Making 'A Proper Gin and Tonic,' American-Style
It's 1715 and gin is in! Gin was first introduced to the British in 1688 by William III, and the subsequent production of cheap gin in London unleashed an epic 50-year street party of drunken debauchery and moral depravity that earned gin the moniker "Mother's Ruin."
Now it's 2015 and gin is in once again. And now we can take a workshop on creating the perfect gin and tonic from Daniel Kent, dean of beverages at the Institute of Domestic Technology. Eschewing cocktails like the Gin Fizz, the Fluffy Duck, and the Hanky Panky, Kent takes apart what the Brits would call a "bog-standard G and T" and transforms it into a sublime, sophisticated multi-layered beverage. Kent teaches us how to brew our own tonic syrup using quinine and how to make perfectly clear ice. He explains how juniper and botanicals are being combined to make new locally crafted gins. We taste two California gins, the Junipero and Terroir, and one new Scottish gin, the Botanist.
We sip our gin while seated around the mammoth pool table in the vaulted billiard room of the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. Just behind us is the two-lane bowling alley, featured in the movie There Will Be Blood. In these opulent surroundings Kent carefully guides us through the steps to mixing our own perfect G and T (hint: put the ice in last to create extra fizz). The results are interesting: Junipero, with its more traditional flavoring, was a class favorite during the tasting, but when mixed with the fragrant tonic, it seems too complex. The Terroir, with its more balanced blend of botanicals, marries well with the tonic, but scores low. It is light and summery but does not have the kick that we attendees crave. Meanwhile, the Botanist, only moderately popular at the tasting, becomes the crowd favorite in the mixed drink. This cocktail, with its damp, earthy tones, was as far from artificially flavored vodka and chemically manufactured tonic water as you could get.
The class ends with an inkling of what's next for Kent. He is obsessed with pruno. What is that? Let's just say pruno, aka jailhouse hooch, is immortalized in the poem "Recipe For Prison Pruno" by Jarvis Jay Masters and ends with the line "May God have mercy on your soul." When one of the workshop participants, a judge by profession, reveals his experience with authentic prison-made pruno, Kent blurts out, "Can you get me in?" Really Daniel? There must be an easier way.
The institute teaches simple food-production techniques, some long forgotten, so we can handcraft our own food and beverages at home. Check theirwebsite for upcoming workshops.
