db meets: Paul Feig

American actor-turned-film director Paul Feig is best-known for his 2011 hit Bridesmaids, starting Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, who he also cast in his 2016 all-female remake of Ghostbusters. His 2019 rom com, Last Christmas, written by Emma Thompson and starring Emilia Clarke, made over US$120m at the box office. He has also directed episodes of the US version of The Office, Mad Men and Parks and Recreation. His latest TV show, Love Life, is currently airing on the BBC. A keen Martini lover, this year Feig launched Artingstall’s London Dry Gin, featuring 11 botanicals including citrus, black pepper, elderberry, cardamom and coriander. We caught up with him over Zoom to get the lowdown on his latest venture.

When did your love of Martinis start to blossom?

It was when I got into cocktail culture in general. I started on that road as a little kid. I never liked being a kid, and I remember being taken to Las Vegas by my parents when I was around six, as they had tickets to see a Muhammad Ali fight.

I have a memory of us walking through the casinos and seeing everyone dressed up in suits and gowns drinking cocktails. I got put into a nursery with a glass door, so I could look out onto that wonderland. I remember thinking; ‘I want to be those people one day’.

I grew up in a family that didn’t drink, so wasn’t very exposed to alcohol. In high school we had a drama teacher plied us with liquor. I found the red cup drinking culture in college unattractive and wanted to get into the cocktail lifestyle, which to me is summed up by a Martini glass, which is the most beautiful shape and impractical in a great way.

When did you first encounter gin?

I had a bad experience with gin early on, trying it from the bar in my friend’s basement. It tasted like pine cleaner. A lot of people have that negative connotation with very juniper forward gins like Beefeater, which I’ve grown to love.

What inspired you to want to make your own gin?

I started reading about cocktails and drinking Martinis. I’m a purist and believe a Martini should always be made with gin. I spent years drinking Martinis in bars all over the world, from Dukes in London to Bar Hemingway in Paris, looking for the perfect gin, but there was always something about them I wished I could change.

I wanted to dial down the pine element, which I found overpowered cocktails. I drank Bombay Sapphire for a long time, and my first Hendrick’s Martini was an epiphany, as the juniper wasn’t hitting me in the face. It infuriates me when I order a Hendrick’s Martini and they serve it with a cucumber garnish – don’t put a hat on a hat.

I started getting into Sacred and Gin Mare and knew I wanted to make a gin that worked great in a Martini and served at room temperature – the way they drink it in old movies.

How did your collaboration with Minhas Micro Distillery come about?

I needed someone to help me turn my idea into reality. I went to my agent and said I’d like to make my own gin. I was told I wasn’t famous enough and it took two years of cold calling to make it happen. Just when I was about to give up I got a yes from Minhas Micro Distillery in Wisconsin, which is owned and run by brother and sister team, Ravinder and Manjit Minhas. They make the rum for Trader Joe’s and wanted to do a premium spirit, so we were a good fit.

How long did it take you to get the recipe right?

We spent two-and-a-half years developing it, which has been even more fun than making movies. I don’t know about the science of distilling, all I can do is tell them what I want it to taste like. Over the course of two years we made multiple iterations of the gin, tweaking the blend and the botanicals over and over to get it right. I’ve never been so drunk in my life as the day we finalised the recipe.

What were you looking for?

I had to make sure it worked in a lot of gin-based drinks, like the Dirty Martini and Negroni, and also straight up. Our final tasting of eight micro variations was a nerve-wracking moment. I learnt how important the alcohol level is when it comes to gin. The one at 44% was too alcoholic and the 40% version was too botanical.

We settled on 42%, which for us was the sweet spot. It’s hard to describe the flavour of the gin – what I really wanted was for all of the botanicals to be in balance so none of them were too pronounced. It’s quite citrus forward, and you can taste the black pepper, which gives it a savoury edge. It has a real roundness to it and gives you a good afterglow.

Artingstall’s is named after your mother’s maiden name – did any other ideas end up on the cutting room floor?

I thought about calling it Feig’s, but no one knows how to pronounce it. I wanted it to be a London Dry Gin with a catchy name in a vintage decanter-style bottle. The idea was to create a brand that seems like it’s been around for 150 years.

Where can we find the gin?

It was due to go into a lot of bars in New York and LA right before Covid hit. I’m about to partner with a distributor in the US, so it will be on back bars in New York very soon in places like the Polo Bar and Il Tinello, and Mr Chow in Beverley Hills.

Do you plan on sneaking Artingstall’s into one of your films?

It makes a cameo in Last Christmas on a poster on the side of a London bus. Emilia Clarke and Emma Thompson also pour themselves a glass of Artingstall’s in one scene.

Outside of Martinis, what are your favourite gin cocktails?

I love a Negroni and enjoy a Tom Collins and Gin Ricky. I did an Instagram Live series for 100 days in a row during quarantine based around classic cocktails. While researching for the show, I found a load of old recipes like the Churchill Martini and the Napoleon, made with gin, Grand Marnier and Dubonnett. One of the cocktails I created during lockdown was called The Squeaky Door, which is a blend of gin, Cherry Heering, St Germain, orange Curaçao and club soda.

And you collect old cocktail books?

Yes! I’ve got The Savoy Cocktail Book, and love finding old recipes that have been forgotten about like the Gin Daisy, which blends gin, lemon juice, grenadine syrup and club soda. I’m a classicist. I’m not into molecular mixologiy and cocktails made with centrifuges. I love the old movies from the ’30s like The Thin Man that are full of supper clubs, tuxedos, gowns and free flowing Champagne, that’s heaven for me. I feel like I was born in the wrong era, which is just as well or I’d be dead by now.

Feig is a fan of Alessandro Palazzi’s legendary Martinis at Dukes

Would you ever consider making a flavoured gin?

I recently developed a flavoured gin that has a grapefruit twist to it.

Having enjoyed a few in your time, is there one Martini that stands out in your mind?

The first Martini that blew my mind wasn’t at The American Bar at The Savoy, it was at a bar outside the Grill Room at the hotel. It was served in a frozen thistle-shaped glass with a big twist of lemon. It was perfectly made and at the right temperature – ice-cold.

You’re a fan of Dukes, have you ever made it past the two Martini limit?

The Martinis at Dukes are so strong as they’re untouched by ice. Bartender Alessandro Palazzi is one of my best friends, so he has made an exception for me on occasion as I’m a very good drinker – I don’t fall under the table. It was a terrifying moment having him try Artingstall’s for the first time. He walked away when he took his first sip and I had no idea if he liked it or not.

Luckily he did and has it behind the bar at Dukes. We don’t have a distributor in the UK yet, but it’s my desperate desire to get Artingstall’s across the pond as there are so many clubs and restaurants in London. We’re finalising our 70cl bottle at the moment.

Rumour has it you’re such a fan of London that you’re planning on moving here…

I lived in London all last year while filming Last Christmas, and am moving back in November to make my next movie. It’s not another Christmas film, I’m not doing any more of them. My wife Laurie would love to live in London full-time.

If you had a long weekend in London, where would you go?

There’s a little Italian called Giovanni’s on the outskirts of Covent Garden that’s very old school and like going home. I love Simpsons on the Strand and enjoy Rules, as they serve the best oysters there. They present them like jewels. The bartender there is from Boston. I’m also a big fan of The Fumoir bar at Claridge’s.

In addition to spirits, are you also a wine lover?

I love wine. I’m a big Margaux fan, and have yet to find one I didn’t like. I enjoy Italian whites like Falanghina, but I’d rather have a rosé; Whispering Angel is very consistent, and I love a good Tavel. Rosé Champagne is my favourite – my wife and I buy Laurent-Perrier Rosé by the case.