The Remix; Now Serving | Hold The Tonic

Gin is ready for its close-up. Though most of us associate it with lethal cocktails, and with at least one memorably bad night in college, a new generation of distillers is ignoring its mixed reputation and creating versions that are distinctive enough to convert even the most resistant palates. 

By United States law, gin must have a flavor dominated by juniper berry, so each brand's unique profile comes from its secondary notes. Hendrick's Gin, introduced in 2000, is distilled with 11 botanicals, rose petals and cucumbers, a combination that makes it dangerously easy to drink.




No. 209, a sister project of the Rudd Vineyards and Winery of Oakville, Calif., uses bergamot and cardamom for a round mouth feel.....,




............... while Damrak, made in Amsterdam (the spirit's birthplace is the Netherlands), is full flavored, distilled with 17 botanicals.

 The titan, however, is Plymouth Gin. A great gin of the 18th century, it stumbled during World War II, and by the time Absolut's parent company took interest in the moribund label in 2000, a bottle of Plymouth was as easy to spot as an MG. Now the brand's clean and smooth flavor has become the mixologist's favorite. Whatever you do, don't waste your time with a gin and tonic: the quinine in the tonic smothers the gin, like dousing a steak with ketchup.

Opt for a classic aperitif, like a Negroni.






Negroni

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL 

1 ounce gin
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth.
Pour ingredients into shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with orange twist

Article by  OLIVER SCHWANER-ALBRIGHT