Gin: The Art and Craft of the Artisan Revival

by Aaron J. Knoll

Gin introduces the reader to the global artisan gin revolution, highlighting the spirit’s history and the ways that today’s craft drinks-makers have transformed the notion of what a gin can and should be.New Gins are hitting the market seemingly every day. This book will help the reader make sense of this rapid expansion, and contextualize them within gin’s illustrious history from the Renaissance apothecaries of Europe, to the streets of London, to the small local distilleries and cocktail bars of the United States, Canada, England, Spain, Australia and beyond. This is the first book to take a closer look at the emerging new categories of gin and to place it within context alongside the old guard. It includes profiles of key players in the distilling world and hundreds of ideas for how to drink gin – as a cocktail, in a classic gin & tonic or neat, as an aperitif or a liqueur.

Genres: Nonfiction

584 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 17, 2015

About the author

I fell in love with gin at a bar in Buffalo, quarter to last call on a cold winter night. The Gin was Martin Miller's, and it was love at first sip. Aaron has been writing about and covering The Gin Renaissance since the late 00's.

Since then he's written two books on the topic, including the 2015, Gin: The Art and Craft of the Artisan Revival with Quarto (which as of 2017 has now been published in four languages). His first book The Craft of Gin was a partnership with David T. Smith of Summer Fruit Cup.

He's done taste and gin history consulting with distillers in the U.S., tasted on gin judging panels. His blog TheGinisIn.com is the most popular site devoted to only gin in the world. His website contains reviews and tasting notes for over 450 gins.

Aaron's favorite drink is the Negroni.

Reviews

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lately, gin seems to be more fashionable here in Beerstralia; so much so, we have our own distilleries. And the stuff they put out don’t taste like Granny May Clampett’s rheumatiz medicine neither. So I was pretty keen to read Aaron Knoll’s latest contribution to Ginworld – "Gin: The Art and Craft of the Artisan Revival, In 300 Distillations". Holy crap! This guy tasted 300 different gins and still had enough brain cells left to write a book. A bloody good book too. Aaron is my hero. In fact, he should be knighted. Let’s call him Sir Osis of Liver from now on.

So Sir Osis starts out by giving us the history of gin, and a comprehensive history it is. He well documents the genesis of my favourite drink and he has obviously done a great deal of research, besides the drinking of liver-crippling doses of the alcoholic holy water. I found the whole chapter fascinating.

Then we move on to "The Appreciation of Gin." (I appreciate it – a lot.) This gets into the nitty gritty of making gin. There’s even an edifying section on “How to Taste Gin”. Apparently whipping the cap off and taking a quick snort straight out of the bottle and then putting the bottle back on the shelf before the liquor store owner notices, is NOT the way to do it; but apart from being arrested, it sure is the cheapest way.

Next we have a little Gin trip around The World where Sir Osis gives us his tasting notes on 300 different gins, including a few fair-dinkum Aussie ones. Good on ya Osis. The author lists his top 10 gins, and I agree with only one of those: Plymouth Gin. It’s the one that God keeps in His special hidey hole where the angels won’t find it. He leaves his cheap crappy Gordon’s Gin out on His sideboard for them when they visit for God's Sunday social cards game (Strip Poker if you must know. And God never loses, but laughs a lot at all the naked, drunk angels as they leave). Gin tasting is such a subjective thing. I suggest you taste many gins before you decide what’s best. Many many many many gins.

Aaron, you’re a wizard.

I LOVED this book, as you might have guessed. It sits proudly on our coffee/gin table and is the envy of all my gin-drinking guests. I highly recommend it - and gin. Gin is good.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot and got too many ideas for gins I want to try, but I wish it had been longer. Sometimes, it seemed like the author was trying to be too concise in his phrasing and that made it a little hard to understand at times.

[Laura Grow-Nyberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me get the nitpicks out of the way: it was shockingly British coming from a Queens-based, Buffalo-born writer*. Probably as a result of this, there were a few moments when I disagreed with the publisher's copy editor as to comma placement.

That said! This is both a definitive guide and a gorgeous coffee table book. There are at least a half dozen gins, plus two or three tonics, that I'm tempted to run out and buy right now. It's not noon yet, and this book has me craving a martini!

If you want to learn about gin, being dabbling, or expand your palate, I highly recommend this book.


*Full disclosure: I'm friends with the author, and have admired his expertise in gin since long before this book was in the works.

[Rianna Rowsell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, interesting, and has inspired me to write a 'gin hit list' based on the tasting notes.