Cocktails with Tiff – Gin and Champagne

Need to shake up some delight? Or stir a little heart flutter into your life? Our fearless Bellota leader Tiff Reimer is a cocktail fiend. A lover of the classic styles, her two mainstay books: The Savoy Cocktail Book and The Craft of the Cocktail, Dale Degroff are well-thumbed. And her friends and customers always well-sated. The pleasure she serves up in these flavour bombs are considered and impeccably balanced, delivered with a sliver of Tiff wit. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to be served by Tiff, you know what we mean. Here she shares her thoughts on Gin and how to serve it. It involves Champagne, of course!

IT’S A GIN THING…

There is no doubt that Melbourne is a gin town, this ubiquitous liquor features in every bar be it in the form of the well-loved and lockdown staple Negroni or the newly appreciated French 75. Even Melbourne’s latest addition to the restaurant scene, Gimlet is an ode to gin.

Why the Gin Fling?

Gin is attributed to a Dutch chemist mid-16th century who was trying to enhance the therapeutic qualities of juniper in a medicinal beverage. The English caught wind of this drink which they had termed ‘Dutch courage’ and by the early 17th-century production of English gin had boomed. The invention of the Coffey Still refined the style, bringing a more pure dimension. London Dry Style is considered the benchmark for quality. Other styles include Dutch Gin, a heartier rendition of Gin and Old Tom which is a slightly sweeter version of London Dry Gin. Our favourite London Dry Style is Dockyard Gin.

Dockyard Gin

Dockyard Gin is made at the revamped Chatham dockyards in Kent on the River Thames. The production prowess behind this gin is next level. Everything is local-centric – even the spirit used is made on sight and farmed from fields within 40 kilometres of the distillery. And of course, many of the botanicals are sourced locally including the fragrant elderflowers. This is an incredible story of hope borne from the derelict dockyards of Chatham. When the dockyards ceased operating in 1984, huge job losses were felt in the local area as well as empty building shells. With this in mind, Bob Russell and his sons Matthew and Stephen have breathed life back into the dockyards, reinstating it back to its former glory days when it was home to the Royal Navy. They’ve bought engineering, innovation and industry back to the area. As well as a world-class gin. Classical in production, the clarity and definition of the botanicals articulate a skilled and modern approach. This gin is invigorating and wonderfully detailed. Included in the botanical mix are Italian juniper berries, locally sourced elderflower, Bulgarian coriander seeds, Spanish orange peel, Italian lemon peel, Guatemala green cardamom, grains of paradise from Africa, European angelica root and orris root. As well as their neutral grain spirit and Kentish chalk filtered water.