Malta Goya Aromatized Gin (faux Genever)
This exercise first began as a method of producing faux Genever as it was unobtainable when first conceived because exportation was rare. Genever is a spirit aged or un-aged that is dominated by the aromas of malt and juniper. Malt is primarily olfactory-sweet while juniper is olfactory-dry and the tension between the two can be comforting and wonderful. A proliferation of malt options means that there is an easy to create breadth of possible tonal effects. In the exercise a famous but unconventional malt option will be explored to get people thinking about possibilities for Genever.
If you treat malt like an aroma source rather than a sugar source that requires fermentation, an approximation of Genever can be created by taking a favorite source of the malt aroma and re-distilling it with a readily available London dry style gin. A famous source of malt aroma that is culturally important to so many parts of the world is Malta Goya and it lends its aroma and symbolism to gin readily (any other brand of malt soda works as well, and so does more conventional malt sources like malt extracts used by brewers, and we were always itching to make one from a malty Trappiste ale).
Imported Genever has finally become readily available, but like everything new on the market, there is a super premium price. The ease and sensory success of this exercise makes one wonder why many American gin producers are not re-tooling their production process to also offer a malt aromatized version. Keep in mind that the sugars in the malt soda do not caramelize at the temperature range of beverage distillation and are not volatile. In this low involvement exercise a commercial gin is re-distilled, subjecting it to more time under heat, but for a commercial producer, malt would likely be added when the gin is distilled initially.
RECIPE
500 mL malt soda (Malta Goya)
500 mL dry gin (Seagram’s)
Mix and re-distill together quickly on low reflux until the thermometer on the still reads 98°C. Going past 98°C may result in a cloudy distillate. Malta Goya does not seem to produce unpleasant cooked aromas.
Using your hydrometer re-cut the distillate to your desired proof with distilled water (recommended 80-90).
COCKTAILS
50/50
1.5 oz. Malta Goya aromatized gin
1.5 oz. sweet vermouth
2 dashes Regan’s orange bitters
“Improved” Holland gin cocktail
2 oz. Malta Goya aromatized gin
4 grams of raw sugar (or .5 oz. 1:1 simple syrup)
1 bar spoon maraschino liqueur
1/2 bar spoonful Absinthe
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Malt Julep
2 oz. Malta Goya aromatized gin
4 grams of raw sugar (or .5 oz. 1:1 simple syrup)
bar spoonful of apricot liqueur
stir and strain over packed shaved ice
decorate with a very large plume of fragrant mint