Navy-strength describes a category of gin that’s overproof, that is, more than the standard 40 percent alcohol for most spirits (and sometimes meaning more than 50 percent). “But why Navy?” you may ask as you sip your gin and tonic. In the British Navy, the shipboard gin supplies traditionally included casks, usually from sherry-making, that held high-proof gin reserved for officers. Simon Ford, who makes Fords Gin, has now introducing his Officer’s Reserve, a Navy-strength gin at 54.5 percent alcohol. Like Fords Gin, it’s London-style, dry and infused with classic botanicals and spices, like juniper, which impart subtle flavor. The alcohol gives it heat, which can be tempered with ice and a splash of lime and good tonic water. It does well in a martini, with a little more than a soupçon of vermouth.
Fords Gin Officers’ Reserve, $39.96 at Astor Wines & Spirits, astorwine.com.
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