Tips for Gin Lovers!
1. Tasting gin To sample a gin like a professional pour just a small measure into a clean wine glass and swirl to release the aroma. Then sip a little bit neat, nowadays, a lot more gins are designed to be drunk neat, and its much easier to find a gin that might feature flavors you prefer, whether you like cinnamon or cardamom, citrus or floral notes. Now add twice as much tonic to the gin – or water if you prefer – and try it again to see how the gin tastes when ‘cut’.
2. Garnishes These can be wide and mixed but be aware that very strong flavours in a garnish might overpower the subtle tones of your top-quality gin. Garnishes don’t have to be lemon or lime, either. Pink grapefruit is very much the garnish of the moment – either a wedge, slice or twist of zest – and a slice of apple is popular too. More unusual garnishes comprise of bay or sage leaves, sprigs of thyme, mint, basil or tarragon, all sorts of fresh berries, thin sticks of young rhubarb, rock salt, fresh ginger slices and a tiny piece of chilli.
Twist citrus fruit to release the juice and oils and bruise the garnish or rub it on the edge of the glass to make it stronger.
3. Carefully crafted mixers Equally important will be your choice of mixer, you won’t want to offer Artisan gins any old mixer! Consumers are always looking for choice with research revealing that 63% of people drink more than one mixer brand . Quality mixers are big sellers!
4. Serving gin There’s nothing wrong with a gin and tonic in a tumbler but better is a copa glass. This wide-bowled glass (rather like a large wine glass), with its long stem is a favourite for gin as it holds a lot of ice. A contemporary version that’s become popular is the stemless copa.
5. Food matching It’s a myth that gin doesn’t go with food. Just try sipping neat cold gin or a G&T with salty-savoury snacks like olives, spreads and dips such as tapenade, aioli and anchoiade. It’s also great with peppery salad leaves, and smoked, cured or ceviche fish and seafood.
6. Storing Keep your opened gin bottles out of bright light and in a cool place. Even unopened bottles should be kept away from direct sources of heat. Source: https://catererlicensee.com/gin-volution-the-boom-continues/
