Since 1793, the exact same recipe has been used at the distillery to create every bottle of Plymouth Original Gin, which includes botanicals like juniper, coriander, sweet orange, cardamom, angelica, and orris root. In subsequent years, a number of gin-producing hubs emerged in England beyond Plymouth, including London, Bristol, Norwich, and Wilmington. While the London Dry style was beloved in terms of flavor profile with its citrus and juniper-forward notes, Plymouth Gin set itself apart by producing a gin with a higher concentration of root botanicals, lending itself to a less dry and more earthy-flavored spirit. Plymouth Gin was of the utmost importance for the British Royal Navy.

verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ This under-appreciated tiki drink requires a gin powerful enough to stand up to its strong flavors. Classically made with gin, lemon juice, orgeat, passion fruit puree or syrup, Velvet Falernum, and crushed ice, Ford suggests using navy strength spirit and swapping in a dash of blue curacao for the Falernum. MartiniNavy Strength is in my opinion, the Quintessential Gin. It is perfect, and is my 'benchmark' when we are running Gin-tasting evenings at my club. On my evenings, I work on the basis that there are 3 main types of Gin: Standards, Character (encompassing all of the various fashionable gins with their plethora of flavours) and finally, the category that I reserve for the very best, including Navy Strength - Stand-alone Gins. Portobello Road also recently launched its own navy strength gin (though it is currently unavailable in the U.S.). Four Pillars, New York Distilling Co., and Colorado’s Leopold Brothers also debuted navy strength gins. To qualify as “navy strength,” gin has to be at least 114 proof (or 57 percent alcohol). But there’s more to it than that, as is becoming abundantly obvious by the growing number of navy strength gins appearing on the market. For his Gimlets, Ford likes to shake 2 ounces of navy strength gin with 1 ounce of fresh-squeezed lime juice and three-quarters of an ounce of simple syrup.

Use of extra strength gin means that less is required, and the mixed gin and tonic is better/more sparkling. The gin is often at room temperature, and use of a smaller volume volume of extra strength gin results in a colder mixture, presuming that the tonic is kept in the fridge. Officers’ Reserve began as a company-only indulgence. “Marko Karakasevic, who is a friend of mine and the master distiller at Charbay, where we bottle Fords Gin, has secretly been enjoying an over-proof version of Fords for a few years now,” Ford says. “We bottled a sneaky few cases for ourselves as we found it to be so delicious. Marko felt it was selfish of me not to release it.”It may seem dangerous, but Katz recommends stirring navy strength gin into a 3:1 Martini. He stirs New York Distilling’s Perry’s Tot with Noilly Prat or Dolin Extra Dry vermouth, and garnishes it with a lemon twist. It’s a bracingly strong, gin lover’s Martini. 5 Navy Strength Gins To Try Fords Gin Officers’ Reserve I enjoy this, usually in a gin and tonic. in my view a good gin and tonic should be cold, sparkling and reasonably alcoholic. Katz updates the recipe with 1.5 ounces of navy strength gin, three-quarters of an ounce of fresh lime juice, a half-ounce of simple syrup, a quarter-ounce of cinnamon syrup, and a few drops of Bittermens Hellfire Shrub. He calls it the 700 Songs Gimlet. Gin & Tonic