What does it take to turn a wine drinker into a gin
aficionado? How about the right mixers and the right recipes, imparted with a
dash of English history. That's how EMB's intrepid Camilla Mann got her start
at the Hyatt Carmel Highland's recent Shake, Rattle and Roll class.
Shake, Rattle, & Roll: The Making of a Gin Drinker
Story and Photos by Camilla M. Mann
Picture a cadre of shot glasses – filled with pre-measured
syrups, juices, and alcohol – standing sentry around a platter with garnet-hued
cranberries, cucumber and lime wheels, and aromatic leaves separated from
stems. Add to that a group of two dozen eager attendees and you have the scene
of Hyatt Carmel Highlands’ kick-off event for their 2013 Shake, Rattle &
Roll series. This is a hands-on series of cocktail workshops hosted in the
picturesque Sunset Lounge.
I have to admit that I was not a gin drinker before this
class. I had tried gin, certainly, but it wouldn’t have been my libation of
choice. Trevor changed that.
I appreciated the historical background of gin as a
cure-all. Gin was invented in the 17th century by a physician in the
Netherlands who started with neutral grain spirits and flavored them with the juniper
oil. He used it to treat kidney ailments and called it 'genever' which, in Dutch, means juniper.
The British incorporated the juniper-infused alcohol into
their regimen to battle malaria and scurvy. While effective at inhibiting malaria-causing
parasites, quinine – made from the bark of the cinchona tree – has a bitter,
unpleasant taste. Diluting quinine with water and sweetening it with sugar
formed a ‘tonic water.’ The British East India Company and its colonials in
India, then, added gin to the tonic to make it even more palatable. Voilà! The Gin
& Tonic was born.
British Royal Navy Surgeon General Sir Thomas D. Gimlette is
credited with formulating the Gimlet – gin and lime juice – to induce his
shipmates to ingest more citrus as an anti-scurvy medication.
I enjoyed the history lessons, but what really solidified my
admiration of gin: the drinks.
The first of the three cocktails we made was Trevor’s Herbes
de Provence. I’m not sure I could have managed to muddle, mix, shake, shoot photos,
take notes, and drink the cocktails
on my own. Thankfully I brought a friend with me and he agreed to be my
designated bartender.
Herbes de Provence is a mixture of gin, ginger liqueur, lime
juice, and rosemary syrup with a muddle of cucumber and basil. Herbaceous and
zesty, this cocktail was the linchpin in my conversion to being a gin drinker. With
one sip, I was intrigued. With the second, I was enamoured.
The next cocktail, another gin-based drink, was the Hearts
Content – gin with pomegranate and lemon juices sweetened with simple syrup.
And our final creation for the evening was the Field of Dreams, a blend of
tequila, limoncello, lime juice, and simple syrup with a float of Aperol.
Armed with recipe cards and my very own bartending kit of tools,
this class has inspired me to get shaking on creating some cocktails on my own.
Trevor explained that as long as we use consistent ratios of alcohol to
sweetener and juice, we can be as inventive as we like. But he had one hard and
fast rule he shared: if there’s citrus, shake it. Otherwise, stir.
Here’s what coming up in the Shake, Rattle, and Roll this year.
April’s class is called Spring Fever, July’s theme is Haute Summer Fun, and in
November they’ll be mixing up drinks with Fall Harvest Flavors. I’m ready to
shake it up, as long as it involves gin…and citrus.
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