Gin and Tonic

Type:	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume:	Gin
Served:	"On the rocks"; poured over ice
Standard garnish:	citrus fruit, usually lime
Standard drinkware:	highball glass
Commonly used ingredients:	One part (2oz) gin One to three parts tonic water, to taste
Preparation:	Mix and serve-stirred, not shaken.

Because there’s so little that goes into this iconic drink — gin, tonic water, ice and perhaps a bit of lime — what really matters are good ingredients.

For this particular cocktail, we have the British to thank, namely, Brits in 19th-century India, who were searching for ways to get their loyal subjects to ingest quinine, which is used to treat malaria and has at times been thought to repel mosquitos, which carry the disease. The amount of quinine in modern tonic water is a fraction of what’s needed for treatment (you’d need about 7 quarts of tonic water to even come close), but the drink’s popularity was established.

Yet even gin and tonic lovers face an uphill battle to find a good one. Even when done right, it’s not an easy drink to love — tonic’s slightly bitter quinine taste is a turnoff to sweet-drink lovers.

Atop the list of potential pitfalls is the tonic, a misunderstood beverage if ever there was one, and a potentially devastating blow to a perfect G&T.

“The sad part is, it’s screwed up at 90 percent of the bars in America, and you know the reason?” asks Dale DeGroff, one of the nation’s leading mixology consultants and author of “The Craft of the Cocktail.” “Ninety percent of bars in America use soda out of a gun that in no way, shape or form resembles quinine water.”

The better bet is tonic from a bottle — preferably one of those single-serving jobs, which preserves freshness. Request it that way if you’re ordering in a bar; the best bars will at least stock club soda and tonic in bottles. Brands are a matter of preference, though DeGroff is partial to Schweppes. (Me too, and I spent the better part of my childhood becoming a tonic water connoisseur — without gin.)

Gin vs. gin
The secret to the gin is the choice of botanicals. All gins have juniper as a flavor base in their distillation, which is what provides those foresty scents. But most use additional flavorings of citrus and spices. Bombay Sapphire has made its reputation on its use of 10 botanicals, from lemon peel to cubeb berries, a Javanese pepper. The mix makes Sapphire’s taste profile spicier than most — though Walker insists it’s the balance of flavors, not the number of them, that is key to its appeal.

DeGroff prefers a more straightforward gin — any London dry such as Beefeater or regular Bombay — to the more aromatic options, which also include Dutch and Plymouth gins, and new options like Tanqueray Ten. John Gertsen, principal bartender at Boston’s No. 9 Park, opts for “something snappy” like the original Tanqueray.

The key to the drink’s classic taste, DeGroff says, is to balance the bitterness of the tonic against the juniper and other flavors in the gin. “But always the juniper on top,” he adds.

As for the rest, choose a tall, slim, chilled highball glass, the freshest limes possible and — no matter how hot the day — solid cubes of the coldest ice you can get. Ratios for tonic to gin vary widely, from equal parts to 2:1. It’s really a matter of taste.

Variations abound, and none are beyond the pale: a sprig of mint, or a dash of Angostura bitters only add additional layers of flavor. But the humble gin and tonic is a hot-weather drink, best not to be overthought.

“Keep it simple,” Gertsen says. “A gentle stir and a big ol' hunk of lime and head for the hammock.”

DIRECTIONS

1) Chill the glass. You may want to fill it with ice, then empty it and refill, as some bartenders do with a martini glass.

2) Fill the glass with whole ice cubes. If you wish, take a wedge of lime and moisten the rim the glass with it.

3) Pour the gin over the ice, which should be cold enough that it crackles when the liquor hits it.

4) Fill glass almost to the top with tonic.

5) Squeeze one wedge of lime into the glass. Drop the squeezed lime into the drink as a garnish if you like; it’s not necessary, but can add a bit of extra flavor. (If you do, notes Dale DeGroff, make sure the peel has been washed.) Serve.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14134801/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin_and_tonic