Greenhook Beach Plum Gin

In Brooklyn, Greenhook makes Beach Plum Gin as a 30% gin liqueurGin liqueurGin sweetened and often fruit-flavoured, at 15% ABV or more. Sweeter and lighter than a gin.Glossary. Whole beach plums steep in the distillery's American Dry GinDry ginGin with no perceptible sweetness: in the European Union, the word "dry" allows at most 0.1 g of sugar per litre.GlossarySee Dry gin gins for seven months, followed by a small addition of turbinado sugar. Beach plum is a coastal North American fruit, distinct from sloe. The long macerationMacerationBotanicals soak in alcohol, from a few hours to several days, before distillation to release their aromas.Glossary gives this bottle a different role from a dry gin: the fruit leads, while the base spirit keeps a botanical connection to juniper.

Fruity

The nose suggests ripe plum with a tart edge. On the palate the fruit first feels rounded and juicy, then turns brighter, with a note reminiscent of the fruit's skin. The underlying gin contributes a quiet juniper character, and the sugar adds body without making the texture syrupy. At 30% ABV it is less forceful than the distillery's dry gin, so the fruit remains prominent and dilutionDilutionThe water added by melting ice. In the right amount it opens the aromas and softens the alcohol; too much flattens the drink.Glossary is best kept modest.

Greenhook recommends drinks such as a Fizz and a French 75French 75Gin, lemon juice and sugar, topped with champagne. It is named after the French 75 mm field gun of the First World War.Glossary. Citrus and bubbles lift the plum, while the gin base brings more botanical depth than a fruit cordial. A sour-style cocktail also works: fresh lemon sharpens the sweet-tart fruit. The liqueur can be served chilled, but a cocktail makes the relationship between plum and juniper easier to follow than a large neat pour.

For the Perfect Serve, follow Greenhook's Fizz: shake 5 cl of Beach Plum Gin with 2.5 cl of fresh lemon juice and 1.5 cl of simple syrup over ice, strain into a chilled highball over fresh ice and top with 7 cl of chilled soda water. Finish with a plum slice. Lemon and bubbles lift the fruit; since the liqueur already brings sweetness, add no extra syrup unless the balance needs it. Greenhook Beach Plum Gin is a fruit-led gin liqueur shaped by a seven-month maceration and a clearly identified coastal fruit.