Exploring Gin Liqueurs with Pomp & Whimsy
Sarah Robichaux’s A Fine California
To end another Spirits Week at The Minty, I want to talk about gin liqueurs which I learned about at a talk sponsored by Pomp & Whimsy gin liqueur, the Museum of American Cocktail and the new Pacific Food and Beverage Museum (San Pedro) at the Palihouse Hotel in West Hollywood. The theme was the History of Women & the Cocktail.
To start, a gin liqueur is a liqueur based on gin. You might be familiar with sloe gin or Pimm’s. These are gin liqueurs.
Pomp & Whimsy was founded by Dr. Nicola Nice. It is made by Spirit Guild. P&W starts out as a classic gin with 16 different botanicals and then infused with more citrus, fruit and spices. It’s filtered twice and the result is a pretty pink floral liqueur.
I tasted it in several mixed drinks from local bartenders at the event. We started with the welcome sparkling wine cocktail with P&W.
A Fine California
- Pomp & Whimsy
- Spirit Guild Astral Pacific Gin
- strawberry, cilantro, black peppercorn shrub
- sparkling wine
Brynn Smith’s Avonlea Fix
Brynn Smith from Sotto and Rossoblu told me she read up on the history of women and cocktails and fell in love with the romantic history. Her drink is the Avonlea Fix.
Avonlea Fix
- Pomp & Whimsy
- brandy
- lemon
- blackberry garnish
Gianna Johns’ Bada-Bing
My favorite drink of the night was the martini take called Bada-Bing. I loved the celery and lime-infused vermouth and the pickled grape garnish.
Bada-Bing
- Pomp & Whimsy
- Beefeater gin
- celery and lime-infused Cocchi Americano
- orange bitters
- orange oil
- pickled grape garnish
Una Green’s Nectar and Manners
I always enjoy Una Green’s warmth and hospitality. Her Nectar and Manners was a perky drink that was quite welcome.
Nectar and Manners
- Pomp & Whimsy
- London dry gin
- genever
- raspberry and green tea syrup
- lemon
- sparkling apple cider
Sarah LM Mengoni’s Swill and Sway
The last drink I tried was the Swill and Sway, a tall cooler. This would be a great patio drink.
Swill and Sway
- Pomp & Whimsy
- sage honey
- lemon
- San Pellegrino blood orange
- charred lemon garnish
The talk focused on the history of women and the cocktail and I was very interested to learn women drinking right under their men’s noses in old Europe, particularly in England. If you look at guides for entertaining, there are most certainly punch recipes among other drink recipes. These pre-date some of the most famous American cocktail books.
Now I’ll have to keep an eye out for other gin liqueurs. Though it would be interesting to craft your own. What infusions would you like to see as a liqueur?
Museum of the American Cocktail – MOTAC
Pacific Food and Beverage Museum – PacFab
8465 Holloway Dr., West Hollywood, CA 90069 — (323) 656-4100 © 2018 The Minty