Old Tom Gin

[Ethan Bentley]

I've just done an Old Tom Gin tasting at a bar in London and I wondered if any of the loungers buy and drink Old Tom Gin? If so how do they mix and what brand(S) do they buy?

I'm quite a fan of Haymans.

 

[scotrace]

An excellent article explaining the various gin types, for those who may not know what "Old Tom" means.

 

[Guttersnipe]

I like Haymens too. When I've used Old Tom to mix it's usually been in a Martinez (1 part gin, 1 part French Vermouth, 1 dash orange bitters, 1 dash curacao; served up with a cherry). It make s pretty good Tom Colin's as well. For whatever reason I've always associated Old Tom's with gin-based drink that were on the sweeter side . . . don't know why, though.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I like Haymens too. When I've used Old Tom to mix it's usually been in a Martinez (1 part gin, 1 part French Vermouth, 1 dash orange bitters, 1 dash curacao; served up with a cherry). It make s pretty good Tom Colin's as well. For whatever reason I've always associated Old Tom's with gin-based drink that were on the sweeter side . . . don't know why, though.

Thanks for the response, I think maybe the sweet gin cocktails comes from the nature of Hayman's which is noticeable sweeter than a dry gin. This is quite different to other Old Toms such as Jensen and Ransom which re much dryer and maybe even a touch bitter.

These are my thoughts on the tasting: http://summerfruitcup.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/oldtomgin/

Xorigeur made a very piney Martinez so if you like a floral gins I'd give this a try. I think Haymans make a great sweet Martini though.

Thanks Tomasso for that article, it's very comprehensive.

 

[DJH]

An excellent article explaining the various gin types, for those who may not know what "Old Tom" means.

Yes that is indeed a good article. I don't recall ever seeing Old Tom Gin, although Plymouth was still pretty common when I was younger in the UK.

 

[scotrace]

Thanks Tomasso for that article, it's very comprehensive.

???

 

[Absinthe_1900]

The Ramos Gin fizz originally used Old Tom Gin.

 

[MissHuff]

If you're into Old Tom Gin definitely try the brand Ransom. It's ridiculously delicious.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

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Whoops! Sorry Scotrace, the perils of having more than one thread open at once. Thanks very much for the article though.

 

[jmrtnko]

Hayman's Old Tom is pretty much our house gin. It's quite smooth and mixable. I've also tried Ransom and it's okay, but if I wanted a genever, I'd buy that instead. Jensen... well... was a bit, for lack of a better word... off. Not bad necessarily, just not my preference.

And last night a friend was back in town from London and very, very generously gifted me with a bottle of Dorchester. Never thought I'd be able to try it. It's very different from the other brands I've had so far. Very peppery and floral with a bit of citrus. I'm not generally a straight spirit drinker, but it was extremely smooth. Now that I've got it home, I'm eager to try it out in a couple cocktails tonight.

 

[jmrtnko]

The Martinez with the Dorchester was very different than with the Hayman's. We use 2 Old Tom, .75 Carpano Antica, .25 Maraska Maraschino, 1 dash Angostura Orange, Lemon Twist. The Dorchester has a bit more flavor of its own to stand up to the Carpano, but that flavor is pretty much all pepper and flower in the drink. Not bad, just very different. I do have to say we did like the dryness, or at least the perceived dryness. Our Martinez has been getting a little too sweet lately. I don't think I'll switch to Dorchester (for obvious availability reasons) but I might go back to Luxardo when the Maraska runs out.

Tonight maybe an Aviation, or a 1880's-style martini.

 

[Fletch]

Was Old Tom at all popular in Weimar era Germany? ISTR seeing it on the bar menu of the Do X flightship ca. 1930-31.

 

[jmrtnko]

Was Old Tom at all popular in Weimar era Germany? ISTR seeing it on the bar menu of the Do X flightship ca. 1930-31.

It was waning in popularity compared to London Drys by then, but it's completely possible.

 

[randooch]

An excellent article explaining the various gin types, for those who may not know what "Old Tom" means.

Fascinating material there, Scotrace. Now I need to find a bottle of Ransom, which shouldn't be hard here in Oregon.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I can imagine so, what I do know is that some of the best selections of Old Tom's are in German Bar's and two of the ones we tasted are made by a German company.

 

[listenone]

Hayman's Old Tom is the best