On June 11, gin enthusiasts and distilleries — the latter including Saskatoon’s own Black Fox Farm and Distillery — celebrated World Gin Day.
After spending an afternoon out at Black Fox, Liam O’Connor, for Glacier FarmMedia, spoke to its co-owner and head distiller John Cote about what the secret is to making a good Prairie grain gin — and what producers should look for if they want to get into the gin business.
The quality is what Cote looks for when considering a crop for a Black Fox gin — by which he’s referring to the Prairies’ farming practices, such as zero tillage, fertilizing techniques and proper pesticide management, putting the region ahead of competitors.
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“In this kind of business, when you’re really small, if you don’t have really, super high quality [product], you’d never survive, because you need to be charging a premium,” Cote said. “So, the only way you can charge a premium is, if your stuff is here, [and] you can actually show that it’s better than somebody else’s.”
He compared the Prairies to the United Kingdom and Europe, where, he said, they just don’t compete with what there is to offer here — a selling point farmers should push more often.
“The farming practices in general on the Prairies (are) really, really, top notch,” said Cote. “And I don’t think as farmers we get nearly enough credit for it, which is kind of a shame.”
Melanie Kenny, a lifelong gin enthusiast from the U.K., said what she personally looks for in a gin is that it comes from a place she can trust and that they use quality ingredients.
“When it’s locally grown grain, it tends to be much smoother than the gins that I’ve had, where they bring in ethanol, where I don’t know where that’s produced somewhere in Europe, and then it’s much sharper,” said Kenny. “This gives you a much more smooth tasting gin, which is much more pleasurable to drink.”
According to Cote the quality of ingredients is important and farmers can help achieve this in several ways: through the varieties they’re going to grow, how they grow and treat them, and where they grow.
There are different flavour profiles to different varieties, he said, even in certain grains. One variety of triticale will taste different from another triticale.
How you treat them — for example, how you fertilize them — can also alter the taste. Cote said you can “trick” and mature the plant in various ways to adjust starch and protein content.
Where the plant is growing is important, especially when considering ripening, which in turn will help with the flavour development, Cote said.
With location in mind, Cote spoke about the importance of trading land with different farmers, so Black Fox can continue growing on canola or pulse stubble, then trading back to make sure that crop rotation is maintained.
