| Type | Gin |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Pernod Ricard |
| Country of origin | England |
| Introduced | 1793 |
| Alcohol by volume | 41.2% |
| Proof | 72 (U.S. 83) |
Plymouth Gin is a style of gin that by law can only be produced in Plymouth, England, it being a Protected Geographical Indication within the European Union. The Plymouth Gin Distillery (the Black Friars Distillery) is the only gin distillery located in Plymouth in what was once a Dominican Order monastery built in 1431 and opens on to what is now Southside Street. It has been in operation since 1793. [1] The established distilling business of Fox & Williamson began the distilling of Plymouth Gin in 1793: soon the business was to become known as Coates & Co. which it remained until March 2004. From 2005 the brand was owned by the Swedish company V&S Group, who also make Absolut Vodka. The brand is now owned and distributed by the French company Pernod Ricard as a result of the purchase of V&S in 2008.
Contents |
Plymouth Original Strength is 41.2% alcohol by volume. It has a distinctively different, slightly less dry flavour than the much more commonly available London Dry Gin, as it contains a higher than usual proportion of root ingredients, which bring a more 'earthy' feel to the gin, as well as a smoother juniper hit. There is also a 'navy strength' variety available which is 57% alcohol by volume (100° English proof), being the traditional strength demanded by the British Royal Navy as this was the proof that would not prevent gunpowder from igniting, should it be compromised by spilled spirit. [2] A 47% abv (94 U.S. proof) version is available in worldwide duty free markets.
Other brands The company also produces Plymouth sloe gin, but has discontinued its Fruit cups and Damson liqueur.
Gin, being a cheap alcoholic beverage, was originally bought by the poor and caused considerable social problems, illustrated and satirised by the engraving 'Gin Lane' by Hogarth in 1751. Rum was given to sailors as part of their daily ration. Fortunately for Plymouth, it was decided that the officers should not drink the same beverage as the rated hands and so the officers were given gin, which spread through officers' messes and golf clubs of the Empire. The global deployment of the British Royal Navy led to the renown and wide consumption of the product. The Quinine in tonic water, which was often mixed with gin, has some anti-malarial properties, useful for British colonials.
Plymouth Gin was very popular in the US in the first part of the 20th century, and the distillery sold large quantities of gin to the USA during prohibition. At the end of the 20th century a house belonging to a wealthy businessman of the time was renovated; a secret room was discovered which contained, among other things, Plymouth Gin. Some bottles have been sent back to the distillery for their museum.
If one looks through the previous bottle of the standard strength variety, one can see a depiction of one of the monastery's friars on the inside of the back label. It was said that "when the monk's feet got dry it was time for a new bottle". Since mid 2006 the bottle has been changed to an Art deco style. On the front of the bottle is the ship, the Mayflower, based on the fact that when the Pilgrim Fathers set out for their journey to the new world, bad sea conditions and damage forced them to put into Plymouth harbour for shelter and essential repairs. Local tradition has it that some of them stayed in the monastery, which later became the distillery.[1] In the same way as the monk's feet, one can say it's time to get a new bottle "when the Mayflower no longer sails on gin".
The distillery offers tours; included in the price is a taste of their gin (including sloe gin), and either a free Gin and Tonic in the cocktail bar or a free miniature of original or sloe gin.
The tour guides at the distillery recommend that, to stop the flavours vaporising into the air in the bottle as the gin is consumed, two half-empty bottles be decanted into each other. In this way the monk's feet never run dry.
Plymouth Gin was favoured by such notable individuals as Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ian Fleming, Jerry Lewis, and Alfred Hitchcock. The fictional character Travis McGee commonly drank Plymouth.
While Plymouth gins' most recent performance at international spirit ratings competitions has fallen off somewhat, it has garnered a substantial array of awards. Between 2006 and 2011, for example, the gin received two double gold, two gold, one silver, and one bronze medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Aggregating these scores and others, Proof66 classifies Plymouth Gin as a "Tier 1" spirit. [3]
Several years ago Esquire magazine ran a blind-taste test of 25 martinis and the winning gin was Plymouth.