Gin and Tonic

In today's world, a cocktail is anything with ice and spirits in a glass. But, then, Tommy Bahama shirts are considered appropriate in a casino where, once, only black tie (a tuxedo) would have done.  So spins the world. In any case, the Gin and Tonic is only barely a cocktail by old time qualifications (spirits+sugar+bitters) in that modern tonic water uses quinine (which is traditional) and is sweetened (which is less so).

Oft referred to as a G&T within the British Isles, the Gin and Tonic is a highball, or tall cocktail. James Bond orders one in the novel Goldfinger where Auric Goldfinger quite improbably allows Bond unfettered access to his home in England while he steps out so that he can record by film whatever it is Bond is looking for.  Bond has, by this point in the novel, already interfered with Goldfinger's vacation-oriented hijinks in Miami and Goldfinger knows Bond is up to something; he is just not sure what. He invites Bond to dinner and makes up an excuse to leave for a short while, putting Bond in a position where he can search Goldfinger's estate.  Unbeknownst to 007, Goldfinger has rigged a movie camera to film Bond's every move from behind a two way mirror.  Before searching the house, Bond, quite reasonably, fixes himself a drink. He chooses a Gin and Tonic which, for a heavy drinker, is a logical choice, as it is a tall drink and takes one time to work through.  Bond drinks another (or three, if memory serves) in the novel Doctor No.

As the weather is warming a bit where I am at the moment, I thought the Gin and Tonic might be a worthy drink for this entry.  Ostensibly, just tonic water and gin, the G&T couldn't be an easier cocktail to prepare. It is also somewhat austere as most of Bond's preferred cocktail are.  Originally developed by the army of the British East India Company in India to encourage their staff to drink quinine which was used to prevent malaria. The gin apparently made it more palatable and, I would imagine, more compelling. 

The gin and tonic has many interpretation in terms of proportions but remains fairly simple in terms of ingredients.

In Doctor No, Bond orders a double Gin and Tonic and cuts the lime in two, squeezing the halves into the glass, dropping them in and topping it with ice and tonic. A single G&T is:


A highball (tall) glass filled with ice, pour and stir in:

• 3 measures of gin,
• Fill the glass with tonic water
• squeeze one lime, cut in half, into the glass and drop in as a garnish

 So far as I know, Bond never calls (specifies) the gin although we know from past entries that he very much enjoys whatever it was Gordon's was producing in the 1950s. He also never specifies the tonic, which is probably because most bars don't offer a choice.


That said, I prefer Q Tonic brand to the more common Schweppes brand as it's a much subtler flavor that does not feature high fructose corn syrup as the sweetener (I'm certain Bond's tonic water enjoyed good, old fashioned sugar as the sweetener).


The Legendre Thirst method:

While limes are common and, initially refreshing in the G&T, I prefer to leave them out as I feel they eventually seem to dominate the drink. Instead, I make what is known as a Pink G&T (pictured), omitting the lime, adding 5 or 6 enthusiastic dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters and building the following in an ice-filled highball glass: 

• 3 oz. gin

• Add 6 robust dashes of aromatic bitters 
• fill with Q-Tonic tonic water and stir

If I want a bit of lime in the bouquet (which contrasts the flavor of the bitters beautifully), I'll use a twist of the peel instead of the whole fruit.

I enjoy Old Raj gin in my G&T as it has a stronger herbal quality than most gins while still remaining somewhat citrus forward. The infusion of saffron lends it a certain savory quality in addition to the amber color. Old Raj is probably too high proof and, perhaps, too flavorful for the delicate balance that makes a Martini but it is perfect for a tall, somewhat more forgiving drink like a Gin and Tonic as it brings a surprisingly flavorful companion to the tonic, adding  a pleasant and subtly savory kind of interest..  Unlike in the Pink Gin cocktail, the bitters only play a supporting role in this drink.  The result is pleasantly effervescent with refreshing vegetal notes vaguely reminiscent of the strawberries and cucumbers one might find in a Pimm's Cup (albeit much more dry) with a slight creamy flavor while the mouth feel remains crisp. The citrus notes in the gin are sufficient to add a warm, celebratory note to the cocktail while the bitters bring out and occasionally offset the other herbal notes. (If you cannot find or afford Old Raj, Tanqueray Ten is an acceptable alternative. Somewhat less flavorful but arguably smoother.)

Try it both ways.  Imbibes most pleasingly in balmy weather.

In Doctor No, 007 enjoys 3 double G&Ts.  This amounts, to roughly, 18 measures of gin. As the average human liver can only process 1 ounce of alcohol per hour, this writer would like to recommend you start with singles first and work your way up.

Enjoy!

-L.T. 

Old Fashioned

  In the novel Live and Let Die, James Bond is with Solitaire on a cross country train from New York to Washington, when he orders from the Pullman two Old Fashioned Cocktails, specifying Old Grand-Dad bourbon, to go with their meal of chicken sandwiches and decaffeinated coffee (Sanka).   I won't begin to speak to that as a pairing because simply listing a recipe for the Old Fashioned is grounds for a fight; by which I mean that no one really agrees on how this cocktail should be prepared.  And people get very upset about it.

Lore has it that when folks started using new-fangled special ingredients like vermouth and curacao in their cocktails, more traditional folk would complain that cocktails were losing focus and their grace.  Cocktails, the way they made them in the old fashioned days, were after all, just spirits, bitters, sugar and (maybe) some ice. Simple, graceful and elegant.  And suddenly people were putting vermouth in them.  The nerve!  Okay, it seems silly now, but one look at the TGIFridays cocktail menu and you might feel the same way too (pay particular attention to their Cosmopolitan with cotton candy in it!).

But the Old Fashioned is an old drink and, as time goes by, things evolve to changing tastes and conditions or they disappear.  The Old Fashioned went from a simple drink, typically (but not always), made with rye or bourbon whiskey, that might have had a strip of lemon peel to something with muddled orange slices, maraschino cherries, wedges of pineapple and, not to be forgotten, soda water.  I'm sure there's some misguided bartender out there putting vermouth in it, not realizing she's making a Manhattan instead.  These creations are not terrible but they fly in the face of the very notion that likely gave rise to the Old Fashioned in the first place: a simple, old fashioned cocktail.

However, evolution should not be discounted. We adapt because we must.  The lemon peel, while certainly adequate, does not compliment the bourbon as well as, say, a bit of orange peel.  A cherry is a festive thing and, while probably not authentic, is, in today's world, customary for an Old Fashioned.  In other words, I believe in honoring the history but I'm not going to make a poor cocktail. (You see how it works?)

So, let's get to the bourbon.  According to David Wondrich, the great historian of all things mixological, Old Grand-Dad bourbon was considered high end back in the days before small batch and artisan distillers. Today, Bond might specify Basil Hayden, Pappy van Winkle or whatever large distributor could afford product placement in the films but in Ian Flemings' day, Old Grand-Dad was the stuff; or Ian Fleming thought it was, at any rate. Remember, Bond orders Sanka as his decaf coffee of choice, very likely because that was the only decaf coffee on the planet at that time.  In any case, it could be argued that bourbon, specifically Old Grand-Dad bourbon is what gets James Bond through Live and Let Die.  Well, bourbon and his own true grit.

Old Grand-Dad is produced at 3 different proofs:  86 proof, 100 proof bonded and 114 proof.  Because the bonded is likely to be a slightly better product, because we believe 007 with his hard drinking ways would have approved and because, it's Bond-ed (get it?), we chose Old Grand-Dad 100 proof bonded bourbon to work with.  Also, because Bond typically drinks no-nonsense drinks, I'll assume he probably wouldn't have missed the pineapple slice or soda water.

Build in a rocks glass or tumbler:

• 2 oz. Old Grand-Dad 100 proof bonded bourbon
• 1 dash Angostora aromatic bitters
• 1 tsp simple syrup (you can muddle a single sugar cube instead but syrup is  more even)
• 1 wide, thin slice of orange peel (try to get mostly zest, no pith or fruit), twist over the top and drop into the ice
• 1 cocktail cherry (optional)

Put bitters, syrup and half ice in glass, stir. Put in bourbon, continue stirring, add the rest of the ice.  Cut and twist orange peel over the top of the drink.  Put a cherry on top, if you must have one at all (Bada Bing cherries, despite the horrid name, are very good and, unlike most, free of chemicals. Luxardo Maraschino cherries are the real deal, however.)  If you are new to bourbon or bourbon cocktails, the Old Fashioned is a great place to start.  The relatively small number of elements means that the principle spirit is highlighted (instead of obscured) and the sugar and ice make for a nice, safe way to evaluate it.

The Old Grand-Dad certainly is a fine bourbon, bringing a generous balance of citrus, oak and spice to the palette.  Unlike many bourbons in the $10-$20 price range, it has no aftertaste or chemical qualities.  The finish is short and simple.  More complexity might be desirable but it's certainly not required.  Compared with other bourbons near this price point (both neat and in the cocktail), including Old Forester, Maker's Mark and Bulleit, I found Old Grand-Dad to be surprising; richer with strong citrus and light vanilla notes, a good bit stronger than Maker's Mark, less cluttered and cleaner than Old Forester and Jim Beam, it only fell short of Bulleit which seemed to be more flavorful with the same degree of balance with a somewhat longer and creamier finish.  If you prefer rye whiskeys to bourbons, this might be a good, inexpensive bourbon to try.  I would not hesitate to put Old Grand-Dad in a cocktail but I am not sure it would be on my list for a sipping whiskey.  For one thing, at 100 proof, the alcohol burn obscures the subtler flavors.  For another, while it's good and far better than many other bourbons one might find gracing one's cocktails, it isn't interesting.  I doubt it would ever be my first choice.  Unless, of course, I had just seduced the beautiful girlfriend of an international crime lord who had mangled my my arm, fed my best friend to the sharks and was trying to escape his voodoo death cartel by train.  Then I'd probably be happy with whatever came with the chicken sandwich.