It all really started with the expansion of the British
Empire. As they spread East and South to temperate climates, they discovered a
pesky parasite in the form of Plasmodium
falciparum carried by the female Anopheles
mosquito. It had been known as early as the 17th century that the
bark of the cinchona tree contained something that could treat the dreaded
fevers and chills produced my malaria. However the compound that could treat
malaria was also very bitter so it was usually added to sweetened water to
improve its palatability. Crafty Brits added gin to this quinine solution to
make it easier to swallow and eventually the gin and tonic became part British
cocktail time.
Fast forward about two centuries. The Gochiso Gourmet
discovers that he also enjoys an occasional gin and tonic. A little sweet, a
little bitter and perfect with a squeeze of lime. Refreshing on those hot
Hawaiian summer days or perfect while listening to some cool jazz. Of course,
as cocktail culture expands and bar tendering rises to a noble profession with
the likes of Dale DeGroff and Tony Abou-Ganim (they’re also called mixologists
now, not bartenders), simple “hooch” is no longer the poison of choice as
infused vodkas, small batch bourbon and rye whiskeys, single malt scotches and
hand crafted gins become the rage.
And where non-descript grain alcohol (vodka) distilled
with juniper berries creates most of the commercial gin, distillers now do
double, triple and even quintuple distillations for the purest product and
they’re infused not just with basic juniper and other dried herbs but the
finest cinnamon from Vietnam, organic fennel seeds from Italy, iris petals and
the like. And I do give in to sample some of these “high end” gins. My
favorites for the basic gin and tonic are the iris infused light blue Magellan,
the subtle Bombay Sapphire and the perfumed Martin Miller. When I desire a
darker flavored gin, I reach for the Scotch barrel aged Kensington or oak
barrel aged Rusty Blade. Or sometimes I just like the citrusy qualities of
Tanqueray Rangpur. However these libations come with heavier price tags
starting in the high $20 range up to the $60 range. And I never really thought
about it but I was mixing them with $3 bottles of heavily sweetened tonic
water. In fact, most of what I was sipping was tonic water. Almost like
purchasing Wagyu beef just to make
chili or otoro to pan fry. Shouldn’t
the mixer elevate the alcohol? And not simply cover it up?
Q Tonic
Jordan Silbert asked himself that same question while
sipping a gin and tonic and in 2004 launched his own line of tonic water, Q
Tonic produced with Peruvian cinchona and sweetened with agave syrup. I first
tried Q Tonic about 3 years ago and haven’t returned to Schweppes or Canada Dry
since then. If your favorite gin is Beefeater, Gilbey’ or Gordon’s, then
Schweppes or Canada Dry is perfectly fine but for the costlier alternatives,
I’m willing to ante up the extra cash for Q Tonic.
However if gin isn’t your cup of tea (I only know a small
handful of people who prefer gin over other liquors), how about trying my Asian
Grace. I created this libation about 2 months ago when I was in charge of
creating cocktails at a dinner party. Of course, I eventually brought three
cocktails in tow and since man (and woman) can’t live with cocktails alone, I
paired each cocktail with a cocktail appetizer. I rolled soaked mochi rice, chopped lup cheong, shiitake and
bamboo shoots in grape leaves and baked them for my Asian Dolmas served with
the Asian Grace cocktail.
Asian Grace
3 ounces of St Germain elderflower liquor
1 & 1/2 ounces of Soho lychee liquor
½ ounce of Canton ginger liquor
10 ounces of Q Tonic
Lemongrass “swizzle” stick (optional)
Mix the 3 liquors and the Q Tonic and pour over a
highball glass filled with ice. Decorate with the lemongrass “swizzle” stick.
Makes 3 to 4 drinks.
It was very encouraging that Hank Adaniya of Hank’s Haute
Dogs in Honolulu and formerly of Trio in Chicago which launched the careers of
celebrity chefs Gale Gand, Rick Tramonto and Grant Achatz enjoyed the libation
so much that he asked for a second serving. In a larger glass!
Q Kola
Once the Q Tonic started selling nationally, several
other sodas appeared including Q Ginger, Q Club and Q Kola. Like the original, these
sodas are also sweetened with agave syrup so they also don’t have the cloying
sweetness of heavily sugared sodas. And again they do cost more but since I
don’t routinely drink soda and only have a mixed drink now and then, I’m
willing to pay the price for the quality.
The idea for this drink may have been genetic. Well, not
genetic since I wasn’t born a pharmacist but the original Coca Cola and Pepsi
Cola recipes were created by pharmacists for the same reason why Brits added
gin to their quinine solutions. To cover up the taste of the medication. And
while compounding is rarely done in a pharmacy these days, I can still do
kitchen (or bar) compounding in my off hours. I always order a Manhattan when
dining at a steak house since it seems to be that quintessential steakhouse
cocktail. This version just reduces some of the rough edges of the alcohol.
Lower Manhattan
6 ounces rye whiskey
1 & ½ ounces sweet vermouth
1 tbsp maraschino liquor
12 dashes orange bitters
8 ounces Q Kola
3 to 4 maraschino cherries for garnish
Mix the first 4 ingredients then carefully add the Q
Kola. Pour over ice in a cocktail glass and garnish with the maraschino cherry.
Makes 3 to 4 drinks.
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