DRINKS
Raise your glasses to a new
‘GINERATION’
Hollie Ramsay, general manager of The Nuthatch, with some favourite drinks
and recommendations of new tipples to try in 2018. Cheers!
J
ust like fashion, trends in what people
drink change by season and by year.
Apart from those who’ve been hiding
under a rock, nobody can have failed to
notice the continuing success of the classic
gin and tonic.
A staple of every drinks cabinet since the
war, Mother’s Ruin has a new ‘gineration’
of fans, having come into its own in the last
couple of years - and the G&T trend shows
no signs of slowing down.
A bar in London claims now to stock more
than 2,500 different gins. How customers
ever choose – or if anyone has attempted to
try them all - has not been revealed.
At The Nuthatch, we try to help by
splitting the vast array of gins into categories.
Some gins are particularly citrus-tasting,
others floral and some really different.
Our current favourite is Isle of Harris.
Distilled – would you believe? - on the Isle
of Harris, the gin is unique in its use of Sea
Kelp hand-harvested by a diver in the Outer
Hebrides.
Our preferred way to serve this gin is neat
with a few extra drops of Sea Kelp Aromatic
Water or in a Gin Old Fashioned.
If a gin and tonic is your tipple of choice,
New favourite - Mezcal and Rasperry; and (inset)
upcoming spirit Mezcal is similar to Tequila.
then you will no doubt have already explored
the ever-growing range of mixers and tonics.
There are so many ‘craft’ tonics now available
that it’s difficult to pair perfectly, a little like
wine and food. Whilst one tonic might taste
great with one gin, it might not work at all
with another.
We thought we we’d suggest a few tonics you
might not have tried, and the perfect gins to
try with them…
> 1724 Tonic - great with Monkey 47.
> London Essence Company Grapefruit &
Rosemary – perfect with Caorunn.
> Lamb & Watt Hibiscus Tonic – a treat with
Edinburgh Plum & Vanilla.
“But I don’t like gin!” I hear some of
you cry.
It’s true that some of us aren’t such big fans
of a G&T. Fortunately, there are plenty of
other spirits to try!
In the bartender world, an upcoming
favourite is Mezcal. An acquired taste if you
were to drink it neat, but it works brilliantly
in cocktails. We’re launching our new menu
in March and on it is a stunning Mezcal and
Raspberry tipple.
Mezcal is very similar to Tequila and both
are produced in different states of Mexico
(though there is overlap). Tequila can only
be made, by law, with one variety of agave:
the Blue Agave. Mezcal can be made with
upwards of 30 varieties of agave. Agave to
make Mezcal is usually baked underground,
producing a smokey flavour not dissimilar
from a peaty scotch whisky like LaPhroig.
We would recommend Illegal Mezcal.
As bartenders, we’re also loving bourbon
at the moment. There are some great
products out there but we’re in love with
Blanton’s Gold Edition. Aside from the
stunning bottle, the liquid tastes great in an
Old Fashioned. Why not give it a try?
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