My grandmother would be pleased.

Gin has never been much to my liking. In fact, for the longest time, when asked what I do not like to drink, I would instantly and firmly respond, "Gin! *shudder*" I have tested this conviction time and agin, especially in light of the fact that my grandmother was a great fan of the gin martini - by my reasoning, if someone so wonderful liked it so much, how is it possible that I detest it so? But alas, my palate has remained obstinately opposed to accepting as enjoyable the unique flavor of gin.

There are likely many who will recoil in horror at my assertion that I have never tasted a Gin and Tonic. (In fact, if there has been one drink I have historically detested more than gin it has most certainly been, and likely will forever be, tonic. Yuck. Though this also has a longer explanation...) I have never drunk a gin martini. Rarely have I enjoyed a cocktail that contained gin. It is one of the admitted failings of my tastebuds and their associated neural circuitry that seems to be set in stone. Or was, until I went to England and tasted a gin that has recalibrated my understanding of the drink.
Image source here.
Webb deVlam is the design firm consulted for the recent Plymouth brand update.
Part of the problem with developing a taste for gin is that most gin that is widely available adheres very strongly to the "London Dry Gin" style of the drink. A quick look at Wikipedia will give a basic understanding of the requirements for something to be called "gin." In short, a spirit in which the dominant flavour and aroma is that of the juniper berry. There are other technical requirements about alcohol content and permitted basic ingredients, but I'll let you read up on the minutae yourselves rather than transcribe them here. There is also a storied history of the evolution of modern gin from the Dutch drink "genever," a drink that is being revived in the current old-school cocktail craze. But that history, too, you may read on your own.

Important here is that not all gin is created equal, a fact for which I am grateful.

Gin has a very complex flavour. The very different vodka is simply the basic spirit distilled from a fermented mash of starch- or sugar-bearing plant matter (I'll let you argue about what must be used to make "Real Vodka".) The flavour of vodka comes from the very slight impurities carried through the distillation and also the water used to create the mash and to dilute the distilled alcohol to the correct strength. Gin, by contrast, starts with a base alcohol that is distilled to the point that it is almost 100% alcohol and has no flavour whatsoever. The only reason to drink that stuff would be to cauterize your epiglottis, disinfect your stomach, and cause instant and catastrophic drunkenness. To this liquid gin-makers add things like juniper berries, coriander and cardamom, lemon and orange peel, pepper, rosemary, etcetera. After steeping the flavourings for a while, the mixture is filtered and distilled again, this time so that only the volatile flavours that taste good will remain in the final spirit. Then the spirit is diluted with water down to regular strength, bottled, and sold. So what you taste when you drink gin is really the mixture of added flavourings and the technique of the distiller and there is infinite variation in both. The London Dry style of gin is a very astringent one. (Astringency can be described as the feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat.) The flavour and "texture" of juniper can range from lightly tart and refreshing all the way to parching. And there are other spices, too, that add to the quality and quantity of the astringency. London Dry gins tend to live at the parching end of the spectrum, hence the description as "dry." Beefeater, Gordons, Bombay Sapphire, and Tanqueray are good examples of the style, if you're curious. And since these are basically the most common brands I was surprised when I tasted Plymouth gin and encountered a totally different animal.Image source here.
The Plymouth distillery, which actually is and forever will be in Plymouth, England, makes a big deal of many aspects of their history - being the original Navy gin, having the terroir of the building and town and water that they use, etcetera. And while most of that is interesting to a point, most important is that they make a gin that still tastes like gin but which warmed my throat and pleased my palate and did not make me pull a hideous and awkward face while trying to force it down. Instead, I could appreciate the flavours rolling around in my mouth - not fighting each other and my tongue, as the dry gins seem to do, but dancing and blooming and then settling to a warm, yet refreshing finish.

Gins, especially smaller-market, craft-distilled gins, are becoming increasingly popular, so I expect to be surprised again, but Plymouth is an old-school, traditional gin. I am happy to have it as a reference point, both for future tasting and for the quality of taste I can try to coax out of cocktail recipes I make up that involve gin. I have been served a few surprising gin cocktails that have further broadened my horizon and look forward to more, though I may never like Gin and Tonic and it may be a while before I can really enjoy a gin martini or two like my grandmother would.

Don't forget the olives!
To you, Grandma.