Ten years ago, brothers Martin and Andy Dawson decided to quit working for giant corporations (Martin in spirits and Andy in oil and gas) and create their own business. Both thought the world needed a good old English gin, something boldly flavored and highly aromatic.
First order of business was to create a recipe. Gin always starts with neutral grain spirits, which is also what forms the basis for vodka. So, in that way, gin is the first flavored vodka. The first ingredient must be juniper berries, but from there the maker can use a wide variety of fruits, herbs, and spices. The Dawsons decided to use coriander seed, orris root, nutmeg, cassia bark, cinnamon, licorice, orange peel, lemon peel, and angelica root.
Broker’s Gin is made in a 200-year-old distillery outside Birmingham, England. They use a traditional pot still (like local fave Tito uses for his vodka). The process is longer and more expensive, but the flavors are superior to the huge column stills used by the megacorps. They also let their gin sit on the herbs for 24 hours. As an example, Bombay Sapphire only exposes the fumes to the herbs, yielding a light flavor. Broker’s is just the opposite – it’s an intensely flavorful gin that harkens back to the old days when colonialists wanted a lot of flavor in their gin to help hide the quinine they were drinking to beat malaria. The quinine, now called tonic water, probably didn’t help that much, but the gin made them a little more sanguine about their health. The Dawsons wanted to make sure people could recognize the bottle on the shelf, so they created a bowler hat to top the screw cap. While it looks a little silly, it pops off, and the hat does the trick, making the gin jump out at you on the shelf. As for the gin, it was an eye opener for me. It is delicious, with sweetly pungent aromas, and it has that smooth nonburning flavor that you can only get from a pot still. In fact, it is so smooth you can drink it straight at room temperature. Its highest calling is in a straight shot, served icy cold in a martini glass. This is one of the first gins I’ve had that actually tastes better without a touch of vermouth.
I tried Broker’s against all the industry big guns and, in every case, preferred the Broker’s. I assumed it would be in the price range with Bombay Sapphire ($27) or Tanqueray No. Ten ($32). Instead,
I found out Broker’s is just $19, which makes it the reigning value in the gin market.
This article appears in April 20 • 2007.
