70 cl / 43.4 ° Typology: Gin Raw material: Neutral grain alcohol and 11 natural botanicals Method of production: Distillation in a Carter Head still Casing: No Why it's different
Hendrick's Orbium is a chilled gin. It is created by infusing alcohol with quinine and absinthe, making it a complex product inspired by what is often mixed with gin: tonic and vermouth. The final addition of lotus flowers accentuates the floral notes and gives smoothness to the blend. Produced in a small distillery in Ayrshire, Scotland, Hendrick's Gin uses two very special ingredients: rose petals and cucumber, two flavours that come together in a perfect and surprising marriage, and two copper stills with a unique history: a Carter Head, of which only a few examples exist, and a small Bennet Still discontinuous still from 1864. Today Hendrick's Gin is the most loved and sought after gin in bars all over the world.
How I drink it: Perfect for an Orbium Martini, with 1/5 of Vermouth, using lemon zest and cucumber slice as garnish.
Focus: Hendrick's Gin recipe makes use of 11 botanicals, some classic and some downright extravagant for the category: from yarrow to coriander, juniper to cubeb berries, elderflower, orange and lemon peel, angelica and iris root, with a final infusion of damask rose petals and cucumber. The two stills used by Hendrick's have a wonderful history: in 1966 Charles Gordon, a descendant of the founding family of William Grant & Sons, and later chairman of the group, attended an auction where the two stills were for sale. These were not just any old stills, as one was a wonderful copper 'Carter Head' still built in 1948 by John Dore & co Ltd in a very limited series, the other was the still used by Marshall & Taplow of Stratford, one of London's historic gin distilleries already present at the time of the Gin Act, a very small 1860s pot still made by the legendary Bennet Sons & Shears. Charles Gordon didn't let the opportunity pass him by, even though he still had no clear idea what to do with it. It was only years later that the idea of using them for the production of Hendrick's gin was born, which gives an idea of the pioneering mentality of Charles Gordon, the man who invented Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Orbium is not just a new gin. It is an interpretation of how we imagine Hendrick's in a parallel universe. It is not a Limited Release, but a permanent fixture in the Hendrick's range, produced by the creative mind of Lesley Gracie, the Master Distiller of Hendrick's Gin.