Gin: the spirit of youth

Spirit drinkers should raise a glass to a new gin’s claim that it’s just the tonic for aging skin.

British food experimentalists Bompas and Parr, commissioned by Warner Leisure Hotels,have created Anti-aGin, a 40 percent tipple that contains several skin-boosting ingredients, including collagen.

The spirit is infused with “age-defying” botanicals, such as green tea, hazel oil, burdock, tea tree, chamomile and gotu kolaalong with the traditional gin base botanicals of juniper, coriander and angelica root with a cardamom finish.

Sam Bompas, one half of the food artistry duo explains, “I’ll take an anti-aging cocktail faster than a face cream ridden with chemical names I can’t pronounce.”

How did you come up with the idea to create Anti-aGin?

A quest for the fountain of youth while balancing a social life. Everyone knows that going to sleep early, eating well and exercising will keep you in good shape. But could we make a cocktail an extension of that lifestyle? Physical youth may be ephemeralbut with Anti-aGin we’re keeping you young at heart. It’s celebrating the spirit of the aged. We want to keep those in thefifties and sixties age brackets young in spirit. It’s a tongue-in-cheek tribute to a lifetime of accumulated wisdom.

How is it actually made?

Anti-aGin is distilled in small batches in an alembic. The dried herbs and powdered marine-based collagen have been chosen for their known health benefits. We like to think that all the powers of the herbs and protein have transferred over to the final gin, but we know that in the process of distillation none of the actual protein strands travel through to the end. That’s why we’ve supplemented each bottle with some pure ingestible collagen for an added boost of what’s become globally regarded as an age-defying ingredient.

Does it really have anti-aging effects?

Drinkable collagen has seen a boom within the health andbeauty industry. Pure Gold Collagen has created a 10-day program asking enthusiasts to consume one small bottle per day for noticeable effects. Japan has opened beauty restaurants where collagen is profusely used in their hot pots. Now Anti-aGin is our toast to laughter lines that will make you feel younger. Can we interest you in a Skin n’ Tonic, Silver Fizz or Sixty Going on Fortini?

But alcohol was thought to contribute to the aging process…

Yes, alcohol has a negative effect on your youthful glow. We’ve added collagen to Anti-aGin as a way to counterbalance the detriment effects.

Is gin somehow better than anti-aging cosmetics?

The principle of “you are what you eat” comes to mind. If you wouldn’t eat it, then it shouldn’t go on your skin. Your pores absorb everything that they come in contact with. Anti-aGin is a product made for consumption and most creams aren’t.

What’s next?

We’re working uo bitters that make your tongue tingle as if its been struck by lightening using battery-like charged botanicals.

– ByDmitry Belyaev