The Perfect Gin and Tonic(s)

The makings of a perfect Gin and Tonic

If you want to try and make the perfect Gin and Tonic here is a place to start. Now, we have to warn you. You won’t be making a bunch of them. The tonic comes in 17 oz bottle and the gin comes in 375ml bottle and they aren’t cheap.

Jack Rudy Cocktail Company makes this small batch tonic ($19) in Charleston, S.C. A true southerner. Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin might be in a small bottle ($44.99) but it packs some large flavor. Mix the two and find out what truly great Gin and Tonic tastes like.

But wait, there’s more. We just received two new Gins that we think would add to your Gin and Tonic arsenal. Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin and Uncle Val’s Restorative Gin.  (each are $34.99)

Here’s what Jack Rudy says about their tonic: “We believe we’ve managed to create the closest possible thing to a perfect Gin & Tonic.

Our Small Batch Tonic is essentially a quinine concentrate. It’s designed to pair with your favorite Gin or Vodka, and is then stretched with soda water to make a bright, light, refreshing highball.

With a backbone of quinine, culled from the Cinchona Tree, we’ve added a delicate mix of botanicals, and then sweetened it with real cane sugar; the final product is a complex mixture that introduces a fine bitterness to any cocktail, and a great pairing with the botanicals of the finest Gins in the world.”

Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin and Jack Rudy Small Batch Tonic

Here’s what they say on the Monkey 47 website: “Admittedly, it appears somewhat eccentric to claim that a recipe for gin has the power to unite great British traditions, the exoticness of India, and the purity and nativeness of the Black Forest. And yet it is precisely this eccentricity that defines the enigmatic character of Montgomery Collins, from whom our Schwarzwald Dry Gin originates. His childhood as the son of a diplomat in East Asia, his military career among the ruins of Berlin, and his late-adopted home in the Black Forest supply the autobiographical background for a recipe that represents an audacious combination of native Black Forest herbs and berries and exotic Asian botanicals.”

Uncle Val’s website says “Uncle Val’s Restorative Gin exhibits a crisp, floral taste profile that harkens back to the classic American gin. Awakening your olfactory senses with its refreshingly bright taste and pleasing bouquet, the gin lives up to the name Restorative. This gin is great on its own – as Uncle Valerio would’ve undoubtedly preferred – but it’s also well suited to cocktails, adding a complex yet sublime blend of flavors to your recipe.

The Taste: Creating an intriguing first impression, the nose offers crisp juniper berry, soft Gourdy cucumber and the slightest hint of rose petal. The following sip feels crisp up front and silky going down with refreshing notes of citrus, coriander and juniper that pleasantly evolve to a finish of cucumber, along with a wisp of rose petals.

Uncle Val’s Botanical is a small-batch botanical gin inspired by  Zio Valerio’s love of gardening and native tuscan cuisine.  The botanicals are not only Uncle Val’s favorite cooking  ingredients,but also happen to make an exceptionally
unique and smoothly delicious gin. Uncle Val’s presents a complex and subtly pleasing sensation of flavors. Raise your glass and you’ll notice crisp aromas of sage and juniper. Your first sip will bring out a bright lemon taste, which gives way to a warm, spicy, lavender finish, softened by the coolness of cucumber. Each sip bolsters the botanical flavors, along with a continuous presence of piney juniper.