An annual part of moving from spring to summer for me is the ritual transition from the beloved warm amber of the single-malt Scotch to the icy clear shimmer of the gin martini, up, dry, with a twist of lime.  Which is not to say that I’d decline a Scotch June, July or August, or a martini at Christmas time … any more than I’d refrain from red wine with fish if that’s what I was in the mood for; sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants.  But generally speaking, I do martinis in the summer.

Which made New Hampshire Business Review’s most recent Top Shelf Tasting event a perfect compliment for the season– a gin tasting on a warm June evening at Cotton (www.cottonfood.com/) , along the banks of the Merrimack River in Manchester’s historic Millyard.

We sat on an outdoor patio beneath a vine covered arbor, while Mike Somers from Southern Wine and Spirits of New Hampshire guided us through tasting seven gins (Boodles, Plymouth, Beefeater, Tanqueray Rangpur, Hendricks, No. 10 By Tanqueray, and Whitney Neill London Dry Gin) and several gin cocktails.  The tasting was accompanied by a great selection of bold flavors created by Chef/Owner Jeff Paige’s team at Cotton.

Gin was created in Holland, in the 16th century, and originated as a medicinal product (which I think helps to explain my continued robust constitution despite years of wild youth-, then work-, then baby-induced sleep deprivation).  It is made of neutral spirits infused with botanicals, the principle of which is the juniper berry.  Many cultures have used juniper berries as medicine – from the treatment of everything from diabetes to urinary tract infections.  The name “gin” itself is derived from the Dutch word for juniper, genever.  Other botanicals in gin are specific to the maker, and often secret, but can include things such as lemon or lime, anisette, cinnamon, coriander and orris root.   In the case of Whitney Neill London Dry Gin, which is not yet for sale in New Hampshire but hopefully will be soon, the botanicals even include the fruit of the African Boabab tree.

As is so often the case with human nature, the one gin you can’t buy right now in New Hampshire, the Whitney Neill, struck me as being one I’d love to use in martinis, at least on special occasions.  It’s a got a big flavor, like Beefeater, that can stand up to chilling and to the dry vermouth, but is more complex and diplomatic than the Beefeater.

There are several different types of gin and they have wildly different characters.  English (London) Dry gin is the most popular.  There is also Dutch/Sweet/Holland gin, with a much more intense flavor often created by the immersion of the botanicals into the grain mash before distillation.  This type is not typically used to make mixed drinks.  There’s also American Dry gin, which is lower in proof than the others, and Sloe gin, which is not a real gin but a sweet, gin-based liqueur.

Reviewing my tasting notes a few days after the event (is it my imagination or does one’s handwriting change slightly as the tasting event proceeds?) I’ll sum up the gins this way:

• Boodles – a baseline gin, fairly neutral, not offensive but it doesn’t thrill you either.  A nice mixer. 

• Plymouth – this was a bit too smooth, too neutral, too gentle for my taste.  It would mix well, though.  And others at my table felt differently; some liked this best of all in fact.  If it Plymouth were a person, you wouldn’t hesitate to seat it next to your mother at a dinner party.

• Beefeater – this is what I have a typical, non-special occasion martini.  It’s a big, brawny liquor with just enough sophistication to be dangerous and if it were a person you’d seat it next to your brother-in-law at the dinner party, and they’d swap stories about big game hunting in Africa, playing rugby in college and how they prefer the old Dutch Masters to modern abstract artists.

• Tanqueray Rangpur – smooth and sleek, with a potent lime essence that drapes itself over the juniper and becomes the primary flavor.  Very nice to sip. 

• Hendricks – complicated, evocative gin.  Rub a bit between your palms and smell and you pick up hints of cucumber and rose petals.  It’s not just a tasty gin – it’s a facial!

• No. Ten By Tanqueray – This tastes like another great martini gin to me – complex with enough liveliness to stand up to the vermouth.  Some people would argue that while it’s a lovely gin, it’s too heavy on the citrus to make a good traditional martini.  But I like mine with a twist instead of an olive anyway… so take it for what it’s worth. 

As we drank and talked, we worked our way through a menu as rich in big, complex flavors as the gin: wood-grilled, balsamic-marinated zucchini and summer squash, chilled and topped with sliced fresh mozzarella and balsamic-garlic-marinated tomatoes and drizzled with sweet basil aioli.  Then a couple of big plates of boneless chicken tenders tossed in a sesame honey hoisin sauce and boneless chicken tenders tossed in garlic butter and hot cherry pepper. Shrimp cocktail with Bloody Mary cocktail sauce.  And a plate of cheeses. 

And all the while, the river rolled by and brought a warm breeze to play with the vines in the arbor and glasses clinked on table tops and ice rattled in shakers … and despite the fact there were a few days left to go on the calendar, it sure felt like summer to me. 

New Hampshire Business Review (nhbr.com) sponsors Top Shelf Tastings about six times a year around the state, featuring various beverages, from wines to high-end tequilas paired with foods from a variety of New Hampshire restaurants.