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A Hydrosol Gin Cocktail Experiment I've been obsessed with gin on the one hand and hydrosols on the other for a little while now, and mixing them together seemed only natural, though they may strike the uninitiated as strange bedfellows. Hydrosols and alcohols (as well as essential oils) are all distilled. So what is distillation? Simply put—which is about all I can manage since I'm no scientist, distillation is the heating of a liquid to create steam in order to separate out substances. Different substances have different boiling points. The two vapors are run through condenser tubing and cooled which results in two new liquids--alcohol and water, for example. In the case of distilling for alcoholic spirits each distillation results in a higher ratio of alcohol by volume to water and other chemical compounds--in other words the proof of wine is miraculously transmuted into brandy beer into whiskey, fermented potatoes into vodka... and the angels sing hallelujah! In the case of hydrosols and essential oils, steam passes through aromatic plant material—rose or orange blossoms, for example, and the volatile oils separate out from the waters. In this case, both the substances have their uses as the resulting essential oil is very potent and lipophilic while the hydrosol (AKA hydrolat) is water-soluble and much milder. This is why essential oils should be diluted, while the corresponding hydrosols have historically been used in cooking and can be used undiluted. A quick Google search offers up thousands of recipes using both essential oils and hydrosols (including cucumber) in homemade beauty products and home remedies, but since this article is about drinking I will just get to our booze of the day. The word gin derives from jenever, which is the Dutch word for juniper. As Italy has grappa, Poland vodka, Ireland whiskey, the Netherlands offers jenever as its national treasure. It travelled to England and was transformed into London dry gin, and the great destroyer in the eighteenth century as illustrated by the degenerates in Hogarth's "Gin Lane". Gin differs from most other spirits because, at some later distillation--after one has been left with a fairly neutral spirit—the alcohol is run through a still that has some place to hang a basket of botanicals. This makes its production even more similar to that of hydrosols and essential oils. The alcoholic vapors pass through the plant material and pick up its volatile oils--its aromatic chemical compounds—and is flavored. In order to be labeled gin, the botanicals must include juniper, but as for the rest, it's a free-for-all. Because so many of the botanicals in gin are the same used to produce hydrosols, the possible pairings to highlight this botanical or that is limitless. Hendrick's gin launched in 1999, but its history is long and peculiar as described on its website. Though a rather new label in the gin world, where brands like Tanqueray have been around since the early nineteenth century, it is quite established when compared to the many wonderful micro-distilleries that are popping up everywhere--even in my Astoria!--and all of which I plan to get friendly with until my liver gives out... Besides its unique blend of botanicals, Hendrick's infuses its gin with cucumber and rose, Rosa damascena for those aromatherapy geeks out there. I decided to make my first hydro cocktail highlight the green brightness of the cucumber, but if you like the floral, which I do, the following simple recipe can also be done using rose hydrosol. The Cucumis genus of viney fruiting plants includes our Cucumis sativus as well as melons, and this particular cucumber hydrosol that I purchased at Stillpoint Aromatics, has a distinctly melon-like aroma. Having lured some friends over with a bottle of Hendrick's I proceeded to pour out a shot for everyone so that we could appreciate the happy floral and green goodness of this award-winning gin, and while they were sipping and cooing with delight, I poured out an ounce of seltzer water from a liter bottle and replaced it with one ounce of cucumber hydrosol, put the lid back on and gently tipped the bottle upside down once or twice. Do not shake unless you are looking to have a cucumber shower—which by the way would be wonderful for your skin, but probably put a damper on your night! Because we were buds from way back, I didn't worry about getting fancy pants--just poured some Hendrick's into vessels, tossed in an ice cube and topped with the instant cucumber seltzer, et voila—yum! If we were high-class with actual furniture instead of folding chairs and tall glasses instead of mason jars, we'd have garnished with cucumber wheels or perhaps a citrus zest, but we're simple people. Upon his first sip of this sparkling elixir, my boyfriend said, "I want to have this every morning!" In other words, it's very refreshing. Cucumber hydrosol is great for digestion. It is even said to have some appetite suppressant benefits if taken before a meal. Speaking of dieting, how about a delicious and refreshing cocktail with no added sugar? It's amazing how hydrosols strong aromas trick the brain into perceiving sweetness, without the need for the high fructose corn syrup of commercial tonic water. Finally, because I've got some cucumber hydrosol left in the fridge and no gin, I will leave you with this warning: if you are not up to finishing a bottle of Hendrick's in a couple hours, you should probably not make Hendrick's Cucumbers, for the night was young when the gin ran out, which was the only sad part of this hydro-booze experiment. #Real #DistillMyHeart #Column #DrGodin #Hydrosol Visit our shop and subscribe. Sponsor us. Submit and become a contributor. 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