With notes of citrus, vanilla, and juniper, Four Corners is now one of our favorite gins to drink
Gin has been a spirit that has been on the rise. Lately, people have been appreciating the herbal, botanical flavors that come with gin and how gin adds such a nice complexity and richness to many cocktails. And last week, we had the chance to attend an intimate dinner at One White Street to celebrate the upcoming launch of a new gin, Four Corners gin. The event was a luxurious four course dinner that is paired with a beautiful gin cocktail made with Four Corners gin. And what makes Four Corners special and one-of-a-kind is that this is the first gin to use only American botanicals sourced from all four corners of the country. While many other gins use botanicals from foreign countries that primarily use sourced botanicals, Four Corners prides itself on using wildcrafted herbs from diverse regions all over America. To kick off the event, guests were introduced to the team behind this incredible gin. And from the speeches, guests learned that Christian Krogstad is one of the visionaries behind this gin and was the creator of several award winning spirits brands such as Aviation Gin and Westward Whiskey. With the help of herbalist Dr. Elizabeth McElligott, it took over a year to research, find and select the botanicals and flavors to represent the diverse territories across the country. And sourcing botanicals such as juniper, cranberry, cherry bark, yerba santa, and cascara sagrada, this gin tastes unique and delicious.
The pre-first course of the night was the amuse bouche which was a snap pea salad which was paired with a chilled gin served straight. This course allowed guests to try the gin by itself and appreciate the complexity of flavors that comes with it. On the nose you receive floral and citrus notes paired with a hint of the classic juniper scent. The first few notes envelope your palate with a light sweet notes that follows with citrus notes like grapefruit. And paired with the salad which and had notes of citrus like orange helped accentuate some of the citrus notes in the gin too. The mouthfeel of the gin upon first sip was so refreshing and as you let it sit on your palate you notice how light and crisp it is. And at the very end comes a beautiful finish consisting of fresh mint and a bit of spice like peppercorn that helps invigorate your palate.
The official first course of the night was a serving of fresh oysters served with a red wine vinegar mignonette. The cocktail paired with this course was a delicious Grand Isle cocktail made with Four Corners gin. The oysters were so fresh and sweet and the addition of the red wine mignonette gave it a beautiful acidity and brightness that provided amazing balance. the cocktail served had a punch of citrus and tartness from the grapefruit addition helped provide a nice balance to the dish. The acidity and brightness from the mignonette married well with the tartness from the citrus in the cocktail.
The next course was a beautiful ceviche made up of striped bass, cucumber and lemon which was paired with a Four Corners Tom Collins. The tom collins cocktail was a perfect pairing to this dish. The lemon juice paired with the natural citrus flavors of the Four Corners gin elevated the drink to the next level. And that level of acidity and brightness lent itself beautifully to the bright and delicate ceviche served. Each bite was so tender and sweet while also having the perfect level of acid. Taking a bite and then a sip created a burst of brightness that helps wake your palate up and kept us coming back for more bites.
The third course was a honey roast duck served with juniper and black pepper and it was accompanied by a Four Corners negroni. This course was easily our favorite course. The duck itself was so tender and had a lovely sweetness from the honey. But the juniper and black pepper took this duck to the next level by adding another level of herbaceousness to the dish.
And the pairing of a negroni with this dish was incredible. The negroni itself packed so much rich dark sweetness to it that lent itself to the duck incredible well. And what made this negroni even better was that the traditional notes of licorice you find in it played extremely well with the hints of citrus and vanilla that comes with a sip of Four Corners gin. In our opinion, a negroni is easy to make, but making a next-level negroni is extremely hard. There are so many intense flavors that need to be balanced in this simple drink that finding the right ingredients that have notes that pair with the Campari and vermouth are extremely hard. But adding in Four Corners gin with a prominent citrus flavor with hints of vanilla made this negroni one of our favorite drinks.
The last course of the night was a delicate pavlova served with cherry & honey milk ice cream. The cocktail paired with this was a Four Corners Bee’s Knees. The pavlova was delicious, light, and melted in your mouth. And in our opinion, the ice cream was the star of the dish where it wasn’t too sweet but embodied the essence of the cherry and honey. And paired with the crisp and refreshing bee’s knees cocktail was a match made in heaven. The honey from both the cocktail and ice cream was the perfect bridge between the two. But the thing that took the pairing to the next level was the lemon addition from the drink and how it helped break up some of the rich creaminess from the ice cream so that it didn’t overload your palate.
Overall, the dinner celebrating Four Corner gin was a huge success. The dinner served was delicious and the cocktails prepared and served alongside each course was clearly well thought out and made with such care and craft. After trying each cocktail, it was clear that Four Corners gin offers something special and unique to the gin market. Whether used as a base for a gin cocktail or sipped straight, this gin is delicious and complex which makes is so appealing. Even after the first sip, you can tell that there was so much care and consideration put into making this gin. The official launch of Four Corners gin is on July 4th and you can find more information on the gin at https://fourcornersgin.com/.
