Bitter Love & Bluecoat gin
And so we continue with our “wine-tails” posts, again paired with spirit tasting notes. This week we are going to experience the beautiful Bitter Love and the bombastic Bluecoat gin, because I’ll never miss an opportunity for alliteration.
Bluecoat Gin
Categorized as American Dry Gin, Bluecoat is distilled in Philadelphia, and as many times as I have fingers on my hand (my good hand that is: let the speculations begin). Unlike most spirits on the market, Bluecoat is pot distilled in a hand-hammered copper pot still. For those of you that follow the latest idiotic trends like lemmings to the cliff-side ocean, Bluecoat is also made from all natural, organic ingredients (nothing against Bluecoat, I just have a problem with everything being labeled organic lately. Remember when “fat-free” was the key word and all we really got was anal leakage? I’m counting the days before “organic” and “anti-oxidant” gets its backlash. Enough ranting though, this is supposed to be about gin, after all.)
Bluecoat bottles at my preferred gin percentage: 47%. I’ve always preferred gins in the 45%-47% range, as I feel that the extra alcohol better extracts flavours from the botanicals. And speaking of bottles, this gin is packaged in a striking blue bottle that is much deeper in hue than Bombay’s. This is definitely a bottle that stands out on one’s liquor shelf.
Tasting Notes
You’re going to call me crazy, but on the nose there is a very distinct aroma of….. popcorn. Citrus and lightly buttered popcorn. The palate gives one a hint of the juniper that you would expect from a gin, but that is quickly overpowered by citrus (lemon and lime?) and angelica. The finish is quick, again without any juniper. Bluecoat is good gin for mixing, but I feel that it is not assertive enough for a gin and tonic. Save Bluecoat for the vodka drinker that is beginning to transition to gin, but is still a little apprehensive about juniper.
We’ve talked about the gin, now let’s grab a bottle of chardonnay and make some Bitter Love.
BITTER LOVE
2 oz Chardonnay
1 oz gin
¼ oz Campari
2 oz grapefruit juice
shake hard and strain into a cocktail glass
Light in alcohol and slightly bitter, this is one ethereal cocktail that will get the mouth salivating and the gastric juices flowing. A perfect way to begin one’s evening before cooking dinner, it may even make the jaded paramour realize that love, even if bitter, is better than no love at all.
Bitter Love
Pictures and drink by:
Jamie Boudreau
Cocktail Whisperer
.
SpiritsAndCocktails.com 
I think this was interesting, popcorn and Campari? i wonder if this gin is sold in Europe.
Here is a reprise of my favorite line that I thought we should all read again and again and again, ‘Remember when “fat-free” was the key word and all we really got was anal leakage?’ Excellent!