Reid & Reid Rev Dawson Gin

Reverend Dawson's Gin is named after one of New Zealand's leading prohibitionists, who also happens to be the great-great-grandfather of distillers Stewart and Chris Reid. The brothers make it in Martinborough, in a copper pot stillPot stillA traditional still, often copper, that distils in batches. It keeps more texture and character than a column.Glossary, using the one-shotOne-shotBotanicals are distilled in their final proportions, then the distillate is only cut with water, not blended with extra neutral spirit.Glossary method, in which the botanicals are distilled with the spirit in a single run and the gin is simply diluted to strength afterwards. It is a classic 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 focused on juniper and citrus, bottled at 42% ABV. New Zealand came close to national prohibition several times in the early twentieth century.

Citrus · Dry

Piney juniperJuniperThe one compulsory botanical: gin must taste predominantly of juniper. Its "berry" is really a small conifer cone, resinous and peppery.Glossary leads the nose, with zesty citrus behind it. The palate is fresh and bright, and the finish is textural and aromatic, with the juniper lasting longest. The copper pot still gives the spirit a rounded texture that suits a gin built on so few strong flavours. There is no unusual botanical here: the interest lies in the balance between the resinousResinousAn aroma reminiscent of pine or fir resin. It is juniper's signature, due to compounds such as pinene.Glossary juniper and the citrus, and in the weight of the spirit. It is the classic dry gin of the Reid + Reid range, alongside the Native gin with its New Zealand plants. Its simplicity makes it a reliable everyday gin. The texture is smooth and round.

Naming a gin after a prohibitionist ancestor is a nicely ironic family tribute. Its clean juniper and citrus make it an ideal base for the classics: a dry MartiniDry MartiniGin and a little dry vermouth, stirred over ice and served in a well-chilled stemmed glass, with an olive or a twist.Glossary, a NegroniNegroniAn Italian cocktail of equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and red bitter (Campari), served over ice with orange peel. Born in Florence in 1919.Glossary, a Tom Collins or a Gimlet. Neat over ice, the citrus is surprisingly vivid.

For the G&T, pour 45 ml of Rev. Dawson Gin over firm ice and add 100 ml of 1724 Tonic Water. Place a lemon twist and a cardamom pod in the glass, and serve the same garnishes beside it. The fine tonic leaves the juniper in front, the lemon lifts the citrus, and the cardamom adds a light aromatic note.