In recent years the popularity of purple gin has grown immensely, mainly due to the beautiful tint it adds to cocktails and the mesmerizing color changing effect it has when mixed with ingredients such as citrus and tonic. We were curious, is purple gin here to stay or is it just a fad that will soon disappear? We asked around and found the answers to how purple gin is made, how to use it in a cocktail, who makes it, and where it can be purchased.
What is Purple gin
When it comes to purple gins, two approaches can be used, one resulting in violet gin and one resulting in indigo purple gin. Both differ in their shades but also in the ingredients, distillation process, flavor, and resulted alcohol level. As it turns out violet gins are considered more of a liqueur rather than a spirit in the technical sense as both sugar and color are added after distillation to produce the colorful tint and flavor. Indigo purple gins on the other hand fall under the category of gin spirit with a higher alcohol content in comparison and their gin type is chosen by the brand.
What Are Violet Gins:
Violet gins are made by adding the violet flower after distillation to enhance both the color and the flavor of the gin. Although violet gins all include violets and have more of a floral, sweet flavor, not all taste the same. The difference depends on the other botanicals present and the base of the gin each brands picks for itself.
What Are Purple Gins:
Purple gins are made by infusing butterfly pea blossoms at the end of the distillation process. This results in a deep indigo blue hue that can shift to make cocktails in the shades of dark blue, light blue, turquoise, dark purple, violet, and pink depending on the ingredient it blends with. The shade changes based on ph levels. When mixed with a lower ph ingredients such as citrus, acid, and tonic it is made lighter.
Top 7 Violet Gin Brands:
Top 5 Purple Gin Brands:
How to Drink Purple Gin
Once you picked your purple gin of choice we suggest trying it neat to sample the flavor of the brand. Purple gins can be enjoyed with any of your favorite classic and modern gin cocktails. Try a pastel Gin and Tonic for a wedding day celebration, a gorgeous purple French 75, add to an Aviation for a stronger purple color, or mix with Elderflower for an enriched floral flavor.