Has gin and tonic become boring?
It’s late afternoon. You’ve just wrapped up another rough day and you‘d like nothing more than to unwind by having one or two fine drinks with a few of your closest friends at your place.
You and your company have had your weapon of choice for a long time and that was always the Gin & Tonic. However, you feel that today the regular G&T just won't do.
You don’t really know the cause of your repulsiveness towards this epic drink, maybe it’s just that you'd like to try something new, or maybe it’s the fact that you’ve been bombarded so intensely by that G&T hype from all sides (online and offline).
You’ve just had enough of that ridiculous amount of sugar in Schweppes tonic and today you don’t feel like spending so much money on a few tiny bottles of premium tonics. Your dried cardamom seeds and pink peppers are getting into your mouth. The notion that everyone drinks it…
Whatever the reason, one thing is sadly certain: the Gin & Tonic tends to get a bit boring and redundant from time to time.
Agreed? ...yes...?
Good!
Cheers to that!
Ok, but what’s the alternative?
What cocktail could you put together for your friends in a proper and decent manner? A real, approachable and simple alternative that doesn't involve fancy equipment, hard-to-get liqueurs, flavor blasters, 43 days infusions and precision measurement to make. You want something that’s tasty, enjoyable and simple. Here’s the upside: We. Hear. You. :)
As a matter of fact, it seems like we’re not the only ones. The whole bartending industry is turning a new page and leans towards simplicity. Like in micro distilling, the focus is on quality ingredients, craft and of course, fun!
More really is less
Some of the best bars in the world have built their reputation on simple classical cocktail lists. For example, the first on the 2020 World’s 50 Best Bars list is London's Connaught Bar whose most iconic cocktail is their bespoke Dry Martini. They make it with staggering precision and mesmerizing theatricality (check them out on youtube, it’s really something), but at the end of the day, it’s still a two-ingredient cocktation.
Everyone can make a Martini, so why don’t you try it, as well? Another example is a bar of a way different but nonetheless, equally exciting vibe called Two Schmucks, located in Barcelona. Among other drinks, they offer cocktails on tap.
That's right! Served just like a regular draught beer, but instead, you get a splendid 5 EUR cocktail. Now, how cool is that? And that’s not some kind of slimy booze crib on Pešćenica (one of Zagreb’s hardcore areas), but the 26th best bar in the world.
You want more examples? Let’s get back to east London to a bar inspired by the Bauhaus design movement. The locale doesn’t have a name but it’s known as a ‘’Bar with shapes for a name’’. Although their cocktails are complex and as advanced as mixology gets, their approach is led by Bauhaus principles: Simplicity and Effectiveness. Their bar is made from only 20 labels, their expression is clean and minimalistic, and their standard for any order to arrive at a table is 60 seconds.
Our selection
Ok, but why am I scribbling all of this? The only reason is to emphasize that a simple cocktail can be attractive, tasty and convenient for you to make. That's the way we like it, anyway.
That being said, here's a list of simple gin cocktails you can prepare for the same occasions you'd usually mix up some of those boring G&Ts (with all due respect).
- Martini
- Zagreb Mule
- White Lady
- Basil Smash
- Hanky Panky
There's a reason some of these old-school favorites are still around and popular as ever. Also, we threw in one of our favs we enjoy at Luftbremzer Distillery. ;)
Wondering where you can get the recipes? Allow us to indulge you on that matter too.
Just head over to the link to get your amazingly illustrated and to-the-point instructing simple Luftbremzer Cocktail Cookbook.
I hope you've enjoyed the read and stay attentive for the next piece of extraordinary Luftbremzer masterpiece literature right here on this blog. :)
Cheers,
Filip
