Contents
Beefeater – dry London gin, which for almost a century and a half has taken pride of place on store shelves in more than a hundred countries around the world.
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How many degrees and calories
How many degrees in Beefeater gin
Given the unprecedented popularity of the drink both in the UK itself and outside of foggy Albion, a kind of double standards are used in its manufacture. So, at home, gin has a strength of 40 degrees, which meets the tastes of the British. In its export manifestation, the drink raises the degrees to 47 revolutions.
Calorie gin Beefeater
217 calories – that’s how much you get by drinking 100 ml of 40 proof gin.
And 235 calories if the gin has 47 turns.
History of Beefeater Gin
Unlike many London Dry gins, Beefeater was actually created in London. For the first time this drink became public in 1876.
The history of Beefeater is associated with the name of an English pharmacist from Devonshire, James Barrow, who lived in Canada for many years. In 1863, this rather fortunate son of foggy Albion returned home and bought the Chelsea distillery with his savings of £400. Apparently, Barrow was not only lucky, but also ambitious. He devoted the next 13 years of his life to experiments with various plants, wanting to create the best gin of all time.
As a result, the Beefeater arose, adorned for the purpose of advertising with the image of the guardian of the Tower of London, dressed in bright (red and gold) ceremonial clothes. Actually, the popular nickname of these same guards is Beefeaters (beef eaters) and gave the name to the newborn drink.
For over a hundred years, the Barrow family has been the go-to manufacturer of Beefeater gin. However, in 1987 the French company Pernod Ricard became the owner of the brand. At the same time, the drink, as before, is produced exclusively in London.
Beefeater gin production technology
It must be admitted that the pharmacist Barrow was an excellent botanist. This is confirmed by Beefeater gin, the composition of which includes about a dozen well-chosen herbal ingredients. In addition to the invariable juniper berries, it included: licorice, coriander seeds, angelica root and seeds, german iris root, almond, lemon peel and Seville orange. In particular, almonds, angelica and coriander are responsible for the characteristic herbal aroma and specific bitterness inherent exclusively in the drink with the “beef eater” on the label.
All these and, probably, some other components are poured with high-quality wheat-barley alcohol, in which they stay for a day. Subsequently, the resulting substance is slowly, almost drop by drop, distilled in a special vertical distiller. As a rule, the distillation takes about seven to eight hours. Further, the result of distillation is diluted with water to a strength of 40 or 47 degrees, after which the beverage production process is considered complete.
Unfortunately, we are forced to disappoint craftsmen who want to make beefeater gin with their own hands. It is unlikely that you will get an analogue of the invention of James Barrow. The fact is that the only and unique recipe for beefeater gin, with all its proportions and a complete list of ingredients, is known to only 6 (six) people today.
By the way, the current owners of the English brand continue to tirelessly experiment with the original recipe of the drink. As a result, almost every year there are various seasonal novelties produced in limited quantities. For example, the 24 Beefeater 2009 modification included grapefruit peel and several varieties of Far Eastern green tea. And in the seasonal summer batch, released in 2010, blackcurrant, elderberry and hibiscus were added to the canonical list of ingredients.
How to drink Beefeater Gin
It may seem strange, but the question: “how to drink Beefeater gin” is very difficult.
In the historic homeland of the drink, due to its solid strength, coupled with the complete absence of sugar, they drink it exclusively as part of mixes and cocktails.
Among the former, drinks are especially popular, which, in addition to the coveted juniper poem, include bitter or sweet and sour juices – mostly citrus, but others are also possible: for example, pineapple or cranberry. The name of the second, often, speaks for itself. These are: “Gin and Tonic”, “Martini”, “Negroni”, beloved by the British “Double G” (a drink made from gin and ginger ale) and many, many others.
In general, among the vast majority of juniper substance lovers there is an opinion that only Dutch jeniver is good in its undiluted form.
However, there is an equally overwhelming minority who believe that a tauer chilled to 4-6 ° C can become not only an excellent refreshing aperitif, but can also decorate the feast itself.
If you feel in yourself a potential belonging to the second group of fans of the English juniper, then after the question: “how to drink Beefeater gin”, you quite naturally will have the question: “what do you drink Beefeater gin with”. The answer to this question is quite simple. If you have used the drink as an aperitif, then in pursuit of a glass of pleasantly refreshing potion, a couple of olives, a slice of lemon, a pickled onion or soft spicy cheese such as Dor Blue will go well. In the case of a full-fledged feast, in general, you can not limit yourself. A cold drink with a Tower Guard on a bottle will be a pleasant addition not only to meat or fish, but also to vegetarian dishes.
How to spot fake beefeater gin
And finally, consider the delicate issue associated with choosing a genuine product. In order not to run into a fake, you must follow a few simple rules.
Label and excise stamp
Examine the label carefully. It must be pasted evenly, without traces of glue or other handicrafts, and also made in a very high resolution. Do the same procedure with the excise stamp.
Alcohol transparency
Make sure that the liquid in the bottle is crystal clear and does not have any suspicious deposits or doubtful cloudiness. Remember that Beefeater manufacturers use only very high quality alcohol for their own purposes.
Shake the gin
Shake the bottle well. Large bubbles indicate a strong dilution of alcohol with water. After shaking in a normal gin, a “snake” of small bubbles should appear.
Country of origin
Pay attention to the place of manufacture of the gin and the presence of a corresponding barcode. As we have already said, Beefeater is produced only in the fertile surroundings of the Thames and nowhere else. Therefore, the bottle should show off a three-digit number, starting with the coveted fifty dollars, which means that the product was produced in the United Kingdom.
Compliance with the above rules will protect you as much as possible from acquiring a fake and will allow you to enjoy a truly English drink in all its original perfection.
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Relevance: 21.02.2016
Tags: gin, gin brands