Tag: Tonic

Autumn Gin and Tonic – Italian Cuisine – Italian Cuisine

Here are the most suitable versions of Niko Romito's favorite cocktail for the F / W20 season

That the gin and tonic is a must, it is undeniable and he is right Niko Romito, chef of the Reale restaurant in Abruzzo (three Michelin stars), our guest director for the month of November, to elect it as his favorite drink.
But if you think it doesn't fit the season perfectly, try these twist on classic.
We asked two exceptional bartenders to give us a couple of recipes more in tune with the color of the leaves and the days that are getting shorter.

Max Santangelo, owner of the bar that bears his name in Castel di Sangro, a longtime friend of Niko (find the story of their friendship on page 30 of the November issue) offers us a recipe that plays on the scent of grapes in combination with some spices. The gin that Max recommends comes from repeated distillations of Ugni blanc must (the Italian equivalent of Trebbiano) and from an infusion of vine flowers.

Autumn tonic

Makes 1 drink
5 cl Gin 'Floraison G Vine
Toned 1724
2 grapes
1 lime zest
ginger
juniper
green cardamom
pepper in grains
ice

Collect a small piece of ginger, a juniper berry, a cardamom pod and a peppercorn in a tumbler. Pound them gently, add the gin and leave to infuse for a couple of hours.
Strain the gin into a new ice tumbler and top up with the tonic.
Decorate with freshly squeezed lime zest to extract the essential oils and a couple of grape acids divided in half.

Alessandro Melis, our long-time collaborator, mixologist consultant of the Pandenus group and co-founder of Nonsolocoktails, a Milanese training school for bartenders, on the other hand, suggests two variants.
One is very simple and involves replacing the classic lemon peel with a very fragrant bergamot and completing the drink with pomegranate grains.

Another, here it is, is a little more complex.

Cinnamon tonic

Makes 1 drink

5 cl Canaïma gin
East Imperial Tonic Water
2 star anise stars
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange zest
ice

Pound a piece of cinnamon stick and a star aniseed in a tumbler; add the gin, stir, leave to infuse for 30 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve directly into a tumbler with ice.

Fill with the tonic (scented with oak extract) and complete with the fresh scent of orange: gently twist the zest, pass it on the edge of the glass and then insert it into the drink. Decorate with a small piece of cinnamon stick and the other star anise star.

Incoming search terms:

Lots of cocktails with tonic – Italian Cuisine

Massimo D’Addezio's tips for combining tonic with liqueurs and spirits and going beyond the Gin & Tonic combination

Who said that tonic is only good with gin? After the great return of the Gin Tonic, a large quantity of different gins and tonics have been placed on the market. The latter differ in the perlage, the sugar content and, in some cases, the flavoring. The result is a potentially infinite number of combinations. What if we change the alcoholic base? The potential combinations increase and, therefore, we asked an expert to guide us. Our Virgil, in this journey in the bottles, even in those abandoned by his grandmother who could hide treasures, is Massimo D’Addezio, the patron of Chorus in Rome, as well as great teacher of many Roman bartenders.

The rule of the four whites

As Massimo D'Addezio says: "The four whites are the great lovers of tonic". But who are the four whites? Apart from the already known gin, there is vodka, and this is not surprising, considering that Vodka Tonic also had its golden moment. But those that are less obvious are rum and tequila. In the first case, emphasizes D'Addezio, the use of a white rum, never an amber one, is fundamental. "It is a custom, especially in the States. I learned it from the Bacardi family, Bacardi Carta Blanca and Schweppes ", an unexpectedly good combination for D’Addezio. Tequila & Tonic has its say too, although so far it has been better known in combination with soda (remember tequila bum bum?). "In the boom years more than one confused soda with tonic, but basically tequila is good with both." Be careful, however, not to exchange Tequila for Mezcal, which has a pronounced smoking and which ends up being "too much" according to the Roman barman.

With grape distillates, tonic with little sugar

Don't you know what to make of that grappa at the bottom of the bottle shelf? Here is a way to consume it easily, which makes it relatively easy to drink and mix a type of distillate known to be complex to use in cocktails. But pay attention to the choice of the tonic. "The grape distillate, grappa and Peruvian pisco, being close relatives of the wine, require a balance of sweetness, using a low sugar tonic, with a more bitter taste. Be careful, however, this does not mean trivially using sugar-free tonics, because those are correct with sweeteners and some are even sweeter . Again for a problem of excess sugar, D’Addezio excludes that the combination is successful between vermout and tonic. «An exception is Martini Rubino, which I got to appreciate.

Unexpected results with bitters and bitters

Who would have thought that bitters, the expression of a great Italian liqueur tradition, would have lived a new life today? Absolute or mixed, they are the basis of a real rediscovery by bartenders from all over the world. For D’Addezio, drinking with bitters and bitters is a real revelation. Your favorite with the tonic? Il Rinomato, the aperitif created by colleague Giancarlo Mancino. Great results also with Amaro Montenegro and Ramazzotti, with Aperol and Aperitivo Casoni. Even limoncello, if it is not too sweet, can give satisfactions. And an opportunity for Addezio would also give it to sherry, as long as it is the driest. Be careful, however, because in all these cases strictly clear and clean tonics must be chosen, not too complex, because as Massimo says, "the candy effect is around the corner".

The 10 rules for the perfect Gin Tonic – Italian Cuisine

The mistakes not to be made and the advice to adapt to the #iorestoacasa rule for one of the easiest and most loved cocktails. To save the home aperitif

God save the aperitif. When the late afternoon approaches, the desire for an aperitif begins to be felt and the question is: "What do we drink?". At home, for heaven's sake, because the rule is #iorestoacasa and we certainly don't want to frustrate the efforts made so far. The answer, simple and crystalline, is one: Gin Tonic! Nothing prevents us from preparing ourselves as if we had to go out and connect with some friends for a bit of healthy virtual sociality. Or we can have a healthy aperitif in a suit, in front of the TV, alone or well accompanied by our quarantine colleagues.
Although Gin Tonic is the "cocktail for dummies" par excellence, it is not as simple as it seems. The boundary between a tasty Gin Tonic and a medicine is extremely blurred, not surprisingly, both gin and tonic have beneficial powers: the juniper distillate was used to treat gout, the tonic cinchona spread as an anti-malarial. Then? Follow these 10 rules to prepare the best homemade appetizers of your life. At home and with what you have available, because it is superfluous to call the courier for a very useful jigger, which, hopefully, once the lockdown is over, will remain in the drawer for years.

Ice

It's rule number one: the larger the ice, the slower it melts and the more the drink gets water. This is the reason why "iceballs" have spread in bars, that is, ice balls or "chunks", cubes or parallelepipeds always full of ice. If it is trivial that to make Gin Tonic you must have gin and tonic water, less obvious is that you must have prepared the ice properly. So, if you don't have the silicone shapes for making iceballs or chunks, take the old ice-cream trays, fill them with water (preferably packaged), cover them in order to reduce the risk that they take bad smells from the freezer, turn them out. And be generous with the ice in the glass. Ah, and don't forget to wash your hands, both before preparing the ice and proceeding with the cocktail.

1/3 Gin

Obviously it's up to you to choose the gin that best suits your taste, as long as it is of good quality. Normally at the counter the bartender would ask you which style of gin you prefer, between dry, floral, citrus, spicy and so on. If you do not have a bartender friend to ask for advice on purchases, prepare yourself by looking at the botanical cards and put one of the search keys above to guide you in your choice. Gin is not necessary to put it in the fridge because it will be the first thing you will refrigerate with ice, if you do it however it doesn't hurt.

2/3 Toned

Here too the choice is based on your tastes, but if you are newbies we suggest you start with the most common and unflavoured ones, at least not to start with the experiments with your first Gin Tonics. Once you take our hand you can dare. Obviously the tonic water must be strictly kept in the refrigerator, otherwise the ice would melt too quickly.

Order

The order of appearance of the ingredients is as follows. First the ice, rotate it in the glass to cool it and when you see the condensation it will be time to drain the ice. In the best bars, the ice used is thrown away and more is put in to accommodate the gin. Another swirl with the spoon (the bartender's spoon, but any spoon or cocktail stick is fine) to cool the gin properly, so we are ready for the top of the tonic.

Measure

Some go by eye, but in general the barman relies on the standard doses of the jigger, the bartender measuring spoon made up of two inverted cones. The large cone is for measuring the dose of gin: 1/3 gin and 2/3 tonic is the standard size, however the writer has always appreciated the service of the tonic aside in the bars. Not having a jigger, help yourself with a coffee cup, keeping the proportions.

Glass

Balloon or tumbler: these are the names of the glasses that are usually used for Gin Tonic. The first is a stem glass with a very generous cup, designed in Spain, where Gin Tonic had a greater diffusion than in Italy. The second is a tall stemless glass. If you do not have these glasses, you can use a wine stem glass, preferably red which has a more generous cup and looks more like a balloon.

Do not mix

Do you have one of those delicious cocktail sticks? Okay, it's time to use it, but not to mix your drink. The stick is used to pour the tonic gently, safeguarding the bubbles. If you start to mix your drink nervously, you will do double damage: the precious bubbles will degrade and the ice will melt and water your drink.

Garnish

It is called the decoration of the cocktail, but be careful not to make a salad. Do not exaggerate, there is no need: the rule of less is more, that is, some juniper berries or one of the botanicals contained in gin, whether it is lemon peel (citrus fruit cut with the peeler and never tread, so as not to take the white) or a sprig of rosemary or thyme.

Pairing

It is the food accompaniment of the cocktail, essential if you are drinking on an empty stomach. Tarallini or white pizza always do their duty, but with Gin Tonic there are evergreens with which you can never go wrong like parmesan. The umami taste, the sweetness alternating with the flavor of the cheese marries wonderfully with the bitter note of the tonic and the juniper, in addition the bubbles degrease. Paradigm that applies with cheeses in general and also with many types of cold cuts. The fact of the bubbles that degrease also applies to fried food, but in general to orient oneself in the choice of food in combination it is recommended to go into the details of the botanicals of gin. If it is a very Mediterranean gin, for example, what better accompaniment than fried sage leaves?

BIS

Well, one Gin Tonic leads to another, although we always advise you to drink responsibly. However, #iorestoacasa means that you won't have to drive, so you can give yourself a second Gin Tonic every now and then.

Perfect Gin Tonic made by me