Although Gin & Tonic is one of the most popular cocktails available today, there are countless establishments where
it is not prepared and served properly. Let's try to explain in a simple way how to prepare a good Gin & Tonic and clarify some erroneous "legends" about it.
Let's go with the "ingredients" for a good Gin Tonic
Glass
A balloon cup is essential. We must discard the tube glasses! In a balloon glass, the gin aromas stand out with the tonic and are perceived much better. The thinner the glass, the more it will highlight the palate and the view.
Tonic
Premium tonic waters are usually the ones that best complement gin. Of course, they're usually more expensive too. The point of these tonic waters is that they do not "kill" the gin, but that they are able to enhance the best attributes of each one. Obviously, there are some tonics that combine better with certain gins, but that will require another post to talk exclusively about it.
Some of the premium tonics:
Indian Fever Tree,
Fentimans Tonic Water,
Q Tonic,
Boylan Tonic.
Gin
There is a wide range of Gins, but let's highlight some of different countries:
-
Citadelle from France, with 4 distillations that take up the formula of the oldest gin in France, made in 1771 in the city of Dunkirk.
-
Hendrick's from England, which is made with a subtle infusion of high quality wheat alcohol and 8 botanical plants. Many say it's the Rolls of gin.
-
Imagin from Sweden, bluish blue in colour, flavoured with 13 botanical plants and stylish packaging.
-
Blackwood’s Strong from Scotland, whose ingredients are harvested by handcrafted farmers from a sustainable agriculture program designed by the prestigious Orkney Agronomy College.
-
Gin Mare from Spain, created with selected botanical ingredients in Mediterranean areas of the highest quality.
-
Topfergeist Peket from Belgium, of great freshness and finesse and that has the peculiarity that the bottle is of mud.
-
Doornkaat from Germany, which reflects the German style of making gin with delicate and subtle flavors.
-
Zuidam from Holland, the country that invented gin. It is an exceptionally pure gin, with 5 distillations for the basic brandy and then each of the aromatics is distilled separately before final blending.
-
Blue Vintage from Austria, little known but of good quality.
-
Junipero from the United States, which owes its name to the fact that the predominant flavor and aroma of a modern gin always comes from juniper (Juniperus communis).
Citrus and botanicals
Careful! Add only the citrus peel that you will use (preferably lime, although lemon can be used). Besides, this should be as fresh as it gets.
Botanicals are optional, and will not always go well with all the gins and their tonics. As a general rule, each gin will have its favorite botanicals that will enhance the flavor of it. But this topic requires an individual post for each gin that we deal with.
Elaboration
- Serve 5 or 6 ice cubes very cold (seems redundant!) in the glass and move them to cool it.
- Then serve the gin, about 1/4 part, at a certain distance from the glass to oxygenate ir.
- Then cut a large slice of the citrus peel and squeeze gently over the ice. Discard this piece and cut another to add it in the glass.
- Stir gently so that the gin is impregnated with the perfume and with the peel we have added.
- Next, serve the tonic water very slowly on the ice to avoid losing the bubble, that is, you have to tilt the glass a little when the tonic is served.
- And we already have our Gin & Tonic perfectly prepared!
Tips
- It is essential that both gin and tonic are very cold, so the tonic should be in the fridge, and most experts recommend that the gin be stored in the freezer, so that when it is taken, the ice does not melt so easily and gin-tonic retains its qualities.
- Never add squeezed lemon as it kills the carbonic gas in the tonic water and, of course, never wear out the tonic before serving it.
Don't forget that you can buy all these
gins and many more at
INVINIC.
