Hendrick’s is unusual in that, in addition to the typical botanicals in gin, they have also added cucumber and rose petal. The result is, well, more cucumbery than junipery. What I like best about Plymouth is its flavor. You can really taste the botanicals, especially the juniper, but they do not overpower the base spirit. In fact, the base alcohol and the botanicals work together to keep each other in check.

Hendrick’s is very much the same. It starts off watery, then a subtle blend of cucumber and other botanicals perks up your taste buds. Unlike Plymouth, there is also a little spike of alcohol and it has an oily finish. The finish is my least favorite aspect of the gin. It’s not as bad as Edgefield, which has a very oily finish, but it is noticeable.

Overall, I prefer the flavors Plymouth Gin and the oily finish of Hendrick’s keeps it from taking top honors in my bar. I’d certainly recommend trying it if you are a gin aficionado.

A little history for you, Pernod (and Ricard) is a brand name for a liqueur known as pastis. Pastis are characterized by there licorice flavor — that’d be real licorice, not red Twizzler candy. They are made either from licorice or anise and

Pernod is actually a successor of absinthe, the potent liquor that contained a toxic oil from wormwood in quantities that were thought to cause brain damage, and which was outlawed in 1915 in France. One of absinthe’s leading manufacturers, Henri Pernod, then focused its efforts on the lower-alcohol, wormwoodless, anise-flavored Pernod.
Ochef

Having never had it before, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Luckily when purchasing at Manny’s, my local liquor store, I meet a nice gentleman who was a connoisseur and he suggested I simply try drinking it on ice with water.

I am a convert. It is absolutely fabulous. If you like anise or licorice this is definitely a liqueur for you. When mixed with water you get a very smooth, subtly anise flavored drink. It is smooth, slightly oily and sweet and goes wonderfully well with appetizers such as olives. If you aren’t a big fan of those flavors, don’t dismiss it out of hand. The flavor is not overpowering and there are plenty of cocktails to mix it into.

So far I have simply enjoyed a couple of glasses mixed thusly:

1. fill rocks glass with ice
2. add shot of Pernod
3. fill with water
4. enjoy

Do let me know if you’ve got any favorite recipes.

These three drinks hit the big three alcohols: gin, whiskey and vodka.

Bombay Sapphire Sun Kissed

• 1 orange wedge
• 1 1/2 oz. Bombay sapphire gin
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth

Squeeze orange wedge into shaker and drop in. Fill shaker with ice and add wet ingredients. Shake like mad. Strain into tumbler (rocks glass) half filled with ice. (I believe this came from Cargo magazine.)

I was skeptical at first, but the drink turns out fabulously — and that was without the orange wedge. Sapphire gin is pretty smooth to begin with and the Cointreau really dampens the remaining juniper flavor. The drink was much sweeter than I anticipated. Even if you aren’t a gin drinker I suggest you give this one a try.

Poor Tim

• 1 1/2 oz. whiskey
• 1/2 dry vermouth
• 2 teaspoons Chambord

Combine all ingredients to mixing glass half filled with ice. Stir well. Strain into cocktail (martini) glass. (From The Bartender’s Bible.)

Another winner. Like the Sun Kissed, the Chambord sweetens and tempers the alcohol of the whiskey (I use Jack Daniels) and vermouth.

Blue Shark /HypnoShark

The original recipe calls for 1/2 measure of blue curaçao. In the HypnoShark version, I’ve substituted Hpnotiq. (Warning: flash site with swirly hypnotic intro page and music.)

• 1 measure vodka
• 1 measure tequila
• 1/2 measure Hpnotiq

Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain into rocks glass. (From The Ultimate Book of Cocktails by Stuart Walton.)

This was my least favorite drink. I used Absolut vodka and Jose Cuervo. While it tasted OK, I think the tequila was too overpowering. I would try it again with perhaps slightly less tequila. The other option would be to use a different, less intrusive tequila, such as Agavero. I’m leery about trying a flavored vodka — even though Hpnotiq and flavored vodkas (such as Stoli Raspberry) work well together — simply because that may be too much sweet berry flavor to the tequila. Although, there are a couple of recipes that use Hpnotiq and tequila. Some experimentation is probably in order.

Have a favorite drink or recommendation? Please let us know.