Aviation Old Tom Gin

About Aviation Old Tom Gin

They experimented with over 30 different recipes before settling on the one that is produced today. The special gin was actually then named after the well-known pre-Prohibition cocktail, The Aviation. The famous cocktail was created in the early 1900s by well-known bartender Hugo Ensslin and is made with gin, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette, and lemon juice.

The distilled gin was originally bottled in a wine bottle with a blue label. The current bottle is shaped like a flask, inspired by the Art Deco period, adorned with a black label and a silver cap. Produced by House Spirits Distillery, the ratio for the recipe remains secret, but there are 8 known botanicals used during distillation: juniper, lavender, sweet and bitter orange peel, cardamom, coriander, Indian sarsaparilla, and anise seed.

The small-batch gin is pot-distilled twice and bottled at 42% ABV. The seven different natural botanicals that are used for flavoring are steeped in grain spirit for 48 hours, then redistilled in a custom-built 400-gallon pot still, one batch at a time. The spirit is then brought to proof with deionized Cascade mountain water before bottling. Aviation’s Master Distiller Christian Krogstad credits Aviation’s natural ingredients, and low reflux stills, for Aviation’s bright flavor. With a smooth juniper base, it has a subtle, clean finish.

Historically, an Old Tom is a sweeter style of gin that had sugar and flavorings added. The Old Tom variant of Aviation Gin has none of those, instead taking their spirit for one year of aging in American white oak barrels that used to hold House Spirits’ Westward Whiskey for 3 to 4 years. This mellows the gin without detracting from its original flavor, making it perfect for sipping.

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About Gin

According to Winston Churchill, “The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen’s lives and minds than all the doctors in the Empire,” referring to the British officers using it to treat malaria in India.

Initially made for medicinal purposes, gin gets most of its flavor from the juniper berries added after the distillation process. It sure has come a long way from the Middle Ages, with the introduction of new botanicals, fruits, and spices, bringing it closer to people of all flavor varieties.