I have recently returned to the classic martini as my evening cocktail, mostly because I missed the crispness and simplicity that makes it such a delight. Caipirinhas and margaritas and Manhattans and all of the other joys of the bartender’s art are wonderful, but sometimes a minimalist approach is the only thing that will cut it.
Coincident with this sea change was a quick jaunt into the bowels of the Eastern shore of the Chesapeake, where oysters run from my approach, and crabs collapse in a quivering heap at the news that my lovely wife is in the neighborhood.
I had the opportunity to taste many gins over the course of several days, including the heavy hitters like Hendricks and Bombay, but also a few lesser known gins. Much to my amazement, my clear favorite was a simple, pedestrian gin called Beefeater! And some of the well-known gins were not just inferior to Beefeater; they were bad. Yes…bad. And I’m looking at you, Bombay Sapphire.
So what delightful lesson can one learn from my exhaustive study?
I can’t think of anything profound other than drinking a wide variety of booze is a good thing and one should do as much of it as possible.
I like Bombay Sapphire, fwiw, but you might try a French gin called Citadelle. (I can’t find it here in Utah, sadly.) It’s delicious. Aromatic and floral and complex. Great for G&Ts.