Continuing our look into the line-up from Brave Spirits, we take a look at Standing Guard Gin.  First however, we need to discuss what constitutes gin.

Gin has been produced in one form or another since the thirteenth century.  Basically it is composed of a neutral grain spirit flavored with  flavored with botanicals such as juniper, coriander, orange peel, lemon peel, anise, bitter almonds, caraway and a host of others.  There is no set recipe for gin, but one thing that it must have is juniper.  Without juniper, gin simply ceases to exist.  In fact, the word gin is a derivative of the Dutch word for juniper, “genever”.  Somehow along the way, it simply became known as gin.  There are several different styles of gin–London dry, Genever or Hollands Gin, Plymouth, Old Tom and New American.  Among these recipes may differ greatly, with no master distiller ever giving away his gin recipe.

How does Standing Guard gin fit into all of this you may ask?  First all of, Standing Guard is indeed a gin.  The subtle, yet distinct aroma of juniper is present upon nosing this spirit, along with the familiar smell of grain alcohol.  You get this sharp alcohol bite because gins, like Standing Guard, are not aged at all.  There are some gins which are aged and we hear they are interesting.  The juniper is a dead giveaway.

We tasted Standing Guard straight.  A person doesn’t normally drink gin straight.  Like vodka, gin is designed for cocktails and shines best in cocktails.  There are exceptions to this rule, however, when dealing with some of the Genever or Hollands style gins on the market.  Since we had no reference point, having never tasted straight gin before, we took Bombay Dry Gin and Standing Guard and sampled them back-to-back.  While the Bombay Dry had a strong juniper profile, we found Standing Guard gin to have a muted juniper flavor, with a bit of spice, perhaps cinnamon, followed by a clean, astringent taste.

We decided to treat Standing Guard in a classic cocktail, The Gibson.  Using a 2:1 ratio of gin to dry vermouth, we stirred our Gibson to icey perfection, and strained into a chilled cocktail glass.  Of course, the garnish is the traditional two cocktail onions.    We found this to be a decent drink, with Standing Guard shining through the vermouth and flavors of the cocktail onions.  The 2:1 ratio used is not good for all gins we’ve sampled.  For example, a gin (the juniper flavor) can be overcome by the vermouth.  Perhaps that is one of the reasons that vermouth is such a stumbling block for many people, including bartenders.  Every spirit is different and should be examined and treated in cocktails in order to maximize the flavors desired in that particular drink.    Standing Guard, however, stood up in this vermouth-heavy drink.

We would classify Standing Guard as a New American Style due to it’s clean, crisp juniper flavor and less-complex finish.  There are many good New American Style Gins on the market today, and Standing Guard could be listed among them.   As mentioned earlier, most drinkers would not drink gin straight, but instead use it in cocktails.  Standing Guard gin is a good gin for mixing, and not a bad one in a predominately gin drink like a Martini or Gibson.  A great addition to your bar,  Standing Guard would serve as a gin to use when introducing otherwise wary gin-wary guests, because of it’s less pungent juniper aroma and flavor.