Mixologist advice?

This is for ZiggyMarley I suppose, but anyone else who wants to chuck their oar in, feel free…

I got a bottle of this:

https://www.nakedwines.com/products/rambla-41-lot-dhivern-mediterranean-dry-gin.htm

Not opened it yet, saving for Xmas, but was wondering what tonic to use with it to get the best out of it? Some variety of Fever tree? It’s apparently quite fruity, so probably not well suited to a Martini. Hmm.

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I have ordered one of these Xmas Special cases from Naked wines so I’m interested in the answer if only to know what to use (other than paraquat obviously) when mixing drinks for Xmas visitors. Jackie doesn’t do gin so she is safe…

Personally, I’d drink that neat, couple of ice cubes at the most.
YMMV :toilet:

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Be aware it’s unfiltered and the water it’s made with is naturally high in minerals, so it has some crystalline sediment which looks, well, wrong. The bottle I got last year from the same distiller was cloudy but tasted fine.

I hope you enjoy your Small & Small Sauv…:rage:

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TBH I prefer the Small and Small Pinot Noir. I’ll put it aside for a future AA meat-up or if you are in the area and are thirsty.

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Schweppes tonic, anything else is just poncy and doesn’t taste as good.

my initial reaction is the figs probably make it sweeter so not really for a dry martini. It does strike me as a sipping gin, so yes try it neat over ice.

The fruitiness could be suitable for a Negroni - 1 part gin, 1 part martini rosso , 1 part campari serve over ice

You could try it in a Martinez https://www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/1066/cocktails/martinez-cocktail

As for G&T, I mainly avoid the flavoured tonic waters. I usually use a light or diet tonic as the full fat versions are far too sweet for me. I’d garnish with something to bring out the aromatics in the gin. The obvious aromatic will be figs, so i’d think cinnamon, cloves, black pepper (not all at once). To work out what the other aromatics are you’d need to taste it. But Spanish gin tends to be herbal so i’d think thyme which may work quite well with figs.

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Well, I got some advice from the distiller, by way of an email from Naked Wines:

1: Grab one (or four!) of your mahoosive G&T glasses (There were 4 nice big glasses in the Xmas box)

2: Fill it full of ice – and give it a good swirl so the glass chills right down.

3: Pour 40ml Rambla gin over the ice

4: Add 200ml of premium tonic (Stefan recommends Fever Tree)

5: Pop in a couple of fresh blackberries and a quarter of a fig.

6: Give it all a good swirl…

Seems worth a go, just for shits. Especially if I eat the fig…

What is a nice G&T gin? A step up from Gordons or Tanqueray, around £30 a bottle? A lot of the so called small batch ones, like Hendricks, seem to be able to fill the supermarket shelves so I am dubious of their artisinal status…

I quite like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sipsmith-London-Dry-Gin-70/dp/B004EAIWMA

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Sipsmith is good. Portobello Road is readily available and you can get Berry Bros & Rudd London No 3 at Waitrose

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if it were me, i’d cut down on the ice. Once it starts melting you dilute the drink too much, unless you are going to knock is back. I’d also use 50ml of gin to about 150 ml of tonic. Yes the glass should be chilled as should the tonic.

Personally, whilst fig and blackberry are fine garnishes, they won’t by themselves add and flavour to enhance the aromatics in the gin. They would of you slightly crushed them. And of course eating a gin soaked garnish is always a bonus.

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Was thinking frozen blackberries might work well, the freezing tends to rupture their cellular structure so as they thawed in the G&T they would leak their juice into it.

good idea

but freezing berries seems to alter their flavour quite a lot, not in a good way

We get the frozen mixed berries from the supermarket quite often for baking etc, they seem ok? Maybe they have added sugar, will have to check next time we get some.

we have a freezer full here, no added sugar, taste fine to me… frozen berries are used to enhance drinks and food all the time with little to no detriment to their flavour. Yes the texture may alter.

Narelle got given a bottle of this…

We’ve not had chance to try it. Simon, do you know bout this gin ?

No, never even seen it…interesting

from the website http://ginpuertodeindias.com/our-gins/?lang=en

it looks quite citrus… and given the distillery is in Seville, I would guess at more than a hint of orange. If it is heavy on the orange it will make a great Negroni (1 part gin, 1 part Campari, 1 part Martini Rosso - stirred over ice garnish with orange peel)

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Tasted it neat against what I had in stock (Tanqueray). It’s quite orange driven, with an oiliness which I find quite attractive. Closer to Jenever than what I’m used to drinking. But in a good way.

Just had a couple with bog standard Schweppes tonic and I have to say that the citrus fruitiness is a welcome addition. It’s just that bit different.

Will definitely try in a Negroni.

thinking about what you say, if you have the ingredients it may work quite well in a Martinez Cocktail:

http://www.ginfoundry.com/cocktail/martinez-cocktail/

Some say the Martinez is the predecessor of the Dry Martini