Change is difficult, especially if it involves tradition. My first taste of Hendrick’s Gin, with its signature black bottle and rhombus-shaped logo, was back when I was in school several decades ago. I was far too young to drink but youth is always a catalyst for bad behaviour and the spirit’s marketing appealed to my rambunctious nature. The first taste burned but multiple sips later revealed a bouquet of juniper, elderflower, and cucumber.
My relationship with Hendrick’s Gin deepened over the years and each fresh bottle gave me more to savour. There was chamomile, orange, lemon peel, and soon, I even begin to recognise the flavour of juniper. So, when the Scottish gin announced its first new permanent expression in over a decade, my teenage self was intrigued.
Cleverly named Another Hendrick’s, the new spirit is a world away from the cucumber-dominant gin I had grown to love. It was darker and more intense, like a lover who slips away into the night and leaves a permanent imprint on your heart. The bottle, however, is ironically white. Master distiller Lesley Gracie had one goal: create a gin containing cacao, long thought to be impossible. “[The expression] is the complete opposite of what we’ve been doing for the past 25 years, and the delectable combination of orange blossom and cacao beans is really rather unusual,” says Gracie.
“As a spirit with endless possibilities, I wanted to find a way to combine two of my favourite things in a way that felt authentic to Hendrick’s. After experimenting with different elements from the Hendrick’s Gin Palace’s tropical greenhouse, I discovered this brilliant profile featuring a depth of flavour, hint of sweetness, and lift of freshness that is completely distinctive.”
The first sip of the new expression immediately promises something completely different. The spirit is clear, but its character is not. The cacao immediately rushes through and your palate realises that this is another side of Hendrick’s that you’ve never seen before. It’s the far side of the moon—impossible to see from Earth, but full of wonder and mystery. Now, Hendrick’s is finally revealing that mysterious face to us.
But writing (and reading) about Another Hendrick’s is a futile exercise. I recommend heading down to the bar to taste it for yourself instead. The gin brand is holding several pop-ups throughout Hong Kong in the month of June, which include Another Hendrick’s Mischief in Monochrome at COTU (10 June), Another Hendrick’s x Plus Twelve (13 June), and the Another Hendrick’s pop-up at the Singapore Cocktail Festival at METT Hotel (13-14 June).
Make haste. Tradition, after all, is always meant to be broken.
Note : The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
