“ Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine ,” says Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in the classic Casablanca, about Ilsa (played by Ingrid Bergman).
Not the first literary or cinematic reference to this spirit that has close ties with the United Kingdom’s former colonies in Asia. Although the origin of gin is mired in history with many stories about how it landed on the shores of Great Britain, there is no doubt that this much celebrated spirit is one of the most popular in the world.
Observing the versatility and popularity of gin, in 2012, friends Edward Godden and Joseph Lewis decided to chuck their nine-to-five jobs and turn entrepreneurs with The Travelling Gin Company — a pop-up cocktail experience on wheels.
Sip of history (Clockwise from left) The tasting experience at Kennington Park, Beefeater Gin Distillery museum and Airbnb Plus at Fulham
On a sunny afternoon, we made our way to Kennington Park, a verdant space in South London, to learn more about the duo and taste the quintessential English tipple served from the baskets of their delivery bicycle.
A man wearing an apron serves our group cocktails in plastic cups, and we are all in high spirits. Suddenly, what we think is the long arm of the law arrives in a buggy. Truly, a Bertie Wooster situation.
At home, in Fulham
The Airbnb home in London
To begin the story, it all started when I flew into London and settled into my temporary British home, an Airbnb Plus in Fulham.
Not only is Fulham home to two football clubs — Chelsea and Fulham — Wimbledon is just a stone’s throw away from my AirBnb. Wikipedia states that Fulham was once home to a gasworks and my residence still has Old Gas Works engraved on it. Apparently, this was once its restaurant. Although not very well-known for its food, it used to draw an eclectic crowd of celebrities. The building has now been converted into a plush home in grey and white with wooden floors, complete with wall-to-wall carpeting, two bedrooms, a large living room and well-equipped open kitchen.
After a good night’s sleep, the next day I travel to Kennington Park to visit a gin pop-up and a trip to the iconic Beefeater Gin Distillery.
- James Burrough created the award-winning Beefeater Gin.
- Apparently, soldiers were given a shot of gin before a battle, from which we get the usage ‘Dutch courage’.
- James Bond’s Martini is made of vodka, gin and vermouth and, of course, ‘shaken but not stirred’.
- Singapore Sling, with lemon, sugar, gin, cherry brandy and soda water, can be found in Somerset Maugham’s novels and was much enjoyed by the writer himself and actor Noel Coward.
- F Scott Fitzgerald mentions Gin Rickey in
Which brings us back to the park and The Travelling Gin Company. As we are being served, we are also given a brief history of the drink, its arrival in England thanks to William of Orange’s conquest in 1689 and its popularity in its new home. It is at this point that the party gets interrupted by two men in a buggy. However, once explanations are made, they decide to drive away and the spirits continue to flow.
Tales from the distillery
Later, we make our way to the Beefeater Distillery just across the road, for a guided tour of the place where the gin is still handmade and follows the same recipe from the 19th Century. The Edwardian building has an outlet featuring different kinds of gin made on its premises and a museum that narrates the history since its arrival in England.
Large posters and photographs take visitors through an intoxicating past. Gin’s malty Dutch ancestor was ‘Genever’. Over the years, the drink underwent several changes and additions. A heady and, sometimes shady, brew of Britain’s international and local politics, it had a hand in gin becoming the familiar drink it is today.
India connection
It is among the posters that I discover the drink’s ties to India. Quinine, a cure for malaria, was added to tonic water and blended with sugar, water, lime and gin to mask its bitter taste. This was the beginning of the popular cocktail — Gin and Tonic. Since quinine was mandatory for British officers posted in India, it became a common drink.
Depending on the kind of gin you have, every glass contains nuggets of Britain’s colonial past. For instance, Opihr, essentially a London Dry Gin, raises a toast to Britain’s colonial adventures, as it is made with botanicals that once dominated the spice routes. So Opihr has flavours of pepper, coriander and Cubeb berries. And how about Punch? Apparently, it refers to the Hindi panch, which means ‘five’, as five ingredients were needed to make it : water, sugar, lime, tea and alcohol.
Thus enlightened with vignettes of gin history, we make our way to the heart of the distillery, where we are shown vintage equipment and the process itself. And then comes the aromatic and flavoursome botanical room, where we are introduced to the spices and flavours that make gin what it is — juniper, coriander, cinnamon, orange rinds, lemon, pepper, anise and so on.
Finally, our guide takes us to a small tasting room, where all of us are given a taste of the classic gin! Suffice it to say that all were in great spirits!
(The writer was in London at the invitation of Airbnb)
