We are so excited about the recent launch of the Gin Flavouring Craft Kit, we’re giving a shout out to some famous Gin drinkers of the past!
Famous Politicians
Winston Churchill, the ‘Strongman’ who guided the United Kingdom through World War 2 to victory, has a Martini cocktail named after him, the Churchill Martini. This eponymy named cocktail doesn’t include Vermouth, because in his own words, “I would like to observe the vermouth from across the room while I drink my martini.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt, or FDR as most might know him, was the 32nd President of the United States and presided over the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression, as well as most of World War 2. Unlike his British counterpart, FDR loved his Martini with extra Vermouth and even the odd drop or two of Absinthe.
Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, whose career was overshadowed by the much more famous and successful FDR that followed him, still left a legacy, though for mixed reasons. The eponymy named Hover Dam was his main legacy, though his fruitless efforts to curtail the Great Depression and his support of Prohibition were squarely in the negative legacy column. For someone who strongly backed Prohibition, later in life, after catching a nasty case of pneumonia in his 80s, he famously said having just been admitted to hospital, “Sister, can you make a good dry martini?”
Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States, was famous for…well…the fact he was the only person in history to not be voted in as either President or Vice President by the electoral college. This unique situation came about after two corruption scandals, with Richard Nixon being one of them when he resigned due to the Watergate Scandal. However, his love of a Martini with lunch every day while a congressman was such a habit, it took some strong persuasion for him to be convinced it was something he had to give up when taking on the presidency.
Famous Writers and Singers
F. Scott Fitzgerald, the writer of such classics as The Great Gatsby and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button had maybe too great a love of alcohol, though his favourite drink was the simple to make Gin Rickey.
Ernest Hemingway, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist and journalist, who even led a band of French resistance fighters during World War 2, loved cocktails of many kinds. He loved his gin cocktails, such as the Martini, Gin & Tonic, and even a variation of the Americano he called the Gin, Campari & Soda.
Frank Sinatra, singer, actor and member of the Rat Pack fame, liked his Martini on the rocks with a twist of lemon. Just like the previously mentioned Winston Churchill, he wasn’t the biggest fan of vermouth either, with only a ‘shadow’ being added into his Martini.
Famous Fictional Characters
F. Scott Fitzgerald loved the Gin Rickey cocktail so much he even shouted them out in the Great Gatsby, with the titular character, Jay Gatsby, referencing to the drink as "debonair" before downing it with “long, greedy swallows”, which so eloquently describes his clear passion for them.
How about the famous line from Humphrey Bogart’s character Rick from Casablanca; “Of all the Gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine”, then goes on to order a French 75, a mixture of Gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and Champagne.
James Bond, who some might think liked his Vodka Martini the best, ordered his first Martini, now called the Vesper, in Ian Fleming’s first novel, Casino Royale, as well as the 2006 film of the same name. In his own words; “Three measures of Gordon’s (gin), one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet and a thin slice of lemon peel”, and of course, shaken, not stirred.
Still Spirits Flavouring Craft Kits
Still Spirits Flavouring Craft Kits contain a selection of Profile Range flavourings and adjuncts to build Gin and Whiskey style flavoured beverages your way!
The Profile Range flavourings can be bought individually, or simply purchase the Gin or Whiskey Flavouring Craft Kits! These kits provide recipe booklets and all the tools needed to formulate your own favourite evoked tastes, or experiment to create a genuinely unique taste sensation, all by mixing with neutral alcohol purchased separately.
They couldn’t be simpler to make!
- Shake the 50 ml (1.7 US fl oz) bottle well before use
- Follow the individual instructions in the Craft Kit recipe booklets or experiment to create your very own, uniquely flavoured spirits
- Shake the finished product bottle well
- Leave for 24-48 hours
- Enjoy, store for later, or give away as a great gift idea!
Tap into endless possibilities by creating your very own, uniquely flavoured gin.
- Citrus - Lemon Flavouring, Citrus - Grapefruit & Lime Flavouring, Citrus - Bitter Orange Flavouring, Juniper & Coriander Flavouring, Almond Flavouring, Floral Notes - Elderflower & Lavender Flavouring, Root Notes - Angelica & Orris Flavouring, Red Fruits - Raspberry & Strawberry Flavouring, Dark Fruits - Blackberry & Blueberry Flavouring, Grains Of Paradise & Cubeb Flavouring, Liquorice Flavouring, Cinnamon & Cardamom Flavouring, Gin Base Flavouring * 2, Glycerine Adjunct, Recipe Booklet, Pipette, Syringe and Syringe Extension Tube
Whiskey Flavouring Craft Kit
Turn a variety of ingredients into endless Whiskey flavouring profiles that stimulate your senses.
- Astringent Notes Flavouring, Carob Notes Flavouring, Cedar Oak Flavouring, Cereal Notes Flavouring, Fruity Esters Flavouring, Oak Cask Flavouring, Peat Smoke Flavouring, Whiskey Profile A Flavouring, Whiskey Profile B Flavouring, Whiskey Profile C Flavouring, Whiskey Profile D Flavouring, Sweet Vanillin Flavouring, Glycerine Adjunct * 2, Distiller’s Caramel Adjunct, Recipe Booklet, Pipette, Syringe and Syringe Extension Tube
How To Distil
Looking to learn How To Distil your very own homemade spirits, then we have you covered!
Stockists
Still Spirits is a wholesaler of high-quality distilling equipment and ingredients to make your own homemade spirits. To purchase the products, please contact our highly knowledgeable network of stockists at homebrew and specialist stores worldwide.
