As kind of a bright spot in a rather rough last few weeks, Natasha and I had good friends Wes and Corey over for dinner / drinks Saturday night. Because of economic issues, I didn't make a bunch of 100% agave margaritas and steaks, but kept it to gin-and-tonics (my recipe here), Izze-politans (see here), and pizza, and we also had the wine they brought.
We had a really nice visit, especially after our kids went to bed (our kids were kind of loud and hyper having company over and made it tough to relax and visit earlier). We'd all been so busy lately that we had not visited much the last 4-5 weeks, and we'd missed it. I also used the occasion to get rid of the last of my Hendrick's gin -- it's good quality stuff, it just has some unusual flavors that I don't quite like in my gin taste. In fact, the label on the back of the bottle even says that it has some unusual flavors compared to more traditional gin and that "IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE" (it's in all-caps on the bottle). I find this statement to be true. Link here for more info. So I made gin-and-tonics for Wes (who'd recommended the Hendrick's) and Corey, and all were happy.
Wes said they had tried making a tequila-and-tonic on a lark and really liked it -- I'm not sure that I'm willing to try that yet with my good tequila ... maybe I'll try it with some Hornitos someday.
See here for Wes' blog, and here for Corey's.
Showing posts with label gin and tonic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gin and tonic. Show all posts
Monday, October 6, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
French gin? Gin and tonic, martini recipes
French gin? Oui! Several years ago, my friend Steve made my wife and I a drink with gin in it (I don't recall exactly what it was or what brand of gin it was). I had not really tried gin before, and I didn't care for it too much at the time. My wife's feelings were a little stronger -- I seem to recall her thinking it tasted like hairspray.
Several years passed before I gave gin a try again (in a gin and tonic, see below), and now I really like it. I don't know if it was a different brand of gin that I'd tried before, or just that maybe my tastes have changed as I've gotten older and now I like the taste of hairspray!
While in our local Kyle Twin Liquors, Michael recommended I try a French gin called Citadelle. It has an even stronger flavor of the botanicals and spices that make gin what it is than Bombay Sapphire. I used to think that gin was exclusively an English drink, but the French have done something magnifique with this gin. I tend to make either gin and tonics or classic martinis. The recipes I have been enjoying lately are as follows:
Gin and tonic
These are really refreshing in hot weather, which we occasionally get in Austin. The first time I had one of these was when my wife's uncle Si made some for us on a vacation in upstate NY in 2005, where we stayed in a lodge without A/C. An unexpected heat wave hit and it was 90+F all week, rather than the mid 70s more typical of that area. This drink came in handy (Si used Bombay Sapphire). Be careful, though ... it's very easy to down 3 of these drinks before you know it!
2-3 (depending on how rough your day was) ounces of Citadelle or Bombay Sapphire gin
tumbler / highball glass full of ice
Juice of 1/2 fresh lime
Tonic water/soda
Squeeze lime over ice, add gin, top off with tonic water, give a little stir
Martini
I don't tend to prefer the super-dry martinis which have almost no vermouth ... I tend to like a ratio of about 5-7 parts gin to 1 part vermouth. I also like it a little bit dirty (with a touch of the olive juice) -- you can leave this out if you want.
Shaker with plenty of ice
2-3 oz Bombay Sapphire or Citadelle gin
1/4-1/2 oz dry vermouth
little bit of juice (maybe 1/2 tsp) from a jar of olives
2-3 olives from same jar
chilled martini glass
Add gin, vermouth, and olive juice (may leave this out if desired) to shaker. Add 2-3 olives to a chilled martini glass. Stir or shake (that's a whole other debate), pouring over the olives.
For martini snobs that insist a super-dry martini is the only way it should be made, it's interesting to note that the original martini, The Martinez, which appeared in the 1860s-1870s, was mostly sweet vermouth and sweet gin. The current martini evolved over time (source, The Idiots Guide to Mixing Drinks).
Several years passed before I gave gin a try again (in a gin and tonic, see below), and now I really like it. I don't know if it was a different brand of gin that I'd tried before, or just that maybe my tastes have changed as I've gotten older and now I like the taste of hairspray!
While in our local Kyle Twin Liquors, Michael recommended I try a French gin called Citadelle. It has an even stronger flavor of the botanicals and spices that make gin what it is than Bombay Sapphire. I used to think that gin was exclusively an English drink, but the French have done something magnifique with this gin. I tend to make either gin and tonics or classic martinis. The recipes I have been enjoying lately are as follows:
Gin and tonic
These are really refreshing in hot weather, which we occasionally get in Austin. The first time I had one of these was when my wife's uncle Si made some for us on a vacation in upstate NY in 2005, where we stayed in a lodge without A/C. An unexpected heat wave hit and it was 90+F all week, rather than the mid 70s more typical of that area. This drink came in handy (Si used Bombay Sapphire). Be careful, though ... it's very easy to down 3 of these drinks before you know it!
2-3 (depending on how rough your day was) ounces of Citadelle or Bombay Sapphire gin
tumbler / highball glass full of ice
Juice of 1/2 fresh lime
Tonic water/soda
Squeeze lime over ice, add gin, top off with tonic water, give a little stir
Martini
I don't tend to prefer the super-dry martinis which have almost no vermouth ... I tend to like a ratio of about 5-7 parts gin to 1 part vermouth. I also like it a little bit dirty (with a touch of the olive juice) -- you can leave this out if you want.
Shaker with plenty of ice
2-3 oz Bombay Sapphire or Citadelle gin
1/4-1/2 oz dry vermouth
little bit of juice (maybe 1/2 tsp) from a jar of olives
2-3 olives from same jar
chilled martini glass
Add gin, vermouth, and olive juice (may leave this out if desired) to shaker. Add 2-3 olives to a chilled martini glass. Stir or shake (that's a whole other debate), pouring over the olives.
For martini snobs that insist a super-dry martini is the only way it should be made, it's interesting to note that the original martini, The Martinez, which appeared in the 1860s-1870s, was mostly sweet vermouth and sweet gin. The current martini evolved over time (source, The Idiots Guide to Mixing Drinks).
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