With the passing of Memorial Day, gin and tonic season officially begins, a different option from the usual suspects is
No. 209 gin which is made by Distillery 209 in San Francisco. Instead of relying on juniper, this gin has notes of citrus and cardamom. No. 209 also includes bergamot, using the whole peel for a fresh citrusy taste.
Quoted in the Globe and Mail, Arne Hillesland, technical director and master distiller at Distillery 209 says: "It's not a big, giant Christmas tree of a gin." This begs the question, when does gin stop being gin and start being just another flavored spirit? The word gin is a derivation of a word referring to juniper. N0. 209 does contain juniper, it just brings up the levels of the other flavors traditionally used in gin. It can be found
for around $30. The
No. 209 website includes a variety of cocktails that are not traditional options for gin including a basil gimlet, several mojitos and a recipe for making a huge batch (30 cocktails) of the 209 Sno Kone which includes the gin, frozen orange juice concentrate, frozen lemonade concentrate and sugar frozen into a slushy concoction.
