G is for Gin

Up until about five years ago, I wasn’t much of a drinker. I’m not fond of wine (unless it’s sweet/dessert/Late Harvest); mass produced beer smells and tastes like pee (I’ve since discovered that I like craft beer sours); and I thought that all cocktails were served on the rocks or blended with ice (my throat doesn’t do well with super cold things). My boyfriend is a firm believer that everyone should cultivate an acquired taste, so gin became my thing! He also opened my eyes to cocktails that are served “up” (meaning that they are chilled, but come sans ice) and my world has never been the same since. 😂

I love the complexity of gin! This spirit can be distilled from seemingly almost anything. I’ve tried one made from clementine oranges and another from grapes, as well the more traditional grain distillation. Each gin is distinct depending on the blend of botanicals used. Most makers keep their ingredients a secret, others proudly detail that it contains juniper, bergamot, orange peel, angelica, coriander as well as many many other herbs and spices. My recent gin acquisition has a vibrant purple hue thanks to butterfly pea flowers that changes color when citrus juice is added! 😲

Confession time: I’ve been planning and gathering bars for this alcohol-related Alphabet for about a year now and this round has been rolling out at a much slower pace than the previous three, so the first two bars featured below have (unfortunately) past their prime after languishing in my stash, waiting for their moment in the spotlight…one of the drawbacks of being a chocolate hoarder! 🤦

First up is Zotter’s Gin Zitronic Hand-scooped bar:

A fellow gin lover and chocophile from the UK visited the Zotter factory in Austria over a year ago (yes, I’m shaking my head too) and sent me this bar. The label is entirely in German, so I’ve been struggling to translate it to English. I’m pretty sure it says something about Josef Farthofer’s O. Gin (the O meaning organic) and that this gin has 24 different herbs and spices, with juniper and orange called out specifically.

Don’t you just love the undulating waves of 60% dark milk chocolate that enrobe this bar and how you can see each distinct layer?

The bar is like a soft fudge and doesn’t snap, so it’s advisable to cut off portions with a knife. The lightly crisp, thin dark milk chocolate top and bottom fall away easily so that you can taste the creamy dark chocolate ganache layer and the citrusy lemon cream layer separately.

Deconstructing all the elements allowed me to better enjoy the latent botanical flavors as well as discover tiny pieces of citrus zest that add texture and enhanced flavor. Again, based on my rudimentary translation, I think the lemon cream is made with their house-made lemon soda + vermouth, though it’s really not boozy.

Another thing that baffles me on the label, is that the “zi & r” of Zitronic are in green, whereas everything else is in black…if anyone knows the significance, please fill me in!

Next up, is Cultura Craft Chocolate’s Limited Release 75% Gin + Juniper bar:

Based on the label description, Belize dark chocolate was infused with Denver-based Leopold Bros Navy Strength gin and finished with juniper sugar; piloncillo (unrefined brown sugar) in particular, I believe.

What is “Navy Strength” you might ask? Well, the quick answer is a spirit that is bottled at exactly 57% alcohol by volume (ABV). The longer answer is that during the 18^th Century, the UK Royal Navy mandated that a certain quantity of gin be carried on board as a way to combat scurvy or malaria as they traveled around the world. Since suppliers were notorious for watering down alcohol, mariners would test the product by igniting the liquid with gunpowder. If it failed to light, this indicated that they had been duped. Only gin that passed the gunpowder test were classified as Navy Strength.

The small (0.9 ounce) bar has no mold design and a nice amount of sprinkled inclusions. Once out of the inner wrapper, the aroma was herbal, like hay or grass. Sharp snap with a smooth, slow/even melt. Fruity/juicy notes with a tart tang at the back of the throat. Chewing a tasting morsel brought out more vibrant fruit notes. Returning to melting a piece on my tongue after chomping a few bites, now I was able to get the botanical notes that are characteristic of gin.

Since I don’t like to be pre-influenced when tasting chocolate, I didn’t read the label until AFTER trying the bar. I was pleasantly surprised to see Leopold Bros, since I just happen to have one of their gins on hand: mine is the Summer Gin. By the way, I always feel so guilty about drinking alcohol too early in the day; so I tasted and photographed the chocolates at lunchtime, but waited until an appropriate “cocktail hour” for the pairings.

The Summer Gin on its own is quite citrusy, but also smooth enough to be sipped neat. Paired with the Belize chocolate, this brought out raisin/stewed dried fruit and floral notes. What a delightful combo!

Last, but not least, Hunted + Gathered Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin bar:

How can you not smile when you see a cheerful sticker saying “time for more chocolate”! This should be my mantra, wait it IS my mantra 🤣

From the packaging, Four Pillars Gin botanicals were ground through with 70% Dominican Republic cacao to produce this bar. Granted this is my most recent acquisition (since a friend traveled to Australia within the last 6 months and brought back this bar for me), but it was also the one that MOST smelled like gin: VERY herbaceous!

The mold design makes me think of a tic tac toe board or a large Rubik’s cube panel. Forgive the lightly frosted surface appearance…remember, it traveled QUITE a distance to get to me!

Resounding snap, sending botanical aromas to my nose. This is like eating gin in solid form! Intensely juniper with resin/pine too. Bitter during the melt and long lasting flavor on the tongue during the finish. I was surprised to see that the ingredients list mentioned coconut sugar and dried orange.

While on a shopping spree recently, we spotted a Four Pillars Gin and knew we *HAD* to have this for the perfect pairing!

On its own, the gin has quite a kick (the first sip was mellow and then that second sip was WOW!) Paired together, I get all kinds of licorice-y and anise notes. Quite robust and complex!

Tomorrow I’m going to try a non-alcoholic juniper bar since it’s gin-adjacent! Follow me on Instagram to find out more.

If you know of any other gin bars out there that I shouldn’t miss, please leave a comment below.

Cheers & Happy Thirsty Thursday to all! Should we blame or congratulate my BF for corrupting me?! Regardless, I’m off to make myself a cocktail…with gin, of course 😉🍸

If you’d like more information on any of the makers featured here, please check out their websites:

Cultura Craft Chocolate from Denver, Colorado, USA: https://www.culturachocolate.com/

Hunted + Gathered from Victoria, Australia: https://huntedandgathered.com.au/

Zotter Schokolade from Austria: https://www.zotter.at/en/homepage.html