How to make a perfect G & T

In case it's escaped your notice today is International Gin and Tonic Day - a rather bizarre notion but then every food and drink seems to have its own day these days. However it does provide an excuse to re-run this article on how to make the perfect gin and tonic, under the guidance of the great Salvatore Calabrese:

"Salvatore Calabrese puts two ice cubes in a tumbler, pours over half a measure of gin, adds a dash of tonic and gives it a stir. “Try that”, he says. I take a tentative sip. “Right, that’s NOT the way to make a gin and tonic. It’s too warm and too oily. Because there isn’t enough ice it dilutes the drink. Now here’s what you should do . . .”

He fills a tall glass full of ice cubes - I count about 8. Twice the amount of gin goes in - a full 50ml measure. He tops it up with a small, freshly-opened can of tonic right up to the rim, drops in a half slice of lemon, stirs and offers it to me again. It’s just gorgeous. Cold, citrussy, fragrant, refreshing. “THAT’S what a gin and tonic should taste like.” London’s most legendary barman allows a small smile of satisfaction to pass his lips.

I have come to pick Salvatore’s brains on the subject of gin in his eponymous bar at the exclusive Fifty club in Mayfair (he's now at the members' only Salvatore's at the Playboy Club at 14 Park Lane FB). It is, he says, the first bottle he would pick for any home bar. “You simply can’t make cocktails without it.” So how do you know which to choose I ask, eyeing the large selection behind the bar.

For a barman it’s a question of the type of cocktail you’re going to make, Salvatore explains. “Many barman would use Beefeater or Bombay Sapphire for a G & T and a more powerful gin like Tanqueray for a classic dry martini. But at home you should simply choose the brand you enjoy most.”

The quality of the other ingredients are important too. For a gin and tonic for instance the tonic should be standard not slimline and - most important - freshly opened. The ice should be made with still mineral water. Lemon is preferable for the garnish even though some producers recommend lime. “A wedge gives more of the essence of the skin but a slice is more elegant” says Salvatore who has obviously given a great deal of thought to such matters.

As one of Britain’s oldest spirits gin has had its ups and downs. Brought to England in the early 17th century by the Dutch who were the first to flavour a spirit with juniper, by the 18th century gin drinking had become a virtual epidemic. “By 1730 in London alone there were over 7000 dram shops. Gin was sold everywhere: in taverns, alehouses and squalid gin shops, in chandler’s merchants and corner stores, tobacconists, barbers, as well as by street hawkers and pedlars” writes Geraldine Coates in Discovering Gin. In 1733, it was calculated that London produced 11 million gallons of gin, 14 gallons for every adult in the city. It was only when the government succeeded in restricting sales to licensed premises and raising taxes that the rot was stopped. By contrast the ‘gin palaces’, the elaborately decorated bars of the Victorian era were perceived as highly glamourous as were the cocktail bars of the 1920s and 30s when gin-drinking was the height of chic.

Over the years the style of gin changed too from being a comparatively sweet drink, distilled, like vodka, from grain to a bone dry one, the style now described as ‘London Gin’ (London always having been the centre of gin production in this country). It relies for its character on the so-called botanicals (plants and spices) that are used to flavour it. Apart from juniper the essential flavouring ingredient of all gins, the most common are coriander, angelica and orange and lemon peel but some producers use more exotic ingredients like Javan cubeb berries, grains of paradise from West Africa and Orris root (the root of irises).

More recently there has been a fashion for adding distillations of fresh ingredients such as rose petals, cucumber and lemon grass, a development that has revived interest in gin in fashionable style bars. Sales of premium gins have increased by 12% in the past year. “It’s similar to what was happening with vodka 10 years ago” says Geraldine Coates. “Bartenders are becoming bored with vodka because it doesn’t have much flavour and are turning to gin instead”.

They also like the high strength of many contemporary gins which makes the spirit hold its character well in a cocktail. Plymouth for example, is 41.2%; Tanqueray an even higher43.1%. Gordon’s was much criticised a few years ago for reducing its strength to 37.5% but it still shows up well in blind tastings, says Coates.

Salvatore Calabrese agrees that it’s a matter of taste. “You should try different gins until you find the one you like.” And what does he like? “I like them all” he says diplomatically, glancing at his line-up of bottles. “Otherwise they wouldn’t be here.”

This article was first published in Sainsbury's magazine. Salvatore Calabrese is the author of Classic Cocktails (Prion 9.99) For more information about gin and cocktail recipes visit www.gintime.com

Which wine should precede a Leap Year proposal?

Men, it seems, are real softies at heart and you will woo them either with their favourite wine or an experience so romantically spontaneous it won’t matter if you drink plonk. “I've always considered gluggability to be a much undervalued virtue in wine, for sometimes, when you are with the right person, that is all that you ever really need.” wrote one friend, wine writer Marc Millon, whose full response you can read below.

Specific bottles mentioned (no Bordeaux, interestingly) included:

Michel Chapoutier Hermitage Pavillon 2001
Chevalier Montrachet
“Anything from Stag's Leap”
Roumier, Chambolle - Musigny, Amoureuses 1993
Krug Collection 1985
Vieux Telegraphe
“The best vintage of Chateau d'Yquem you can get your hands on”

I had a couple of heart-touching responses, including this one from Peter, a retired wine merchant. “Some 12 leap years ago, Elaine and I shared a bottle of Gewurtztraminer over dinner on the 29th Feb. Neither is sure who popped the question, but we still drink Gewurz often. It remains a firm favourite, especially for special occasions.”

Another, more philosophical reply from a fellow food and wine writer Marc Millon who admits it’s now 30 years since he and his wife Kim agreed to tie the knot (he can’t remember who proposed to whom, as you’ll see below:)

It would appear to me that from the young (or not so young) man's point of view, it would be not so much a question of what wine I (assuming it were me) would like to receive or drink, that might might sway my mind. Rather it would be what the wine chosen might reveal about the young (or not so young) lady in question.

I, for example, might like nothing better than to be offered, say, a bottle of Tignanello, all Tuscan muscularity allied with sleek, polished elegance, a beautiful, crafted designer wine, one of my favourites. But would one necessarily seek such qualities in a prospective spouse?

I have no problems with elegance allied with muscularity, for strength is most certainly a virtue, in both man and woman. But the self-conscious, crafted nature of such a designer wine precludes the possibility of surprise, of unpredictability, surely qualities required in any marriage.

What about a Chambolle-Musigny, the potential pleasures of silky, perfumed, Pinot Noir from the Cote d'Or offering musky, sexy flavours in a bottle unlike any other. For what young (or not so young) man can resist musk and sex?

Yet, on the other hand, who really could say what such a bottle might truly reveal: exquisite sensuous pleasure of the highest order; or expensive, disappointing folly? Surely too much of a risk to take, in either wine or partner!

What about an old, sweet Vouvray, richly golden, honeyed, persistent? Surely such a wine demonstrates, like no other, that, with the passing of the years, in wine as in life, age brings complexity and unfathomed depths of interest, allied with a surprising freshness that comes from an invigorating backbone of acidity, the wine's vigor, exciting energy and richness only intensified with the passing of the years.

Kim did not propose to me on a Leap Year more than 30 years ago. But I do recall, somewhat fuzzily, that we decided jointly to tie the knot after consuming a rather large quantity of wine. The vintage in question? Um er, actually, I believe it was from a plastic covered five-litre garrafa of Lagoa vinho tinto, lugged back with us from a trip to the Algarve (a region we continue to visit and love to this day).

No one could say that that wine, produced from sunbaked southern vineyards in a rather ramshackle and antiquated co-operative winery, was fine in any way. But my god, it was gorgeously gluggable. And glug away we most certainly did!

Indeed, I've always considered gluggability to be a much undervalued virtue in wine: for sometimes, when you are with the right person, that is all that you ever really need.

And finally a contribution from a female cookery writer for whom champagne did do the trick:

"We didn't get engaged on a leap year but this year will see our 36th anniversary. We got engaged under a Moet & Chandon vine after a wonderfulmeal in a country restaurant, after which we snuggled down between the vines in our sleeping bags under the stars. Celebrated next morning with the free glass you are offered during the visit to Moet, though we did have to
establish that we both had the same memory of what we'd decided the night before.

After that we had an enduring interest in champagne and, until children arrived, had a half bottle in bed to wake us up on our anniversary."

Image © Kudryashka - Fotolia.com

Which wine to choose for Thanksgiving

The first thing to bear in mind about Thanksgiving - and for that matter Christmas - is that it’s as much about mood as food. Who you’re inviting, what age they are and how big your party is are factors every bit as important as what you’re eating.

I say this particularly because the main Thanksgiving meal and the meals around it are hard ones to match: what you need is a wine that is going to cope with a whole battery of delicious flavours.

Personally I always like to start a celebratory meal like this with a glass of sparkling wine which gets everyone into the festive spirit. It doesn’t have to be Champagne (though in our house it usually is!) - there are many good substitutes available from cut price cava (good for parties) and crémants to Champagne lookalikes that come from premium sparkling wine-producing areas such as California and New Zealand.

If you’re starting with a soup such as a pumpkin soup or a creamy chowder as you may well be I’d suggest a smooth dry unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay or a Chenin Blanc. That might sound like a bit of a cop-out - everyone drinks Chardonnay but that’s because everyone likes Chardonnay - and for festive family meals what you’re looking for are crowd pleasers. Smooth dry whites are also just about the best available match for soup.

If you’re planning some kind of seafood starter Sauvignon Blanc is generally a safe bet though if it incorporates Asian flavours you could serve a dry or off-dry Riesling.

For the turkey itself I would offer a choice of white or red - a full-bodied Chardonnay or Viognier for the more adventurous and a ripe fruity red - something like a Zinfandel, Merlot, Carmenère, Shiraz or a full bodied Pinot Noir (lighter styles may get swamped by the big flavours of typical turkey accompaniments). These wines will work with a Thanksgiving ham too.

Your instinct may well be to bring out a much treasured old bottle you’ve been saving for a special occasion but I would save it for a smaller gathering and a simpler menu. What you need with turkey and its trimmings is a wine that is vibrantly fruity not one that’s faded and delicate. If you don’t already have a favourite bottle in mind it’s a good idea to visit a local wine shop or merchant that has regular tastings so you can try a selection of different wines before you buy.

Desserts again can be a bit of a minefield for wine, particularly if you’re serving more than one. Pumpkin pie, I’ve found is particularly good with a southern French Muscat or Spanish Moscatel, wines which would also work with a traditional apple pie.

If you’re serving a chocolate dessert however I’d suggest a sweet red wine such as a sweet Shiraz. or, again for adventurous guests, iced shots of a raspberry-flavoured liqueur or a cherry brandy. The basic rule to bear in mind is that your wine should be sweeter than your dessert - and served well chilled.

You may also find this post useful on the difference between the Thanksgiving turkey and a Christmas turkey when it comes to choosing wine and this longer post on drink matches for pumpkin pie.

Photo by Jed Owen on Unsplash

Summer ideas for cheese plates

Despite my passion for cheese I’ve long been a believer that you don’t need to lay on a massive cheese board to enjoy it. You can just as easily (and more cheaply) serve a cheese plate.

These can vary from month to month depending on what fruit and vegetables are in season. Here are my ideas for some summer cheese plates, for example, from my book Fiona Beckett’s Cheese Course which has just been re-issued by Ryland Peters & Small (should you feel moved to get yourself a copy!) A really easy way to entertain or make a light, delicious snack for one or two.

Take advantage of the wealth of fresh fruit and vegetables to show off your cheeses: fresh berries, watermelon, peaches, apricots, tomatoes and peppers. Don’t be afraid to introduce a touch of spice. Chilli and garlic work well with cheese.

* Serve thinly sliced sheep’s cheese with grilled peppers and almonds as a mini tapas plate with a glass of fino sherry. Or do as the Basques do and serve it with a cherry compote and a glass of fruity red wine.

* Serve individual ploughman’s platters with a good chunk of Cheddar, thickly carved ham, a dollop of chutney, an apple, some crusty bread and traditional English ale or cider

* Serve a mini antipasti plate with slices of fennel salami, mozzarella and grilled artichokes or slow-roasted tomatoes and breadsticks. Drink a light Italian red or white with this.

* Plate up chunks of watermelon, crumbled Feta and pumpkin seeds and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (pictured above)

* Serve a creamy cheese, such as Explorateur, Robiola or Brilliat-Savarin with a peach and a glass of dessert wine

* A show-stopper (which actually makes the cover of the book): a wedge of Brie, some fresh cherries and a small glass of Guignolet or a Belgian cherry beer.

Fiona Beckett's Cheese Course is published by Ryland, Peters & Small at £19.99 and in the US at $21.61