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Things get to be classics because over and over again in the
course of time, people want the classic thing more than they
want any of the new-fangled, would-be usurpers of the
classic thing. The classic thing wins the endurance test.
It's summer. It's hot. I can think of ten million
non-classic cold things to drink when the sun goes
down...But I can tell you this: none of them is more
appealing than the classic Gin & Tonic.
There is, however, trouble in paradise. Finding the exact
proportions of the ingredients in a perfect Gin & Tonic--the
kind of Gin & Tonic that makes you stand up and shout "This
must live forever!"--is no small feat. I've made thousands
of them--a few perfect, most pretty good, some sorry. I've
had thousands of them in public watering holes, and have
found about the same depressing percentage of perfection.
So, recently, with the reverence one should rightly pay to a
classic, I decided to move beyond the vagaries of Fate, pull
out a few measuring spoons, and write down (in stone, of
course) the proportions that, for me, add up to a perfect
Gin & Tonic. Along the way, I threw in a few tricks that
I've learned about creating this drink--some old tricks,
some new.
Here are the key tricks:
1) Use a gin with a relatively low percentage of alcohol;
percentages in gin can go over 50%, and that makes the drink
way too "hot" for my palate. The English-made gin called
Plymouth used to be available in the U.S., then dropped from
sight some years ago. It is back now and with its remarkably
low 41.2% alcohol, it is to me the perfect gin for a perfect
Gin & Tonic.
2) The choice of tonic is also important--and, to me,
nothing brings that bracing quinine rush like Schweppe's
Tonic Water.
3) Unless you chug your G&Ts, you've probably noticed that
on a warm night, after several minutes in the glass, your
drink tastes diluted. That, of course, is because your ice
cubes are melting. But you can limit the dilution factor by
using Tonic Water ice cubes! Simply pour some Schweppes into
your ice cube tray, let it freeze--and you are a heartbeat
away from the brightest G&T you've ever tasted.
Thoughts expressed in this article are the opinions of
the author and not necessarily those of BHW&S. This
article has been excerpted from FoodTV.com |
