PORTLAND, Maine — Gin: It's one of the spirits that many either love or absolutely hate. It's controversial.
When I got to Hardshore Distilling Company, their founder Jordan Milne said he prides himself on turning gin-haters into gin-lovers. He said he does his gin differently, so I wanted to find out more.
I went to their location on Washington Avenue in Portland where it all happens, beginning to end.
The first step to making gin is to make a neutral spirit. Distiller Evan Williams—no, not that Evan Williams—helped me with this step. They start with grain from Milne's family farm. It's loaded into a mill, ground into flour, and then mixed into water to begin the process. Seems oddly simple.
From there, the liquid has to go through a few steps to become a neutral spirit. It's fermented, distilled, and then, it's ready for the botanicals. This is where one gin can really differ from the next. I got to work with another distiller, Tristan Walden, for the next couple steps.
When you think about the flavor of gin, barbershops and Christmas trees might come to mind, and not in a good way. Walden says that is where this gin is different, and here's why: They use a different blend of botanicals and a lot of fresh herbs.
Fresh mint, fresh rosemary, orris root, coriander, and the essential juniper. They use Tuscan juniper which gives it more of a "jammy" flavor instead of shaving cream and pine needles.
After these are infused with the neutral spirit, like a tea, they distill the gin again, and then its time for bottling.
Bottling happens fast. A machine fills six bottles at a time before weighing them for accuracy, then applies a cork, a heat seal, and the label.
That's how you make Hardshore Gin.
Hardshore Distilling's founder Jordan Milne helped walk me through a few of their signature cocktails.
We started off with a drink that uses the gin that we just made: The Gremlin. It starts off with their signature gin, followed by jalapeno syrup and fresh lime. The ingredients are usually something I would associate with tequila, but this combination worked oddly well, if not better.
Up next was a daquiri, but again made with gin. This time we used their "North Oak" barrel-aged gin. It's made with the gin, demerara simple syrup, and lime. The drink was not what I was expecting, but it was incredible and balanced, which is the sign of a good cocktail.
Gin is obviously their main gig, but they've also ventured into the world of bourbon.
Milne said he started making gin to impress his then girlfriend, now wife's, father. It obviously worked out, but he also loves bourbon. They recently started making their "Shorebird" bourbon and they were kind enough to make me their Jack Rose cocktail with it. Its a combination of the bourbon, lemon, and grenadine.
Once again, they crushed it.
I will admit that I can be a bit of a snob when it comes to a good drink. I used to bartend, so I like to think I know what is good and what isn't. These drinks were well-balanced and hit all the right notes. I will definitely be coming back.
Thank you so much to everyone at Hardshore Distilling for showing me how they take grains from their family farm and turn them into their signature gin. Cheers!