Gin beats the heat
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
It’s hot, and when you’ve had an exhausting Saturday of gardening, cooking and cleaning there are few things finer than a cold gin drink to finish out the day while you contemplate what to grill for dinner.
I have to apologize to those who choose not to drink alcoholic beverages, because today’s column is all about gin. Please come back next week!
I was first introduced to gin after Andrew and I moved to Tallahassee, Fla., and spent what had to have been the hottest Augusts ever in my life. The news was full of warnings about contracting equine encephalitis from all the multitudes of Asian Tiger mosquitoes in the area (sounds familiar, eh?). We were complaining to a friend about how the coolest part of the day also was the most mosquito-infested and he invited us over for “the cure.”
The “cure” as it turned out was a gin and tonic with a lovely wedge of lime perched on the rim. The “cure” part involved the fact that tonic water contains quinine, and since that is so effective against malaria, surely it would do just as well against equine encephalitis! A pretty fiction, since you’d need about 300 milligrams of quinine a day to be effective, and if you drink the equivalent of that in gin and tonics, malaria will be the least of your problems!
CLASSIC GIN & TONIC
1-1/2 oz. Gin
Ice
Tonic water
1 lime wedge
Fill a highball glass with ice cubes. Pour in the gin and top off with tonic water. Stir well. Garnish with the lime wedge.
According to www.tastings.com, a great site for wine, beer and spirits, gin is a white spirit, usually distilled from wheat or rye, and enhanced with the addition of “botanicals,” most especially juniper berries. Other herbs or spices might be anise, angelica root, cinnamon, orange peel, coriander or cassia bark.
Gin is a dry beverage, very light and perfect for hot weather. In general, 80 proof gin has 64 calories per oz. (100 proof has 83 calories) and there’s no nutritional value save for a trace of potassium. Oh, those empty calories.
James Bond aside, the first martinis were made with gin and vermouth. For some it’s a three-to-two ratio, for some its a five-to-one, while others swish the glass with a small amount of vermouth and pour it out before adding the gin. Whatever you do, it must be very cold: chill the glass and use cracked ice when you shake it. You can keep your gin in the freezer, too!
An olive is the traditional garnish, but you might try adding olive juice to make it a dirty martini. The taste of olive takes a little of the edge off the gin (which is of course straight, hard liquor). You can also do a twist of lemon peel and if you go for vodka martinis — well, the combinations are endless.
According to www.martinimuse.com, this is a standard recipe sure to please.
CLASSIC TRADITIONALIST MARTINI
6 parts Bombay Sapphire gin
1 part dry white vermouth
dash of bitters
3 Spanish olives
Combine liquid ingredients in mixing glass or shaker with cracked ice and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. The cracked ice has more surface contact and cools the drink faster than a cube. If the gin is already cold, too, then ice melt will be minimal, preventing the dilution of your martini. Strain immediately into a swank martini glass and garnish with 3 Spanish olives.
TOM COLLINS
2 oz. Gin
1 oz. lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
Fill a highball glass with ice cubes. Pour in the gin and top off with club soda. Stir well. Garnish with a lemon or lime wedge.
REGINA’S GIN RICKEY
1 1/2 oz Gin
Juice of 1/2 Lime
5 or 6 smashed fresh cherries
Club soda
1 wedge Lime
Pit the cherries, then roughly smash then in a highball glass. Fill with ice cubes. Pour lime juice and gin over this and fill to the rim with soda. Add the wedge of lime and serve. Fish out the cherries later: yum yum!
Gin, like rum and vodka, goes really well with most fruits. Here are some fruitier drinks to cool off with.
GIN & CITRUS
1-1/2 oz. gin
1 oz. grapefruit juice
1/2 oz. orange juice
juice of half a lemon
Shake all together with ice, strain into a chilled martini glass, garnish with a bit of orange peel.
GIN BREEZE
1 oz. gin
1 oz. grapefruit juice
1 oz. cranberry juice
splash of lime juice
Shake with ice, strain into a chilled martini glass, garnish with a bit of orange peel. This one is sweeter than the Gin & Citrus version.
THE ALEXANDER
1-1/2 oz. gin
4 oz. apple juice
2 oz. tonic water
splash of lime
Pour into a tall glass full of ice, stir, garnish as desired. It’s like an Appletini only not nearly so sweet.
And for you Wizard of Oz fans, here’s a pretty one.
Don’t forget to get the green cherries.
THE EMERALD CITY
2 1/2 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Green Crème de Menthe
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
Green maraschino cherry
Add the gin, crème de menthe and bitters in a shaker filled with ice and stir. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with the green maraschino cherry. Watching the movie is optional.
I’m not a gin connoisseur and there are a lot of gin brands out there. Established names such as Tanqueray, Gordon’s and Bombay won’t miss in your recipes. Like any spirit, quality counts. Salud!
Next week’s column is for the hottentots in the crowd (as in hot chile peppers). Then, we’ll look at some Kansas State Fair contests followed by the winners of the “Things Made with Pumpkin” Summer Cook-Off contest. Watch for details. Let’s get cooking!