Gin Tonica E-Book

David T. Smith

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 43

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Aromatic, refreshing, delicious and a FEAST FOR THE EYES, the generously-sized and creatively garnished 'gin tonica' Spanish-style drink has taken the COCKTAIL WORLD by storm. This simplest of drinks – just GIN, TONIC, ICE and a garnish – is considered the national drink of Spain. With more gin brands and styles of tonic available than ever before, and 40 INSPIRED RECIPES here to try at home, there has never been a better time to discover the joy of the gin tonica – saludos! Spaniards love their gin and tonics. In Spain, the bartender doesn't ask you what you want to drink, he asks you how you want your gin and tonic prepared! The trend started in the north of Spain, in Basque country, where you can walk into a bar and upon ordering you are presented with a cart teeming with gin and tonic options to create your very own bespoke drink. A beautiful cocktail with a variety of herb and flower garnishes, a Spanish-style gin and tonic or 'gin tonica', is made with a premium gin and the best quality tonic water, combined with bitters and various herbs, spices, flowers and fruits that will complement the botanicals of a specific gin. It is served over ice in an oversized balloon glass – the idea being that the shape enables the drinker to enjoy all the lovely aromas their drink gives off. For a cocktail with only two ingredients, the flavour potential is staggering!

Leseprobe

GIN

Tonica

DedicationTo Sara

Indexer Hilary Bird

Senior Designer Barbara Zuñiga

Head of Production Patricia Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Creative Director Leslie Harrington

Drinks Stylist Lorna Brash

Prop Stylist Luis Peral

Indexer Hilary Bird

First published in 2017. This revised

edition published in 2025 by

Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and 1452 Davis Bugg Road

Warrenton, NC 27589

www.rylandpeters.com

email: [email protected]

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © David T. Smith 2017, 2025. Design and photographs © Ryland Peters & Small 2017, 2025. Front and back jacket illustration by Viktoria, back inset illustration by Tatsiana.

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-78879-716-0

EISBN: 978-1-78879-731-3

Printed in China

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. US Library of Congress CIP data has been applied for.

The authorised representative in the EEA is Authorised Rep Compliance Ltd., Ground Floor, 71 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, D02 P593, Ireland www.arccompliance.com

GIN

Tonica

40 RECIPES FOR SPANISH-STYLE GIN & TONIC COCKTAILS

DAVID T. SMITH

Photography by Alex Luck

Contents

Introduction

Classic

Contemporary

Experimental

Seasonal

Credits

Acknowledgments

Index

Introduction

The gin and tonic is, on the face of it, perhaps one of the simplest mixed drinks in the world. It has a long and illustrious history, which has taken place in many exotic and far-flung locations. It’s not too much of a stretch that, in some ways, empires were built or at least maintained thanks to this drink. This simplicity does not mean that the drink is boring or that its preparation has been void of innovation; in particular, one variation – the Spanish Gin Tonica – has been at the forefront of both a revival in gin and a rise in the quality and craftsmanship of modern mixed drinks.

The earliest known reference to the ‘Gin and Tonic’ comes from an 1868 edition of The Oriental Sporting Magazine from India. The tonic that they refer to is an effervescent water flavoured with quinine and sweetened with sugar. At this time, quinine, an alkaloid which comes from cinchona bark, was a key medicine in the fight against malaria, a parasite spread by mosquitoes. Malaria plagued many of the Imperial outposts in India and Africa and eventually spread to the New World. In the late 19th century, the drink was cited in both medical and recreational contexts. In many places, alcohol was safer to drink than water and many of the botanical ingredients in gin were thought to have medicinal properties; for example, juniper was seen to be a digestive aid that also freshened the breath. Tonic water had the vital quinine, but the carbon dioxide which gave the drink its fizz was also seen to have been another aid to digestion. Finally, the citrus garnish (lime juice was prescribed to British sailors as a preventative measure against scurvy) gave the drinker some vitamin C.

So what is the Spanish Gin Tonica? It is a particular type of serve for a Gin and Tonic, using a large balloon-shaped glass, lots of ice, and a colourful and aromatic garnish. There are hazy anecdotes of the style going back to the late 1980s, but most contemporary accounts suggest that it started around 2008–09 in Northern Spain, in particular the Basque region. It arrived in the UK around 2011. Before the wide-scale availability of the Copa de Balón or ‘Gin Tonica’ glass, early versions of the drink were served in large Bordeaux wine glasses. Spanish ice is typically nearly twice the size of its British equivalent and so, when using a short glass, you can’t fit much liquid in alongside the ice. Therefore in order to have enough ice to keep the drink cool, larger glasses were needed!

Creating a perfectly-paired Gin Tonica

Since 2005, the number of gins available across the world has increased from around 200 to over 2,500 in 2017. This increase has also inspired a boom in tonic water, in particular premium brands. After all, if drinkers are paying more attention to their choice of gin and will pay a little more for it, why not also invest in a better-quality tonic? Whereas consumers were once limited to Schweppes, supermarket own-brand, Britvic or Canada Dry, today there are more than 100 varieties to choose from, including tonics with flavours such as yuzu, mint, rosemary and even tomato. With such a wide variety of both gins and tonics on offer, it can help to know a little more about the flavour profiles of both The inclusion of new and imaginative garnishes came hand-in-hand with a rise in new gin distilleries, which were producing spirits with new and exciting botanicals and flavour profiles. For bars, elaborate garnishes in their Gin Tonica became a way to help them differentiate from competitors.

Gin flavour profiles usually fall within one, or a combination of two of the following categories:

Classic: a primary mix of piney juniper, earthy angelica and aromatic coriander. e.g. Gordon’s, Tanqueray, Hayman’s London Dry Gin.

Herbal