A little drop of whisky
A little drop of gin
Make a lady wonder,
Where the on earth she’s bin
WHEN THE seventeenth century Dutch chemist Dr Sylvius set out to invent a blood-cleansing potion to help relieve patients suffering from acute kidney disorder, little did he imagine the massive effect his clear, rather innocuous looking tincture, would have on the world.
The good doctor called his concoction Genever meaning juniper, because he used neutral grain spirits flavoured with the berries from the juniper bush.
One has to perhaps question the original intended efficacious cleansing effects: unfortunately no records are available to confirm whether the kidneys of those who tried it suddenly got better after swigging on a quart of gin.
This tipple did, however, go on to help plunge 17th century England into a trough of dire drinking habits, with the poor supping up gallons of the stuff every week at the bargain price of tenpence for half a gallon of ‘liquid madness’. Imbibing became so widespread that the whole of the East End of London became over-populated with permanently gin-soaked residents.
Only when the government stepped in and levied a heavy duty on the black market manufacturers did the drink start to become less lethal, and almost semi-respectable.
For the working class woman, however, drinking a quart of neat gin while soaking in a boiling hot bath was still the recommended solution to remove an unwanted foetus, hence the drink’s nickname of ‘Mother’s Ruin’.
Gin was also referred to as ‘Cuckold’s Comfort’, with many a distraught chap being seen propping up a bar, valiantly trying to drown his sorrows after being dumped by his lady love. Mind you, later he would probably go on to take some small personal comfort from the ministrations of the ladies of the night — they too drank copious amounts of the stuff, and working gals always referred to a bottle of gin as ‘Ladies’ Delight’, mainly because after a decent skinful of the stuff they were so anaesthetised to the bruising effects of some of their less attractive clients that they deluded themselves into becoming ‘ladies’ who could indeed ‘delight’ their clients.
Gin is now topping sales at an increasing number of top class bars all over Europe, even stealing a march on top dog vodka, and customers now ask for their gin by brand: it’s either a Gordon’s, a Tanqueray or a Bombay Sapphire and tonic. However, ask any top barman (sorry, I mean any top mixologist — today’s politically correct title) and he will tell you that whenever you drown gin in tonic it doesn’t make much of a difference which of the top brands you use, as you are then missing out on the finer points of the botanicals of the particular brand of gin.
Botanicals are the unique flavourings that set each gin apart, so if you thought it was only juniper berries that made up the essential flavour of gin, then think again. There are a total of 120 different botanicals that can be used, and any quality gin will use between eight and 20 of these in one single brand.
The main ones include coriander seeds, angelica root, lemon and orange peel, liquorice, cinnamon, nutmeg, slivers of cassia bark, fennel and even violet. Stand and sniff about 20 different brands one after the other, and you will swiftly notice the difference.
The cocktail that best shows off a brand’s complete range of botanicals in one sip is of course the Martini. Gin just shines to perfection in a well-made dry Martini; it has much more character than vodka, and is overall a much more distinguished beverage.
The World Association of Mixologists (barmen) has listed in its professional association cocktail book a rather impressive collection of 756 different bona fide gin-based cocktails, but the demand is still there for a good old simple Gin and Tonic, a drink that refreshes all the body parts and doesn’t take ages to make, although there are some tricks of the trade that can be employed to make that G&T taste even nicer.
First you must make sure that your glass is scrupulously clean and polished. Always use a long tumbler — any barman who pours a G&T into a stubby wine glass deserves to have his cocktail shaker forever confiscated.
The ice must be clear, not cracked.
The slice of lemon must be freshly cut with no pips.
Use always a middle range gin that’s not too light and not too aromatic (for me that’s Gordon’s Gin or Beefeater).
Always use Schweppes tonic from a big bottle, as there is much more fizz within a big bottle of tonic than in an individual-size can.
One mixologist who can lay claim to being the master of the Martini is Salvatore Calabrese, the London Lanesborough expert and aficionado on all things alcoholic.
He devised a special breakfast martini which has now been immortalised in bars all over the world.
Here’s his recipe:
50ml gin
1ml lemon juice
1ml Cointreau
1 tsp marmalade
With this breakfast delight, he gives us the sweetness of the Cointreau, the sharpness of the lemon, the spiciness of the juniper, and the bitterness of the marmalade — all the flavours that make for a special cocktail.
Now it’s your turn to device a special Cyprus Cocktail. Phivos Roussis, owner of the Rib Shack Restaurant in Paphos, has challenged readers to come up with their own special recipe for the indigenous Cypriot cocktail (the cocktail doesn’t have to be gin-based). Winners will receive a bottle of good imported gin plus dinner for two at the restaurant, and the winning cocktail will be named after them.
So, use your mixing talents, get experimenting and send in your recipe. And remember to include your home telephone number. Send them to: Sunday Mail Cocktail Recipe,
24 Vass. Voulgaroctonou, PO Box 21144, 1502 Nicosia. Email: [email protected]
Fax 22-676385.
Entries to be submitted by November 18, after when we look forward to testing the concoctions in the presence of a panel of dedicated cocktail hour drinkers. Cheers!
