Bitter Truth Pink Gin

This is a gin from the Bitter Truth that i think was launched this fall. It´s pink, it´s spiced with bitters and it lives in a real beautiful bottle.

It started with sea sickness…that`s from where the tradition of blending gin and bitters began by the Royal Navy. And that`s why i now sit here with a bottle of the “Pink Gin” which is a blend of gin and aromatic bitters.

The nose is very light and floral and very delightful, it`s like a whiff of light perfume..The taste is complex, light on the juniper but it´s definitely there, lightly spicy and floral. The mouthfeel is gentle, there´s no alcohol burn and it´s easy to drink.

It`s quite exquisite and i believe too many mixers would ruin it, best of all would be a fresh gin and tonic or a drink with fresh grapefruit juice ( or another) There isn´t very much more to say about this product than that it´s a modern gin, light and floral containing aromatic bitters and perfect for martini cocktails, gin and tonics or fruity drinks.

I`m gonna try this in a drink that is called the Bali Highball – a mix of gin, guava nectar and pomegranate syrup with the zing of fresh lime juice.To the pomegranate syrup or grenadine i`ll add hibiscus flowers thus making it a hibiscus grenadine and homemade of course – unless you can get hold of B.G Reynold´s excellent hibiscis grenadine.

Not sure why it`s called “Bali Highball” though since usually a highball is made with two ingredients and served in a high glass – the original highball was made with Scotch whisky and carbonated water. I guess this is a tropicalized highball…

BALI HIGHBALL (From the book The Ultimate Bar Book by Mittie Hellmich)

1.5 oz Bitter Truth Pink Gin

2 oz Guava nectar ( or use juice if you can´t find nectar)

0.5 oz fresh lime juice

1 oz Hibiscus grenadine

4 oz chilled Club Soda

Lime wheel and orange blossom or other edible flower for garnish

Shake everything (except soda) hard with ice and strain into a highball glass with ice. I didn´t use a highball glass, i used a rocks glass instead with cracked ice.

Top up with soda and add garnish.

After the first sip i said zzzziiiiiiiing!!! how refreshing can a drink possibly be??? fruity and tart at the same time. Didn´t feel any juniper flavor though but the gin just seemed to fit perfectly in the puzzle of fruity flavors even though it almost dissappeared. And you can always up the gin with another 0.5 oz if a stronger drink is required.

It happens to still be winter but i can assure that this drink will be PERFECT later on in the hot summer, it´s the ultimate thirst quencher! That said,  of course it´s good now as well, i really enjoyed it and i certainly could have another, this one went down way to fast.

But i`m moving on to the next drink because there´s a next drink to be made, it´s never just one.

SPRING BREAK (My own)

1.5 oz Bitter Truth Pink Gin

0.5 oz green chartreuse

1 oz pineapple juice

0.25 oz sugarcane syrup

0.5 oz fresh lime juice

Shake together with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with speared citrus leaves and cherry.

While the other drink was a refreshing and delicious fruit bomb this one takes on a much more adult flavor with pronounced flavors of the gin and the bitters it contains and the green chartreuse also was very prominent with it´s herbals. I first tried it without any simple syrup but adding just a little syrup made all the difference and took the edge off the bitterness.

My conclusion is that even though i haven´t tried this gin in any Martini for the simple reson that i happen to not like Martinis very much, it would suit perfectly for that drink but also as i have found out here it goes well with fruity drinks. It`s a given summer gin i`d say.

You can buy the Bitter Truth Pink Gin in many places and two examples are here or here.