You might know I love Hendrick's gin. I would marry it. I also quite enjoy Junipero, Tanqueray Ten, and Martin Miller's. Can live without the rest that I've tried so far. But last week I was given a bottle of the exquisite Nolet's Silver gin. I cannot say enough good things about it. And I aim to drink most of it neat, or maybe on the rocks if I'm impatient for chilling. Yeah, I don't even have it in the freezer; it seemed too beautiful to not stand out on the liquor shelves. And it's floral. It requires no mixing, though I was daunted at first by its 46.5% abv. No need to be.
Tonight I decided to try it in a martini, just to see, you know. I used 3 ounces of the Nolet's and 1/2 ounce of Noilly Prat dry vermouth, and garnished with two cocktail onions, making it a Gibson rather than a martini.
Well, it was perfect in one sense; tasting like class, and craftsmanship. But it was almost too much so, and I realized that its floral character too much matches the character of the vermouth. So I threw in a couple of Spanish olives and about 1/2 teaspoon of olive juice. It felt like sacrilege, but made a better martini. Which is to say, more perfect.
I believe Hendrick's makes the better martini. But the Nolet's, to drink chilled, is such an unexpected treat I feel almost honored to taste it on my tongue...
