I’ve been a bit slow on updating for the latest gin tastings, but Copperhead is something special that I definitely want to share!
Copperhead gin tasting
The glossy copper bottle – inspired by old school pharmacy bottles.
Made in Belgium, Copperhead gin is named after the traditional copper stills used in the production and the snake symbol used by pharmacists, which is based on a copperhead snake. Gin was originally used as medicinal drink discovered by accident, hence the link to medicine and pharmacy.
What does Copperhead do?
However Copperhead don’t produce the kind of potions originally distilled to ‘cure’ illnesses. But they do distill their own blend of bitters, designed to go with the gin to help with appetite, digestion and energy!
- Apertrivium acts like food supplement to give you an appetite, with a bitter citrus taste
- Digestivium does what it says in the name, helps you digest, with a heavy ginger – good for stomach
- Energeticum contains guarana to give you energy and has a citric taste
So that’s kinda medicinal – they don’t seem to have come up with a blend that cures hangovers though ?
Perfect serve – Copperhead with orange and coriander garnish and different blend of bitters for different people
How to serve
To make the perfect Copperhead gin and tonic, start with the gin, then add a couple of drops of the blends, before the ice and garnish. The bitter blends won’t mix with water, so they need to be added to the alcohol before ice is added to the drink.
Our small selection – one of each blend and my special mix of aperitivum and energeticum, part of the fun is experimenting!
So what about the actual gin? They decided to stick to the classic London dry gin base with just five botanicals – juniper, coriander, cardamom, orange peel and Angelica root.
The resulting flavour is great in a G&T, but also mild enough not to blow your socks off in a martini. Sometimes you don’t want to be hit in the face with a pine forest of juniper! The recommended tonic to serve it with is 1724. This is because it has a lighter quinine from Chile and Peru, and is milder using clementines and mandarins instead of bitter orange and lemons. This really lets the flavour of the gin shine through. Copperhead also makes a fabulous gin fizz.
Aperitivo at the Oliver Conquest
If you want to try out some twists on classic cocktails using lots of different gins then head upstairs at the Oliver Conquest for Aperitivo. As well as having monthly free tastings like the Copperhead one (check out their events here), they also do cocktails with complimentary snacks.
We got this selection with our Copperhead tasting – foccacia, salami, olives and mozzarella – very tasty!
The upstairs room is a shrine to the Italian Aperitivo (the pre dinner cocktails and snacks!). It has lots of posters for the traditional Italian bitters used in the classic cocktails, such as Contratto:
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