garnish: Three candied olives – lemon twist (no drop);
Song: The National – All The Wine;
The first sip of the All The Wine reminds you of a regular Martini. However, after the initial impression the sherry and umami notes of the gin shine through and turn the drink in a slightly different direction. On top of that, the simple syrup is just there to round up the drink and to improve the mouthfeel of the cocktail. All in all, the cocktail is still dry, but leans towards the medium dry side of the spectrum, which makes the drink more enjoyable.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product.
