The classic gin and tonic. Photo courtesy Martin Miller’s Gin.

Today is World Gin Day, a holiday created by Neil Houston of Birmingham, England. It started modestly in 2009 when Houston. who reviews gin on his website, Yet Another Gin, gathered some friends. It has since turned into a worldwide celebration.

“World Gin Day is a celebration of all things gin,” says Houston, “and a chance to mix up your favourite G&T [gin and tonic]or other gin cocktail.”

We’ll go for the G&T: as delicious as it is simple to prepare.

GIN & TONIC RECIPE

Ingredints

1. FILL a highball glass with ice cubes. Add the gin, tonic water and lime juice. Stir thoroughly to blend.

2. GARNISH with lime wedge and serve.
 
Preparation

To prevent dilution of your drink, use our favorite trick: Make ice cubes with the tonic water (or iced tea ice cubes for iced tea, juice ice cubes for juice, etc.)

Simply freeze tonic water in an ice cube tray. We use a covered ice cube tray to keep the cubes tasting fresh, but you can use plastic wrap.

 
THE HISTORY OF GIN & TONIC

Historically, spirits were created for medicinal purposes. So was the G&T.

Malaria was a persistent problem in the world‘s tropical regions. In the 1700s, quinine, a muscle relaxant developed from the bark of the cinchona tree by the Quechua natives of Peru, was found to be helpful in treating the disease.

Like much medicine, quinine had an unpleasant, bitter taste. In the early 19th century, British officers in India inadvertently created tonic water (quinine water) by adding a mixture of water, sugar, lime and gin to the quinine.

Today‘s quinine water contains much less quinine, since it is no longer used as an antimalarial. That‘s why some people enjoy it as a soft drink.

Grey Goose has whipped up a new cocktail recipe to enjoy during the U.S. Open this weekend.

Called “The Original 19th Hole,” it was inspired by the brand’s relationship with the #4 golfer in the world, Matt Kuchar (Matt may have to hold off on enjoying one until after the tournament).

COCKTAIL RECIPE: THE ORIGINAL 19th HOLE

Ingredients Per Drink

Something special to sip during the U.S. Open. Photo courtesy Grey Goose.

1. MIX vodka with pineapple and orange juices. Pour over ice in a tall glass.

2. TOP with lemon-lime soda and garnish with a lemon wheel.
 

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We recently saw “branbleberry tart” on a menu. It turned out to be a blackberry-raspberry combination.

Brambleberry is a British term for blackberry (Rubus fruticosa). In the U.S., it includes other members of the thorny berry genus Rubus, such as the raspberry (Rubus idaeus).

It’s easy to whip up an easy brambleberry tart: Just arrange the berries in a buttery pâte brisée crust (short crust—here’s the recipe), either:

 
Then, relax with a branbleberry cocktail. This recipe is courtesy TheBar.com and Tanqueray London Dry Gin.

Bottoms up with a blackberry cocktail.
Photo courtesy TheBar.com.

Butte blackberries. Photo by Bob Nichols |
U.S. Agricultural Research Service.

Ingredients Per Cocktail

Preparation

1. COMBINE gin, liqueur, lemon juice and simple syrup in a shaker with ice; shake well.

2. STRAIN into an ice-filled rocks glass.

3. POUR the creme de cassis over the top. Garnish with a lime wheel and raspberries.

WHAT IS DRY GIN?

Gin has been made from juniper berries since the Middle Ages; as with most spirits, it was originally an herbal medicine. The Dutch physician Franciscus Sylvius (1614-1672) is credited with the invention of gin. The name comes from jenever, the Dutch word for juniper.

Today there are numerous origins, styles, and flavor profiles that build on the juniper. London Dry Gin is the world’s most popular gin type.

It‘s very different from jenever (also spelled genever). It is called dry gin because there’s no sugar to add sweetness.

London dry gins also tend to be higher in alcohol: 90 proof as opposed to the more typical 80 proof. The flavor profile is characteristically citrussy, with lemon and/or orange peel among the numerous botanicals that provide the flavor. (Here are some of the different types of botanicals that can go into gin.)

Beefeater, Bombay and Tanqueray are well-known brands of London Dry Gin. Gin trivia: While gin was distilled in London centuries ago, only one gin distiller remains there today.
 
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Jamaican Iced Coffee, made with rum,
liqueur and brewed coffee. Photo courtesy
Appleton Estates.

Turn iced coffee into a cocktail for summer entertaining. Here’s a recipe from Appleton Estate rum, produced in the lush countryside of Jamaica.

Jamaican Iced Coffee can be enjoyed with brunch, post-dinner or whenever you want your cocktail to provide a jolt of energy instead of putting you to sleep.

JAMAICAN ICED COFFEE

Ingredients Per Drink

Vanilla syrup is simple syrup flavored with vanilla. You can purchase regular or sugar-free vanilla syrup, or make your own with this recipe.

Preparation

1. BUILD rum, Grand Marnier, vanilla syrup and coffee over ice into a highball glass.

2. GARNISH with fresh whipped cream and dust with ground cinnamon.
 
VARIATIONS

 
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Looking for a special cocktail for Father’s Day? We love this Melon Mirage cocktail, what some might call a Watermelon Martini. But just because something has gin or vodka and is served in a Martini glass doesn’t make it a Martini—see Martini History below.

Yellow or orange watermelon, which you can find at farmers markets and specialty produce stores, makes it even more special.

We adapted this recipe from from Arch Rock Fish restaurant in Santa Barbara. You can serve it in a Martini glass or any glass you like.

WATERMELON COCKTAIL RECIPE

Ingredients For 4 Cocktails

Watermelon and vodka with a touch of honey. Photo courtesy Arch Rock Fish | Santa Barbara.

Yellow watermelon. Photo by Hannah
Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

Preparation

1. MUDDLE mint in the bottom of a large bowl or pitcher.

2. PURÉE watermelon in a food processor or blender and sieve into the bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula.

3. PURÉE the cucumber and sieve into the bowl.

4. WHISK the lime juice and honey together in a small bowl. Add to juice mixture, stir, and add the vodka. Pour into glasses with ice cubes.

5. GARNISH with a cucumber wheel and mint sprig.
 
SOME MARTINI HISTORY

The original Martini, created in America, was a mixture of gin and vermouth, garnished with an olive. While not yet called the Martini, the 1888 Bartender’s Manual cites a recipe of half gin and half vermouth.

Thanks to James Bond, the Vodka Martini, “shaken, not stirred,” entered popular culture in the book “Diamonds Are Forever” (1956). Earlier, in “Casino Royale,” the first Bond novel (1953), Bond orders a cocktail later named the Vesper: gin, vodka and Lillet, a fortified white wine, rather than vermouth.

The Gibson is a Gin Martini garnished with a pickled cocktail onion. The oldest published recipe for the Gibson dates to 1908.

In the 1990s, the concept of what a “Martini” was took off like a rocket, with menus of hundreds of different Martini “flavors,” savory and sweet. Marketers like to ride on the coattails of something that’s already popular. But these are really…

Non-Martinis

While adding espresso (not espresso liqueur) to a Vodka Martini could logically be called an Espresso Martini, turning it into a sweet drink, such as an Espresso Martini with espresso liqueur, a Chocolate Martini with chocolate liqueur, or an Appletini with apple liqueur, abandons the spirit of the savory Martini cocktail.

There is no liqueur in a Martini: Call those sweet drinks something else!

Peaches in season, from a good grower, are one of those special annual treats. Georgia and California peaches should be in your market now, so plan your strategy: hand fruit, fresh peach salsa, peach pie, peach ice cream…and a Peach Margarita.

In the U.S., the peach harvest typically begins in early May from Georgia to California. The fruit ripens later in northern states, like Idaho and Michigan—often in early August when the peaches from the warmer climates are ending their run.

This recipe, courtesy of Sauza Tequila, can be made year round, but it’s nice to have a tasty, fresh peach wedge garnish.

RECIPE: PEACH MARGARITA or PEACHARITA

Ingredients For 6 Cocktails

A Peach Margarita, or Peacharita. Photo courtesy Sauza Tequila.

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE glasses with a half sugar-half salt rim, if desired. (You can use all salt, too.)

2. FILL a pitcher with ice, tequila, peach schnapps, orange liqueur, lime juice and peach nectar. Stir to combine.

3. CHILL and serve over ice in prepared glasses. Garnish with fresh peach wedge

FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE MARGARITA RECIPES.

The Negroni cocktail. Photo courtesy Geof
Peters | Wikimedia.

This is National Negroni week. For those not immersed in cocktail culture, the Negroni is one of the classics, dating back to 1919.

As the story goes, the cocktail was invented at the Bar Cassoni* in Florence, Italy by bartender Fosco Scarselli in Florence. He created it for a regular patron, Count Camillo Negroni, who had asked for an Americano cocktail strengthened with a dash of gin instead of the usual soda water. Scarselli used an orange garnish rather than the lemon garnish of the Americano, and presented his client with a “Negroni.”

The cocktail took off, and the Negroni Family quickly founded Negroni Distillerie in Treviso, producing Antico Negroni, a ready-made version of the drink. But the cocktail was unknown in the U.S. until 1947 when Orson Welles, working in Rome, wrote about it,

*Bar Cassoni became Caffè Casoni and is now called Caffè Cavalli.

RECIPE: NEGRONI COCKTAIL

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE ingredients in a shaker with ice.

2. STRAIN into chilled coupe or serve over ice in a chilled rocks glass. Garnish and serve.
 
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MORE ABOUT MARTINI & ROSSI VERMOUTH.

The tall, cool Southside cocktail. Photo
courtesy Tanqueray Gin.

Yesterday we presented three of the most popular cocktails of the 1920s, including the Gin Rickey, the French 75 and the Martini. Prohibition was in effect from 1920 through 1933, so Jazz Age cocktails were made with bootleg liquor.

While President Woodrow Wilson vetoed the National Prohibition Act (informally known as the Volstead Act), his veto was overridden by the House and the Senate. Prohibition became law on October 28, 1919, as the 18th amendment to the United States Constitution. The amendment prohibited the production, sale and transport of “intoxicating liquors,” although it did not define what “intoxicating liquors” might be.

Prohibition became effective at midnight on January 17, 1920. Rather than turn America into a more decent society, it engendered disrespect for the law and the rapid growth of organized crime. By 1933, public opposition to Prohibition had become overwhelming.

Why did Prohibition become law in the first place? In the first two decades of the 20th century, America was a church-going, God-fearing culture. The Temperance Movement was instrumental in generating negative feelings about alcohol. By 1916, legal prohibition was already in effect in 26 of the 48 states.

The history lesson is over; how about some cocktails?

SOUTHSIDE COCKTAIL RECIPE

The Southside was the signature cocktail at New York’s legendary 21 Club, a former speakeasy. It’s also said to have been the favorite drink of notorious Prohibition-era bootlegger Al Capone and his gang, whose home turf was the south side of Chicago.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. MUDDLE one mint sprig with lime and simple syrup. Add gin and shake well.

2. POUR into a collins glass over crushed ice and stir until the outside of the glass frosts. Top with soda and garnish with sprig of mint.

The White Lady cocktail—probably not a favorite among gentlemen. Photo courtesy Tanqueray Gin.

WHITE LADY COCKTAIL RECIPE

Introduced in the late 1920s, the White Lady was a variation of a gin cocktail called the Delilah, which used crème de menthe. The Savoy hotel’s barman, Harry Craddock, replaced the mint with orange liqueur and the White Lady became an instant classic. (The Savoy hotel is in London; there was no prohibition in the U.K.)

Ingredients

 
Preparation

Pour all of the ingredients into a shaker, fill with ice, shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass.

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The Gin Rickey. Photo courtesy Tanqueray
Gin.

The latest version of “The Great Gatsby” opens in cinemas today, begging the question, what did Gatsby serve at those wild parties?

We know from the novel that Gatsby was a bootlegger. In the summer of 1922, when novel is set, Prohibition was two and a half years old. (Read this delightful article on Jay Gatsby by Kevin Roose, who explores how Gatsby made his money and whether author F. Scott Fitzgerald may have attributed more wealth to him than he could actually have had.)

Aside from the Gin Rickey, the novel doesn’t mention what else people were drinking at those weekend-long extravaganzas. But given the popular cocktails of the Prohibition Era, Tthe Martini and the French 75 most certainly would have been on the menu.

So get your cocktail shaker ready and mix up your own Jazz Age cocktail menu for Mother’s Day. This is Part 1; Part 2 presents two more 1920s cocktails, the South Side and the White Lady.

GIN RICKEY RECIPE

Why did the Gin Rickey alone get mentioned in “The Great Gatsby?” It is said to have been the preferred pour of F. Scott Fitzgerald. It’s a wonderful warm weather drink.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. Build in a highball glass with ice. Stir and top with soda water.

2. Garnish with a lime wedge.

FRENCH 75 COCKTAIL RECIPE

Made from gin, Champagne, lemon juice and sugar, the French 75 was created in 1915 by Harry MacElhone at the New York Bar in Paris (later called Harry’s New York Bar). It was said to have such a kick that it felt like being shelled with the powerful French 75mm field gun, also called a 75 Cocktail or a Soixante Quinze. The French 75 was popularized in America at New York City‘s famed Stork Club.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.

2. Strain into a rocks glass and top with champagne. Garnish with a lemon peel curl.

The French 75, a sparkler. Photo courtesy Tanqueray Gin.

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You can celebrate May 9th, National Moscato Day, with a glass of Moscato: the slightly sweet white wine pairs well wherever an Alsatian Gewürtztraminer or Riesling would be at home (see the food pairings below).

But for National Moscato Day, we present two cocktail recipes, courtesy of Gallo Family Vineyards, one of our favorite Moscato makers.

MOSCATO DAY CELEBRATION PUNCH

Serves 6-8 people.

Ingredients

Try a Moscato-Tequila punch. Photo courtesy Gallo.

Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients in a punch bowl or large pitcher filled with ice.

2. GARNISH and serve.

A Gimlet made with Moscato instead of gin. Photo courtesy Gallo.

MOSCATO GIMLET

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a coupe glass.

2. GARNISH with lime wedge and serve.

ABOUT MOSCATO

Moscato is a lighter-style white wine, lower in alcohol (5%-8% ABV, about half the alcohol of other wines). It is popular with brunch, dessert or as an apéritif. It is grown around the world. The Italian bottlings, from Italy’s Piedmont region, are called Moscato d’Asti: named after the grape, Moscato, and the Italian town of Asti, the center of production. Asti Spumante is sparkling Moscato.

Straw-colored Moscato is known for its fruit (often peaches and tangerines, depending on region), its floral fragrance fragrance and its subtle sweetness.

PAIRING MOSCATO WITH FOOD

Don’t store Moscato: It’s meant to be drunk fresh and vibrant in the year it is vinified. Serve it with:

 
SEE ALL THE AMERICAN FOOD HOLIDAYS.