Nouaison Gin

Launched simultaneously in London, Paris and Signapore, on 21st November 2017, Nouaison is the latest gin from G’Vine.  Nouaison was developed based on feedback received from bartenders over the years and as an extension of the G’Vine range.  Find out more about the launch itself in my previous article “Nouaison Gin Launch.”

Nouaison literally translates to “setting” and has been crafted to “represent the metamorphosis stage of the star ingredient, the grape, from aromatic vine flower to luscious grape berry.”  Nouaison boasts 14 botanicals, including sandalwood, bergamot, prune, java pepper and vetiveria, and is a brilliant contrast to G’Vine’s Floraison Gin.

Taken neat over ice, I found Nouaison to be a bold and flavoursome gin, which balanced spicy with sweet and left a wonderfully rich woody, herby, taste in my mouth.  Despite it’s strong character, the gin is very smooth and incredibly drinkable.  Nouaison is a gin which really can hold it’s own and has even converted me to liking a Negroni, which is something I never thought I would hear myself say.  Being so robust, I figured it would also work well teamed with something like Aperol and I wasn’t wrong when I thought it would make a mean Aperol G&T.

Several cocktails were served at the Nouaison Gin launch alongside a standard G&T and the neat samples.  These were Negroni à la Française, Divinus created by David Rios and the signature cocktail for the evening, Kakuteru, which was developed by Stuart Finlay, who is Nobu’s Beverage Director.  The recipes for each of the cocktails mentioned above can be found below…although some of the ingredients may be a little hard to come by.  I’ve kicked things off with the two easiest serves, my suggestion of an Aperol G&T followed by the Negroni à la Française.

Negroni à la Française

• 45 ml Nouaison gin
• 45 ml La Quintinye Vermouth Royal Rouge
• 1 dash Orange Bitters

Gently blend ingredients in a mixing glass and strain into an old-fashioned glass over a large sphere ice cube. Garnish with an orange peel twist.

 

 

Divinus by David Rios

• 45 ml Nouaison gin
• 15 ml La Quintinye Blanc
• 15 ml Calvados
• 10 ml Domaine de Canton Ginger liqueur
• 2 dash Chartreuse

Gently blend ingredients in a mixing glass and strain into a vintage wine cup over a large sphere ice cube.  Garnish with ginger slice, twists of lime and pomelo along with flower decoration.

 

Kakuteru by Stuart Finlay

“For this cocktail we have infused our house sake with the Nouaison gin by G’Vine, and then incorporated sisho syrup – a simple syrup made from shishi leaves. This is then combined with an orange and grapefruit reduction and mixed with fresh grapefruit juice and lemon juice. To finish it off, we top the cocktail with a Yuzu foam.” 

Let me know how you get on, happy cocktail times!