Created in 2011, Portobello Road has only just been introduced to the US. From the proprietors of London’s Ginstitute, a sort of museum and classroom dedicated to evangelizing and educating on behalf of Britain’s most famous white spirit, it falls into the London Dry style, but has a sweetness and earthiness that balance the sometimes strident tang of other London Dry gins. There’s plenty of juniper here, but it’s seamlessly integrated into the other classic gin botanicals, like cassia, licorice and coriander, resulting in a mellifluousness that makes this gin as pleasing to sip neat or on the rocks as it is in a cracking gin and tonic.
Jordan Mackay’s writing on wine, spirits and food has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Decanter, the Art of Eating and many other publications. While Secrets of the Sommeliers, the book he wrote with Rajat Parr, won a James Beard Award in 2011, it’s certain winemakers that he credits with some of his most important tasting lessons.
This story appears in the print issue of Winter 2015.
Like what you read? Subscribe today.