Cocktails and Canapes Night with G’Vine Gins at Room

Gin, and G’Vine gin at that, is a real weakness of mine. You saw the spectacular creations that can be made with some thought and effort when I judged G’Vine’s competition at Epernay last month. The amazing candyfloss encrusted ‘divine’ cocktail blew me away. So imagine my delight when I discovered the cocktail and canapé night arranged at Room with G’Vine as the gin of choice, I was salivating just thinking about it.

On arrival I was greeted with a G’Vine Nouaison with 1724 tonic (a lovely crisp tonic that is slightly sweeter than the standard tonic you will find in most bars) and shown to a table. The cocktails were all designed by Bar Manager Amir with a talk about G’Vine and its drinks on the night delivered by special guest Jamie Jones. Jamie, of Liquorists fame, is also the reigning winner of the International G’Vine cocktail competition giving him the title ‘Global Gin Connoisseur 2013’ and meaning we were honoured to be in his company. He spoke passionately about the G’Vine brand and explained how the gin is made (did you know it starts off life as a vodka?), as well as answering questions from an inquisitive crowd about his competition win and all the gin facts we could throw at him. This guy knows his stuff! Did you know G’Vine is made in Cognac? And that it is made from vine flowers that only flower once a year? G’Vine is a premium quality brand and this is evident through the two gins they produce. Flouraison is my personal favourite and has been called a ‘beginners gin’ before now. For me it has a lighter flavour, less spicy than the Nouaison with grape and liquorice flavours being the most dominant on my palate. If you are more partial to a London dry gin then the Nouaison may suit your palate better… a hit of spice and a more evident juniper taste also makes it slightly easier to mix into a good gin cocktail.

Not only did we get to try these beautiful gins, we also got a taste of the June liquor. Sweet and syrupy with less alcohol ABV, I’d happily sip this with a few chunks of ice on a warm summer’s day. I was excited to see how it would work into a cocktail, my sweet tooth was dancing around already!

The first cocktail of the night paired the Nouaison gin with framboise, lillet, lemon and a dusting of black pepper. This was served with a salmon tartar canapé. The coriander and chilli so evident in the canapé worked perfectly with the flavours of the gin and the pepper on top. The creaminess of the salmon cut through the lime of the canapé and matched the tartness of the framboise to create an amazing taste explosion. Sorry for the poor picture, I was that excited I had drunk half of my cocktail before taking a photo and the rest of the table had finished theirs. I’d say that makes it an instant hit!

This was followed by my favourite pairing of the evening. The cocktail was a heady mix of Flouraison gin with rhubarb and cardamom cordial, rose lemonade and lime. The canapé; a 5 meat terrine on a gingerbread croute and topped with a small square of rhubarb jelly. Amir’s twist on a gin fizz was a floral delight, just amazing and I could have drunk them all evening. The spice from the gingerbread worked well with the cardamom of the cordial with the sweetness pairing perfectly with the rich meat terrine. One simply wasn’t enough.

We finished with Amir’s twist on a classic flip side cocktail; Nouaison gin, white chocolate, orange muscat with almond milk, egg white and a dusting of nutmeg. The canapé simply being a milk chocolate shortbread with cardamom. The cocktail was stronger than it sounds with the almond milk providing a less creamy alternative to a whole milk or cream that other bartenders may have chosen. The canapé was sweet and picked up on the white chocolate flavours of the cocktail without overpowering it. The canapé was my favourite of the night, it melted in the mouth and the cardamom topping was divine. The cocktail was my least favourite of the evening, purely because I was expecting something sweeter with a rich and creamy finish. Proof that you should never judge a book by its cover and others adored it.

A brilliant and informative evening was had by all and you simply have to pop down to Room and demand Amir makes you a selection of the 3. Both gins can be found behind the bar, be brave and try them neat. You will be surprised…

I attended this event as a guest of the organiser. This has in no way affected my review which is an honest account of my dining experience.