The Perfect Gin & Tonic Pairing

                                 Different Fever Tree tonics pair with different types of gins

Wine-Knows is wrapping up its inaugural wine and foodie’s tour of England.  In addition to visiting a gin factory, we have certainly sampled our share of gin and tonics on the trip.  While I’ve long known that the quality of both gin and the quality of the tonic were important, I’ve learned a lot about what gin works best with what type of tonic.  Let me explain.

First, let me say that I’m a big fan of Fever Tree Tonic thanks to my friend Liz who introduced me to it a few years back.  What I didn’t know until some months ago is that Fever Tree is made in London.  I learned on this trip that Fever Tree actually makes six types of tonic.   By doing a quick online search on the laptop I brought with me, I found them all available in the US.

1. Premium Indian Tonic
2. Elder flower Tonic
3. Mediterranean Tonic
4. Aromatic Tonic
5. Lemon Tonic (sometimes called Citrus Tonic)
6. Naturally Light (fewer calories)

So here’s the low-down.  Take a look at the picture above.  According to Fever Tree, here are the best pairings of Fever Tree with different gins (all of my favorite gins). 

•  Hendricks pairs best with Elder Flower Tonic (both of them have floral notes)
•  Beefeaters works best with Aromatic Tonic (both with robust juniper nuances)
•  Bombay Sapphire marries with Mediterranean Tonic  (the perfect union of the herbaceous Sapphire with this rosemary infused tonic)

Check out Fever Tree’s website for which of their products pair best with your fave gin:  

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Let the Party BeGIN !

I'm preparing to board a flight from Nice to London and I'm contemplating my first gin and tonic.  Not only is it one of my favorite summer drinks, but four of my closest friends are waiting for me at Heathrow and I know they all love it as well.  I am already envisioning our nightly aperitif on the riverside terrace of the historic Cotswolds home that I've rented for the week.

                       Our Cotswold home was once an old mill...note the gin & tonic chairs

Gin's history goes back to the Middle Ages.  While many associate gin with Great Britain, this spirit has roots in the Netherlands where the mixture supposedly originated.  Once sold in pharmacies for the treatment of kidney, gout or stomach ailments. the elixir was also used by Dutch soldiers prior to battle to help decrease anxiety.

Gin became very popular in England in the 16th century.  During this period a heavy tax was levied on all foreign liquor by the British government.  Locally-made gin, however, was not taxed.  Overnight, gin became the alcohol of choice, especially among the poor since English gin was dirt cheap.  However, too much of a good thing became a huge social issue.  To reduce over-consumption, legislation was finally passed to tax British gin.  There were riots in the streets.

Ingredients of gin are closely guarded trade secrets among the distilleries.  While the main ingredient, juniper berries, is always present, each company offers their own spin with a melange of other botanicals.  Gin can have floral nuances.  It can have a citrus profile.  Or, it can tend toward herbal notes.

                                  These botanicals are a sampling of what are used in gin

Today, gin has come full circle in a kind of Cinderella story.  Once a drink of the impoverished, it is now sold in fancy packaging and a an impressive selection appears in swanky bars.  It's moved well beyond the local pub-gin-and-tonic, to a high end alcohol that can be served solo at the most exclusive of restaurants.  For example, the most expensive gin, Watenshi, sells for the equivalent of $3,000 a bottle in London.  In a smaller package than the standard wine bottle, Watenshi is one that should definitely be sipped at the end of the meal like a fine Cognac.

I will be conducting a blind gin tasting with my four friends.  Watenshi won't be on the list, but here are the contenders:

   ~ Martin Miller (made in England using water from Iceland)

   ~ Oliver Cromwell (supposedly a great bang for the sterling)

   ~ Hendrick's (made in Scotland)

   ~ William Chase  (made in western England near the Wales border)

A Tonic for Whatever Ails You

                                Tonic water contains a powerful agent to prevent malaria

San Diego has had unusually warm weather the last few weeks.  While I’m not a mixed-drink-kind-of-gal, I have to admit that on a warm day (particularly at the beach) I’m often drawn to a gin and tonic.   Perhaps this is because the first gin and tonic I had, 35 years ago, was in the middle of the summer on Spain’s tiny island of Ibiza.  I was with a group of Norwegian friends and the last one to order libations.  All 11 had ordered a gin and tonic---so I made it an even dozen!

                                            Cinchona forests in South America

Did you know that tonic water at one time was an actual medicine?  It started in South America in the 17^th century when European missionaries in Peru made note that the locals used a tree bark concoction to effectively reduce the fevers of malaria.  Modern day medicine now understands that not only does tree bark treat fevers, but it is actually a powerful agent to prevent malaria.  This prophylactic part of the tree bark is called quinine.

                                         Cinchona's bark is the source for the quinine

  

Quinine is the purified substance from the bark on the cinchona tree. The quinine antidote for malaria quickly spread to Europe which was also suffering from the disease.  But it was the British who were responsible for turning it from medicine to pleasure.  When the British began their rule of malaria-rampant India they planted cinchona trees throughout the country purposefully.  British army officers on duty in India began adding it to their spirit of choice, gin, as prophylaxis.  

At this same time back in Britain, there was a craze for adding carbon dioxide to liquids to create bubbly drinks.  When the Brits returned from Foreign Service in India, they jumped on the bandwagon and added carbon dioxide to their quinine "tonic."  It wasn’t long before a gin and tonic became the rage----and it still is the quintessential drink of Britain.

To good health...and long live the Queen!