Tag Archives: fever-tree

Cocktail of the week: Presbyterians pour it on

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Our language is rich with fascinating terms for gatherings of kindred creatures. A romp of otters. An exaltation of larks. A congregation of plovers. And now, a pitcher of Presbyterians.

Who better to sample and critique this little-known cocktail than a group of honest-to-goodness Presbyterians?

My official tasting partner for the evening is our host, the Rev. Dr. Douglas Gerdts of First & Central Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Del., who takes on the honorary mantle of Minister of Mixology. Rounding out the group are four clergy people and a minister of music, who display such zeal for our mission that they all are recruited for future tastings.

J.R Ewing Bottle WhiteWe start with a recipe from Martha Stewart:

INGREDIENTS

2 ounces whiskey or Bourbon (some recipes call for Scotch or Rye)

2 ounces club soda

2 ounces ginger ale

2 dashes Angostura bitters

DIRECTIONS

Fill a highball glass with ice. Add bourbon, club soda, ginger ale and bitters. Stir and enjoy.

Our base is J.R. Ewing bourbon, provided by the nice folks at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. Warner produced the discontinued TV drama “Dallas” for TNT and named the bourbon for the villainous tycoon played by the late Larry Hagman. Expect to pay about $33 for a 750 ML bottle.

FullSizeRender-30The four-year-old, 80-proof bourbon is distilled in Kentucky and bottled in Texas in a square glass decanter with a wooden stopper and a screen-printed image of the show’s iconic Southfork Ranch. (Witness Rev. Kaci Clark-Porter, a native Texan, contemplating the   bottle.)

It’s a pleasant relaxer with notes of vanilla, oak and orange. It is not my first choice as a sipping bourbon but it does play nicely with other ingredients, which makes it a good choice for cocktails.

Our mixers are Q ginger ale and Fever Tree club soda. The bitters: Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry. Our own special touch: fresh ginger and lime.

FullSizeRender-29We serve the Presbys in tall glasses with lots of ice, paired with a fanciful, Presbyterian-themed cocktail menu: savory shortbread; charcuterie sausages John Calvin might have enjoyed; cheeses from Germany and Switzerland; and an assortment of tea sandwiches, including salmon (a nod to the Church of Scotland), peanut butter and pickle (a Presby favorite), and cucumber, in case an Episcopalian wandered in. And because Presbyterians truly do have a sense of humor, deviled eggs with crab.

As for the cocktail, it’s remarkably refreshing for a drink with a brown liquor base. Slightly sweet and positively pleasant. The premium mixers are a good investment, offering a clean, fresh balance to the complexity of the spiced cherry bitters. Lime and ginger usher in summer. This is a drink we are adding to our potable portfolio.

Here’s to food, drink and fellowship. Amen.

 

 

 

Cocktail of the week: White port and tonic

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In the muggy days approaching the official first day of Summer, our thoughts turn to warm weather cocktails. Annabelle Kressman, this week’s official co-taster, and I sipped Fonseca Siroco Extra Dry White Porto with Fever-Tree Indian Premium Tonic this week, thankfully in air-conditioned comfort.

IMG_0417White port, even the extra dry variety, is on the sweet side, slightly oaky, reminiscent of stone fruit and typically served chilled as an aperitif. It takes on a pleasantly citrus vibe when mixed with tonic, especially a tonic with a super clean edge like Fever-Tree.

It isn’t complicated to make. Fill a rocks glass with ice, mix the porto and tonic to taste, add a spritz of fresh lime and enjoy.

White port and tonic is a sophisticated blend and your guests might not be able to identify the potent potable unless you give them a hint. Or just tell them outright.

Annabelle’s pronouncement: “Refreshing, different, very summery. A thumb’s up.”

IMG_0409Fonseca Siroco has been around since the 1950s, a great era for cocktails, which makes it an authentic and unexpected choice for a retro-style get-together. The port has a budget-friendly price point of $19, which means you can splurge on the Fever-Tree, which will set you back about $5 and change for a four-pack of 6.8-ounce bottles.

 

Tonic and gin, please. Fever-Tree

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It isn’t just about the gin. It isn’t all about the vodka. A first-class mixed drink is about the mixer, too. That’s why they call it a mixed drink.

At a very civilized bar in the UK, a server asked me which tonic I wanted with my sublime Plymouth Gin. Hmm. You mean there’s a choice?

Indeed. And on both sides of the pond, my choice is Fever-Tree, a premium line of all natural mixers. Ginger from Nigeria, the Ivory Coast and India. Expect the purest quality quinine from the Congo, which will keep your head cool and your palate pleased. Flavors are crisp, happy and straightforward, dear chap. No artificial aftertaste. No phony colors.

Fever-Tree is so impressive you just might start ordering a tonic and gin instead of a gin a tonic.

The brand was developed by Charles Rolls, former managing director of Plymouth Gin, and Tim Warrillow, who was steeped in premium teas and coffees before entering the beverage market.

In addition to Fever-Tree’s flagship Indian Tonic Water, there are six other labels: Naturally Light Tonic Water (only 40 calories!), Bitter Lemon, Club Soda, Ginger Ale, Ginger Beer and, the latest, Mediterranean Tonic Water, a floral mixer designed to play nice with vodka.

And now you need not head to your favorite upscale waterhole to indulge. You can buy Fever-Tree through Amazon and other outlets for your enjoyment at home. Suggested retail price: $5.99 for a four-pack of 200ml bottles; 500 ml bottles for $2.99.