The Intoxicologist

Corsair Artisan Gin excites me for a few reasons:

·         The creators/owners, Darek and Andrew, are small batch micro-distillers making grass roots products right here in the United States born of passion, enthusiasm and desire to bring quality products to a new generation of spirits enthusiasts.

·         The logo speaks to that vision with its black and white bold simplicity and the air of free style untouchable spirit.  This is a new generation laying claim to a new era of imbibing.

·         Gin: It is breaking all the rules by going beyond the traditional martini of generations past.  Corsair Artisan Distillery lightens the load of heavily junipered gins and brings back a garden fresh, citrusy to vegetative quality with hints of floral.  Unexpected.  Light.  Refreshing.  Beautiful. 

The logo stands out among many gins that litter liquor shelves.  Its black and white boldness strikes a chord with its starkness and cut out vagueness leaving something to the imagination.  That gives me a glimmer of what this generation strives for: imaginative thinking, creation of something new, reaching beyond the limits of what parents before us achieved. 

Darek Bell, one of the owners of Corsair Artisan Distillery, described a little about the process that went into the label that stands as introduction to the brand.

“We wanted a group of friends out on the town that pictured our target demographic: 25 to 40 year olds,” Darek said.  Darek had just finished reading a book, Urban Tribes, which highlights how a generation redefines the ‘new family’ within the social circle of friendships among professional urbanites.  “The reason we wanted to focus on 25-40 year olds was we wanted a younger demographic just discovering high end spirits.”  Another reason, the “early 20’s is a time of being seriously broke,” according to Darek.

Darek went on to talk about how one leans toward less expensive beer and spirits early in their professional career.  It isn’t until the young professional finally starts making headway on student loans, credit card debt and finding career success that their comfort level is at a point they feel they can finally enjoy the fruits of their labor. 

Of course Darek and Andrew both fall into their own target demographic audience, so getting into the head of how that generation thinks just might be a little easier.   “We believe (Generation) X-er’s and Millennials want to get into spirits, but do not want to drink what their parents are into.  They are very brand conscious, yet…jaded to traditional advertising.  It’s not as much about marketing to them as it is about them coming into age and wanting things that reflect and respect their sophistication.”

After researching what was already on the market locally, Darek and Andrew found Whiskey and Gin packaging to be mostly ‘old and stodgy.’  The labels were marked with references to age, heritage and the passing down of processes from generation to generation.  Gin bottles oriented themselves along the lines of tradition with characteristics of Old European culture.  While there is certainly nothing inherently flawed with these labeling they bellowed ‘OLD, OLD, OLD’ when Corsair Artisan Distillery wanted something that screamed ‘YOUNG, YOUNG, YOUNG.’  This was the turning point for placing their demographic on the bottle. 

“The logo was drawn by a friend of a friend who has an online comic.  The (group of friends) need to have a young swagger, but be old enough to afford the good stuff and a hint of irony is always fun.”  Darek made certain to add in that his group of friends measures up to the over 21 government age requirement as well.  “We were in the process of changing out one of the guys for a girl, but the artist was getting married and had to stop working on it. Therefore we stuck with the initial guys and may revise it in the future and mix up the characters.”

Since Darek and Andrew realize their brand can’t compete with big boys out on the market with multi-million dollar advertising budgets they’ve gone with a fresh approach.  They use packaging that jumps off the shelf and cuts through the clutter.  More importantly they’ve placed a spirit inside that packaging that does wonders for the taste buds. 

Corsair Gin (neat): Traditional aroma of gin, but juniper is fainter than one might expect from a traditional spirit.  Slight mellowing in the second aroma.  Little bit of oiliness.  Thin.  Small bite on the back end.  Possible bite of jalapeño pepper with vegetable qualities, but not as drastic as Hendrick’s Gin in its cucumber finish.  Fogginess to this gin that one doesn’t usually find in traditional bottling either.  The suspended oils could come from fresh citrus peels rather than dried peel.  There are grapefruit qualities that come through in after this one sits for a few moments in the glass.

Corsair Gin Rickey - photo property of The Intoxicologist

Gin Rickey

2 ounces Corsair Gin

1/2 ounce Fresh Lime Juice

Club Soda to top

Build over ice

Citron Zephyr – created by The Intoxicologist

Citron Zephyr – created by The Intoxicologist

2 ounces Corsair Gin

1-1/2 ounce Orange Juice

1/2 ounce Fresh Lime Juice

1/4 ounce Rosemary Syrup*

Rosemary Sprig for Garnish

Place liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake for fifteen seconds.  Strain into a martini glass.  Garnish with sprig of rosemary. 

Rosemary Syrup*

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 Four inch Rosemary Sprig

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a gentle boil, stirring frequently allowing sugar to dissolve completely.  This takes approximately five minutes depending on your heat source.  Remove bar syrup from heat source.  Place rosemary spring in a heat proof bowl.  Pour hot bar syrup over rosemary sprig.  Let cool completely.  Strain into an airtight glass container.  This will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 

Citron Zephyr is an unusual concoction of light gin, herbal syrup, orange juice, and fresh lime.  At first thought there seemed to have been too much orange juice in this cocktail, but the more the fresh ingredients had time to blend together the more it became clear the balance worked out just right.  The small amount of rosemary syrup adds delicate sweetness with fresh herbal charm.  The extra rosemary garnish brings an extra ‘umph’ of aroma to heighten the senses.  Blissful!

Intoxicologist Note: Rosemary has nothing at all to do with Rose or Mary.  The name is a Latin derivative stemming from ‘dew’ (ros) and ‘sea’ (marinus) otherwise meaning ‘dew of the sea, apparently due to Rosemary being found growing frequently near the sea. 

Merry Corsair – created by The Intoxicologist

Merry Corsair – created by The Intoxicologist

2 ounces Corsair Gin

3 dashes Tabasco

5 dashes Worcestershire Sauce

4 drops Peychaud’s Bitters

4 dashes Celery Salt

6 twists Freshly Ground Garlic Salt

1/4 ounce Fresh Lime Juice

2 ounces Fresh Squeezed Tomato Juice (approx. 3 palm sized tomatoes)

Salt for the glass rim

Skewered Tomolives for Garnish

Rim a tall glass with lime juice.  Dip in coarse salt.  Fill a glass with ice.  Season ice with spices.  Squeeze in fresh lime juice.  Pour in Corsair Gin and then freshly squeezed tomato juice.  Garnish with skewered tomolives. 

The color is phenomenal.  Light, fresh.  The delicate tomato flavor harmonizes well with the flavor profile of the Corsair Gin.  The hint of vegetative quality is slightly enhanced for a rounded feel.  Salt is definitely needed for this particular Bloody Mary version since freshly squeezed tomato juice is used rather than commercially canned tomato juice which contains added sodium.  The additional salt actually enhances the flavor profile within the cocktail rather than weighing it down with salty flair.  Perhaps salt only half the cocktail rim to try a little with and a little without to sample the difference for yourself. 

Intoxicologist Note: Corsairs were French privateers or barbary pirates.  Through the course of time Corsairs gained a rather romantic or flamboyant reputation rather than raucous and destructive through the likes of swashbuckling characters such as Robin Hood, Captain Jack Sparrow and Zorro.  Thus The Intoxicologist tames and romances the traditional Bloody Mary to what is now the Merry Corsair.

Copyright 2009 Cheri Loughlin – The Intoxicologist – All Rights Reserved

www.corsairartisan.com

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