Summertime Classic: The Gin & Tonic
- jsurm75
- Feb 2, 2016
- 3 min read
I have a soft spot in my heart for Gin. There was a time when I hardley knew anything about cocktails or spirits. I remember when I had turned 21 and went to Las Vegas, I ordered two Gin & Tonics at a facny bar and the lady told me it was $32. and I almost shit my pants..
A Gin & Tonic was really the first cocktail that I ever fell in love with. Sure I had ordered Rum and Cokes or Vodka and Cranberry, and Jack and Coke before, but I just wasn't a big fan of them. On that hot summer day in Las Vegas, it was just a perfect drink at the perfect time. I became a huge fan of the Gin & tonic. So much so that I went on a gin obsession and named my bar after this great spirit, Gin & Jokers.
Today, Gin is bigger than ever. Gin is a botanical based spirit made from various herbs and spices that mix beautifuly in cocktails. Gin, is most commonly associated with a spirit that your grandma would drink, and with bath tub gin made during prohibition. The current cocktail revival shows that gin, much like bourbon sales are on a rise.
Anytime I find out that someone hates gin, I go out of my way to mix them a cocktail to showcase how amazing the spirit can be. I mean come on, a Corpse Reviver II, an Aviation, a Vesper, Martini, Gimlet, Negroni, French 75, Tom Collins, The Last Word...Dosen't get any better than those gin based cocktails.
The history of gin dates back to a long long time ago. I'm not even going to try to get into its first appearences in history. A brief overview is that the English soldiers fighting in Holland during the 30 years war discovered a spirit called "Jenever." The Dutch soldiers had used this early jenever as means of "Dutch Courage" to boost moral before heading into battle. Jenerver's purpose at the time was usually prescripted for herbal medicinal use.
This early version of Jenver, made primarily from the Juniper beery, anise, coriander, and other botanicals starting popping up in pharmacies across Europe. In England, its consumption started to be drank more for pleasure instead of medicinal purpose. As jenever expanded across the map, its distillation methods started evolving as well, giving us what we know as Gin today.
Today, I was fortunate enough to get to try Aviation American Gin. With a hint of juniper and citrus floral, I was excited to mix this with a good tonic!
Aviation has a light hint of juniper than other gins on the market, but has a nice floral background that is soft on the tongue when sipping straight.
Aviation Gin was made for cocktails though. It is fantastic in the Aviation Cocktail with lemon, Luxardo, and Creme de Violette.
Since I didn't have any Creme de Violette at the bar, I couldn't wait to try this in a Gin and Tonic, and boy, it did not disappoint!
How I like my Gin and Tonics:
Build this cocktail in your Collins glass filled with ice.
3 oz. of a good quality Gin
Top off with a good quality tonic such as Fever Tree, Qtonic, Canada Dry Tonic
Squeeze a lime wedge and mix with a bar spoon
Garnish with a fresh lime wedge
Salute!!!
~Shaman J.
Comments