“Here we have a Canadian walking into an English bar to talk about American gin…”
Ryan Reynolds is the Canadian. The bar is downstairs at Hide (Ollie Dabbous’ glitzy new Mayfair restaurant). The gin is Aviation.
“It sounds a bit like a joke,” says Reynolds. “But stranger things have happened.”
Haven’t heard of Aviation? Us neither. But the Deadpool star has just bought the craft gin company and become its creative director, so get ready to hear a whole lot more.
Aviation was created by two former bartenders in Portland, Oregon, in 2002. It comes in a sweet-as art deco bottle, hinting to its pre-Prohibition inspiration, which also means that it’s far less pungent than some of the newer gins out there – subtlety is its key.
So when Mr. Reynolds – who takes his gin neat – tried a glass in the Hawksworth Restaurant, Vancouver, it was love at first sip. And if you do happen to be a super hero, what’s the next logical step? Nope, not just have another glass. You find the company that made it and send it global – create a worldwide phenomenon.
Reynolds hung up his red suit for a night in London this week, to explain to Esquire why us juniper-mad Brits ought to give this quintessentially Yankee gin a try...
What’s so special about Aviation?
I’ve tried – I like to think – almost every gin on the planet (and I’m not proud to say that), but the first time I tried Aviation gin it was just like something completely different, and to me that’s really all the matters.
What makes it so special?
I just find it to be light, a lot less. I have a slight aversion to the sort of heavy pine or juniper vibe (when you have more than one in a night, it can be a little overpowering). I usually try to find a gin that’s more in the middle and this one far exceeded all of those.
How should we drink it?
All I need is a double shot on the rocks. The idea of a double is different in some countries though, so you might want to be careful about that.
Would a G&T be ok?
People are obsessed with tonic! What’s that one? Fever-Tree. I’m not a tonic person – my preference is to have it either straight, on the rocks, or with a little bit of club soda – so I’ll have to try Fever-Tree in there.
Are there any drinks trends that piss you off?
I feel like I would be kind of sad if I saw a drink with a tiny umbrella on it and I felt compelled to spit on the ground… Drink what you want, and drink all you want, and just do it responsibly.
Are you going to teach the British something new about gin?
I don’t pretend to be a master gin maker whatsoever – that’s the experts at Aviation. I’m just one of the owners of the company. You’re not going to see me strolling along a bunch of aged casks and, you know, lovingly touching the handle on the top – that’s not what this is about.
Why get involved with the company at all, instead of just drinking it?
Showbiz and alcohol are usually a pretty disastrous combination – there’s a lot of examples of that – but this was something unique. I wanted to be part of the company. I didn’t even care to be the face of it necessarily, I just wanted to be a part of it somehow. I just saw this product that I loved and I thought ‘I want to help you grow this and I want to get involved.’
Fancy giving it a try? Mix Aviation gin with Fever-Tree elderflower tonic, and a slice of pink grapefruit. Simple.
Aviation Gin RRP £35 from Ocado and bars across London including Nobu, The Ivy and Firmdale Hotels. Visit aviationgin.com
