FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 68 OF 80
GREEN GENIE GIN, Bedfordshire, UK
(Inspired by ancient Silk Roads)
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
A little bit of Silk Road history, a Middle Eastern legend and a very British gin – all in one glass.
For centuries, the movement of goods between East and West was shaped by the Silk Roads – a network of ancient overland and maritime trading routes rather than one single road. Spices, tea, silk and other precious goods travelled enormous distances, connecting cultures and introducing people to ingredients that would have been completely unfamiliar in distant lands.
It seems only right, therefore, that this virtual tour makes a stop along the Silk Road. Cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, star anise and tea all travelled these routes, and many have found their way into the gin world too.
Green Genie Gin was born from that idea. Steve Scutt's extensive travels through China and the Middle East inspired him to experiment with green tea in drinks, eventually leading to the creation of Green Genie Gin alongside Green Russian Vodka.
The gin contains 12 botanicals, with green tea taking centre stage alongside juniper, Sicilian lemon, Seville orange, white Korean ginseng, coriander, angelica and orris root. Four of the botanicals remain a secret. It is distilled from 100% molasses spirit and is made in England by Black Bridge Distillery, which now operates from the Luton Hoo Estate in Bedfordshire.
The other half of the story comes from the djinn, or jinn – the supernatural beings of Islamic and Middle Eastern tradition from which our Western word "genie" ultimately derives.
The familiar image of the genie emerging from a lamp owes rather more to popular culture than traditional Middle Eastern folklore. Djinn appear in a much older and more complicated body of stories, where they can be benevolent, mischievous or hostile and, in many traditions, possess the ability to change form.
Steve's inspiration came from time spent in the Middle East, including a visit to a Bedouin village in southern Egypt. Stories of djinn told around the campfire stayed with him, eventually becoming part of the identity of the gin.
Tea was one of the great commodities of the Silk Roads, moving westwards from China and becoming increasingly important in the Middle East and beyond. Green tea therefore isn't simply an unusual botanical added to make this gin different – it connects the drink back to the very journeys that inspired it.
The result is a gin that brings together two very different worlds: the juniper and citrus of a familiar gin, with green tea providing the link back to Asia.
"The Silk Road, a genie and a little green tea."
Cocktail: Genie in a teacup!
45ml Green Genie Gin
15ml Sugar Syrup
25ml Supasawa
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."