New Amsterdam Straight Gin

The general trend in gin these days is to infuse it with ever more exotic botanicals and other unusual ingredients to make as distinctive a spirit as possible. However, New Amsterdam, a new gin from the E.&J. Gallo Winery in California (their first non-grape product), is more about subtlety.

The quintessential gin component juniper is suppressed in this "straight" concoction, which with its citrusy notes produces a lighter, cleaner, less "ginny" gin than you're no doubt used to. The name refers to the 17th-century Dutch settlement that became New York City and the modernistic bottle features a slice of the Manhattan skyline.

See the gallery for some neat New Amsterdam cocktail recipes formulated to highlight this fresh, summery spirit.