Citadelle isn’t just releasing this specially-flavored (with 19 spices) and cognac-barrel aged (5 months) gin — it’s actually going the vintage route, with this 2009 edition recently hitting shelves.

Versus the 2008 version, the only difference in recipe I can tell is one month less in oak: 5 months vs. the 2008 bottling’s 6 months. It’s still a hazy golden hue, with spice and citrus, and a little vanilla finish imparted by the time in cask. Just as good as the 2008 — perhaps a little smoother, even. I like it a lot and recommend it just as highly as last year’s model.

Even better: It can now be found for cheaper than the 2008, about $5 less per bottle. Win.

A / $35 / citadellegin.com

Ted Haigh reminds us in Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails that there’s a reason why the Pegu Club in New York has its name.

Pegu Club Cocktail
1 1/2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. Cointreau
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Goes down a little too easy. Note: The better the quality of the gin you use, the better this drink will be.

Made this for company, to rousing applause — to take advantage of Bulldog gin, one of my new favorites, and Ty Ku liqueur. The cool, light green color didn’t come across in my photo, alas…

The Bull Ku Cocktail
1 1/4 oz. Bulldog gin
1/2 oz. Ty Ku (original) liqueur
Prosecco or cava

Shake the gin and Ty Ku with ice and strain into a cocktail glass or champagne flute. Top with prosecco or cava.

Yes Virginia, they still make gin in England, despite all the Johnny-come-latelys operating out of the States and other countries.

In fact, you might say they still make the best gin in England, as time and time again these blokes prove that they can’t be beat when it comes to flavoring neutral spirits with the little berries off of evergreen trees.

Bulldog Gin is a quadruple distilled spirit, 80 proof, that hails from London proper. Infused with the traditional botanicals, it adds to the mix considerably by including in its ingredient list dragon eye (aka longon), poppy, lotus leaves, lemon, almond, cassia, lavender, orris, licorice, angelica, coriander, and of course juniper.

The result is distinctly gin but hardly something I’d call a “bulldog.” The spirit is actually quite delicate and mild, a harsh rebuke to the over-greened Beefeaters of the world. Picking out the flavorings is tricky. The juniper is certainly the strongest, but I also get a lot of lemon, then the lavender and the licorice. (But rest assured it’s not absinthy in any way.)

Best of all, Bulldog isn’t harsh but is quite smooth and easy to drink solo, rare for a lot of gins. Whether you’re a tonic type or want a slightly unusual martini, Bulldog is an excellent pick, one of the best gins on the market today and at a great price.

A / $25 / bulldoggin.com

This recipe comes to us from Virginia mixologist Todd Thrasher, as published in Food & Wine Cocktails ‘09. Fun little cocktail… as long as you like basil!

The photo in the book is a whole lot greener, I have to say.

Sweet Basil
10 basil leaves, plus one for garnish
3 oz. Lillet Blanc
1/2 oz. gin
1 oz. simple syrup

Lightly muddle 10 basil leaves in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and other ingredients, and shake well. Double strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with extra basil leaf.

Every time a holiday rolls around, the spirits makers commission all manner of cocktails from their in-house mixologists and professionals in the field. Independence Day is no exception, and this post full of selected recipes is drawn from what is arguably the biggest bumper crop of cocktail ideas I’ve seen since starting this blog. Hope you like red, white, and blue.

The American Collins

1 1/2 oz. Bombay Sapphire
3/4 oz. simple syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
4 Bing cherries, pitted
8 blueberries

In a Collins glass, muddle the blueberries and cherries in the lemon juice and simple syrup. Add Sapphire and ice and stir briefly. Top with club soda. Garnish: 1 Bing Cherry and 1 Lemon Wheel.

Firecracker

3 oz. Flor de Caña 7 Year Grand Reserve Rum
1 oz. Triple Sec
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. simple syrup (boil and cool equal parts water and sugar)
4 watermelon chunks
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Whirl all ingredients together and pour into a glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Stars and Stripes

1/4 oz. Lucid Absinthe
1 oz. Blueberry Vodka
1/4 oz. Simple Syrup
Splash of Lemon Juice
Drizzle of Raspberry Liqueur
Ginger beer
Fresh Blueberries

Muddle fresh blueberries and add syrup, Lucid, juice and vodka. Add ice and shake and pour into highball glass. Drizzle Liqueur and top with Ginger Beer. Garnish with one sugar cube.

Sobieski Star

1 1/2 oz. Sobieski Vodka
1/2 oz. Massenez Créme de Peche
3/4 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Lychee Juice
1/4 oz. Lime Juice
Garnish: Star fruit

Put all the ingredients in a shaker, shake and strain into a Martini glass.

The Roman Candle

4 oz. Korbel Brut
1 oz. Tuaca Italian liqueur
Garnish with dried cranberries

Combine in a tall flute.

ZICO Doodle Dandy

2 oz. ZICO Mango
4 oz. Skyy Infusions Vodka all natural passion fruit
1 oz. Cointreau
Splash of cranberry juice
Slice of orange
Strawberry

Mix all ingredients together in a shaker with ice. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh strawberry and enjoy.

Old Forester Summer Julep

1 1/2 oz. Old Forester bourbon
2 oz. Lemonade
1 oz. Pomegranate Juice

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Tanqueray has its 10. Beefeater kicks that up to 24.

Premium gins — and expansions of big-name brands — are becoming quite the rage, and “24″ from England’s Beefeater is the latest in this trend.

24 is an extension of the venerable Beefeater brand, drawing its name from the 24-hour period its botanicals steep in the base spirit (an unspecified grain spirit) before it magically turns into gin. The botanicals used in this concoction range from the traditional to the exotic, including the usual suspects — juniper, orange peel, lemon peel, coriander seed, angelica root, angelica seed, orris root — some eye-raising, unusual additions — licorice, grapefruit peel, almond — and two extremely odd ones — Japanese sencha tea and Chinese green tea. (Legend has it Beefeater’s founder was the grandson of a tea seller, hence the lattermost additives.)

Traiditonal Beefeater is loaded with powerful juniper character, and 24 is no exception. But here the juniper is softer, tempered by a good amount of citrus. The grapefruit actually comes through strongly, which surprised me.

Sadly I didn’t really get anything I’d describe as tea in this gin — I don’t know how you could when it’s got to stand up to that ingredient list — though I love the idea of it. Maybe, if you strain, and think about tea, you can taste it in there. But maybe that’s just my imagination.

Either way, it’s an interesting, and worthy, gin — but as with regular Beefeater it still strikes me as packing a little too much in the juniper department. But hey, that’s just me.

24 runs a hot 90 proof (needs lots of ice) and bottled in an ornate decanter with an infernal red base. Quite striking.

B+ / $30 / beefeater24.com

Today I did a fun comparison, checking out historical Google search trends for the terms gin, vodka, whiskey, tequila, and rum.

While vodka’s win (based on average search volume since 2004) is no surprise, the fact that tequila was right behind — and has led search volume since late 2007 — was quite a shock.

Also: They apparently love rum in Sweden. (Oh, and wine and beer destroy all the spirits, handily.)

Check out the complete data here!

[click to enlarge]

This is an insane amount of work for a drink (and it’s barely a drink), but I absolutely love the presentation. This recipe for a reinvented (and alcoholic) BLT sandwich comes from Gina Chersevani.

P.B.L.T.
1 oz Plymouth gin
1 cube of lettuce water
1 cube of tomato water
Spray vinegar on one side of glass and stick dehydrated bacon dust on side.

First spray vinegar on a glass and dip in dehydrated bacon dust, then place a lettuce water cube, tomato cube, then pour the Plymouth Gin over top.

Tomato Cubes

16 oz of fresh tomato juice (either in a juicer or done in a blender and then strained)
1 teaspoon of white pepper
1 pinch of fleur de sel
4 oz of fresh lemon juice
4 dashes of Tabasco

Combine all ingredients together and fill ice trays.  Makes about 24-30 cubes

Lettuce Cubes

14 oz of lettuce water (2 large heads of iceberg lettuce, that has been juiced in a juicer)
1 teaspoon of white pepper
1 pinch of fleur de sel
4 oz of lemon juice

Combine all ingredients together and fill ice trays.  Makes about 20-24 cubes