Yesterday, this headline detailed the Kyoto distillery, the pioneer distillery of Japanese gin, founded by three foreigners.
Today, I will give you a detailed introduction to the first artisanal gin distillery in the lower mainland, Peddler's Gin, which was also founded by foreigners.
Peddler's Gin Distillery, located in Pudong, Shanghai, was founded in 2016 by three foreigners, Ryan McLeod, Joseph Judd and Fergus Woodward, and is the first distillery in China to specialize in gin.
- Plant ingredients
From the very beginning, the alley vendors have been committed to creating Asia's unique gin, and it is a matter of course to incorporate local Chinese plant ingredients. With this in mind, the distillery initially used green tea, lemongrass, and even bamboo for test distillation.
In the end, the alley vendor identified 11 native Chinese plant ingredients, from lotus in Gansu to liquorice in Guangdong, from angelica in northeast China to almonds in the Tianshan Mountains.
Among them, the most notable are Sichuan peppercorns and Buddha's Hand.
Sichuan peppercorns are an integral part of Sichuan cuisine, and what makes it unique is that when you consume it, you get a tingling, numbing sensation, and the subtle citrus flavor that accompanies it.
Given its immense popularity among Chinese foodies and its unique flavor, it's only natural that alleyhawkers list it as a potential ingredient. However, the tricky thing about using this spice is that a way must be found to maintain a delicate balance of flavors.
Buddha hand comes from Yunnan and is mainly used in traditional Chinese medicine. This finger-shaped fruit tastes a bit like a mixture of Japanese yuzu and lemon, albeit with a slight floral aroma and sometimes tastes like lavender. When it is added to gin, it gives the body a citrus flavor and floral notes.
- The distillation process
The alley hawker wine is distilled twice by a copper pot still. Before the first distillation, juniper berries, licorice, angelica, cinnamon, etc. are added directly to neutral alcohol, soaked for 12 hours, and the mixture is distilled directly.
Then a second distillation is carried out, using the steam injection method, adding bergamot and mint to the body to add more soft flavor.
After the two distillations are completed, the alcohol content is diluted with water and reduced to 40-50% ABV, and then bottled. The street hawker wines use the London dry gold method, and no additional artificial additives or flavorings are added after distillation.
- Why is it called alley hawker
When the distillery first started, the three founders would use motorcycles to deliver boxes of gin to bars and consumers in Shanghai. It's reminiscent of the old days when vendors rode their bikes around selling small goods. So, they called their distillery alley-peddler.
Today, street vendors have successfully expanded to Singapore, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Canada. For consumers outside of China, it offers an opportunity to taste a unique East Asian gin that embodies the diversity of Chinese plants while also challenging the traditional notion of the Chinese spirit, with even the charming font design on the label, which looks like a 1930s Shanghainese painting.
- Main wines
At present, the core products are Peddlers Gin Shanghai Craft Gin, Peddlers Gin Barrel Aged Gin and Peddlers Gin Salted Plum Gin.
Among them, barrels of aged gin are aged for 3 months in French oak barrels before bottling, and oak barrels have previously been used to age Pinot Noir red wine in the Napa Valley of the United States, which can give the gin flavors of caramel, grape and stone fruit.
Salted plum gin is infused with pickled plums, mulberries, orange peels and osmanthus and then aged for a month in Oloroso sherry barrels, inspired by the popular Chinese plum drink sour plum soup, said to have notes of hawthorn, vanilla and oak.
——Leading the revolution of Chinese craft gin
At present, street vendors are not the only artisanal gin distilleries in China, in addition to Liaoning's Porcelain Gin and Balang Gin. Together, they are responding to the growing preference of domestic consumers for gin. However, this is undoubtedly partly due to the early efforts of the pioneers of the street liquor.
It remains to be seen whether alley-hawked liquor can lead the Chinese craft gin revolution and thus set off a Chinese style in the gin field.
Great Sue: WSET (International Foundation for Wine and Spirits Education) Advanced Certification, SMWA (Scottish Single Malt College) Advanced Certification, dedicated to the educational promotion of wine and spirits. Welcome to follow.