Aureus Vita: a game-changing new gin
Jane Rakison finds spirit‑ual enlightenment in Trevethan Distillery‘s industry-defining new gin, Aureus Vita
What is Aureus Vita?
It’s a groundbreaking, extremely limited‑edition gin. Aureus Vita translates as ‘golden life’ and is a new creation from John Hall, master distiller of Trevethan Distillery, Cornwall.
Lose any expectations that this is simply another nice-but-not-out-of-the-ordinary new gin; this is the result of 12 years of experimentation. John’s a former chemist, and used his scienctific know-how to apply the golden ratio to all stages of the distillation process. His quest? To create a totally different kind of gin. And the result is set to inspire a whole new gin category.
Why not stick to traditional gin making methods?
The gin scene is a playground of flavours, and John believes the world (unfairly) thinks of it as less noble than other spirits. This gave him the motivation to attempt to reinvent the gin‑making process away from the traditional.
How does it work?
Heard of the golden ratio? It is key to Aureus Vita. This ratio runs through all areas of life: philosophy, science, nature, art and more. Hurricanes, snail shells, the Parthenon and the Mona Lisa follow its rules. Here’s how it works: where a line is divided into two parts, and the longer part (a) divided by the smaller part (b) is equal to the sum of both parts (a) + (b), divided by (a), it should equal approximately 1.618. Got it? No worries if not, just keep picturing Da Vinci’s masterpiece.
The journey to creating Aureus Vita began in 2013 when John brought back to life a Cornish gin recipe from the 1920s to create Trevethan’s London Dry. He honed this gin recipe over seven years, noticing that the proportions he’d unknowingly selected all tended towards the golden ratio. This sparked a lightbulb moment and John ended up incorporating the idea into the creation of a new (patent‑pending) type of still which he used to make this new gin, as well as applying it in the proportion of botanicals and dilution ratios.
The thought of Aureus Vita’s astonishing ABV of 61.8% may make your eyes water, but in fact it’s the perfect ratio of alcohol to water. The balance of flavours supports the alcohol and marries beautifully with the concentration of flavour, which mostly comes from the two key botanicals of juniper berries and baobab. Aureus Vita is only crafted once a year when these botanicals are at their most vibrant so each release carries the hallmarks of a vintage – a little like wine.
What does it taste like?
Original, and in an extremely good way. The first noticeable character is its texture: if ‘smooth as silk’ is a common description for drinks, this is utterly velvety. There’s no afterburn and it doesn’t taste high in alcohol because every element is in balance. The creamy palate seems to love the purity of the juniper which is both piney and peppery. The length is also impressive: it’s very long, and the balance improves the longer it sits on the palate. It’s perfect for making a Martini.
Is it worth the £175 price tag?
Absolutely, and for several reasons. First, you’ll get your hands on something with a super-limited run that’s very exclusive. Second, you’ll experience the striking texture, flavour and harmony of this finely tuned spirit. And third, you can experiment: make a G&T with a typical ratio of tonic or with a bigger splash to lower the alcohol level. Either way, the flavours shine through with ease. Don’t have fresh citrus or herbs for garnishing? Not to worry: Aureus Vita carries enough flavour to go solo. If that sounds too good to be true, give it a go; tasting is believing.
