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John learned to make these - in Amsterdam, I think. Mother church of Gin, with apologies to England. The English call it Mother's Ruin, based on the horrid cheap stuff they used to sedate the restless populace. Hard to drum up a revolution when you can't find the door.
But the Dutch have embraced gin. In fact a lot of people have embraced gin (some with better results than others - you don't want to do too much embracing at any one time or you may find yourself embracing the toilet bowl...but I digress).
Artisanal gins have been popping up lately, made by former rocket scientists and hedge fund managers who got tired of making rockets and managing hedges. The shelves at Lunardi's groan under the weight. And we are working our way through them. But so far my favorite is Hendrick's. It is not as aggressively juniperous (new word!) as Bombay Sapphire, and not as indistinct as the common airline gin in the green bottle. It makes a bracing dry martini. A crisp gin and tonic. And now, thanks to John, we serve our gin and tonics (gins and tonics?) with a long curl of cucumber - peel attached - stuck to the inside of the glass. Or artfully applied, if you're feeling poetic.
I still think Bombay Sapphire requires lime to settle the juniper down a bit, but Hendrick's practically cries out for cucumber. Doesn't miss the lime at all.
Slightly herbal, crisp and refreshing, after a few of these you will be writing prose like a Bon Appetit staff writer. Hmmmm, I wonder if that's how they get their inspiration? After all, somebody has to test-drive all those cocktail recipes. My liver quails at the thought. I guess that's what they have interns for.
But the Dutch have embraced gin. In fact a lot of people have embraced gin (some with better results than others - you don't want to do too much embracing at any one time or you may find yourself embracing the toilet bowl...but I digress).
Artisanal gins have been popping up lately, made by former rocket scientists and hedge fund managers who got tired of making rockets and managing hedges. The shelves at Lunardi's groan under the weight. And we are working our way through them. But so far my favorite is Hendrick's. It is not as aggressively juniperous (new word!) as Bombay Sapphire, and not as indistinct as the common airline gin in the green bottle. It makes a bracing dry martini. A crisp gin and tonic. And now, thanks to John, we serve our gin and tonics (gins and tonics?) with a long curl of cucumber - peel attached - stuck to the inside of the glass. Or artfully applied, if you're feeling poetic.
Slightly herbal, crisp and refreshing, after a few of these you will be writing prose like a Bon Appetit staff writer. Hmmmm, I wonder if that's how they get their inspiration? After all, somebody has to test-drive all those cocktail recipes. My liver quails at the thought. I guess that's what they have interns for.
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