Last night's dogbite: Tart Gin Cooler
Bitters, Drinkage, Gin, Peychaud's June 26th, 2007
Like many others recently I've been scouring my guides for drinks more Summer-appropriate and refreshing. The temperature in Oklahoma throughout July and August can hang out in or around the 100's for weeks at a time and the humidity that comes from the Gulf Coast can make it nearly unbearable. So, no White Russians or Hot Toddies this time of year, thank you very much. It's been unseasonably mild this June, but a boy simply must be prepared for the inevitable. It was with this in mind that my wife and I flipped through several of my guides looking for something refreshing and different to try given that I need to break out of my Mojito, Gin Fizz, and Tom Collins rut I tend to groove into when the heat is on. So, when Joana exclaimed, 'I'll have this!' I found myself confronting and highly intrigued by the Tart Gin Cooler.
I've found this drink documented in two places; 'New Classic Cocktails' and 'The Joy of Mixology', both by Gary Regan, and the first coauthored by his wife, Mardee Haidin Regan. However, the guides give two very slightly different recipes with, for me, drastically different results. In 'New Classic Cocktails' they explain that the Tart Gin Cooler was inspired by Britain's "bitter lemon" drink that is a mix of lemon juice and tonic water. While doing research for a Food & Wine magazine article, Mardee and Gary discovered that grapefruit juice was a natural fit with tonic water, and with the addition of Peychaud's bitters it was a cocktail worth noting. I'm always looking for an excuse to use bitters in a drink and grapefruit juice is something I've only used with limited success (the Blinker for example) and been wanting to incorporate more often. Let's see how the 'New Classic Cocktails' version holds up first:
Tart Gin Cooler ver. 11
- 2 oz London dry gin (be sure to use London dry)
- 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice
- 3 oz tonic water
- 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
Build the drink in the order given in a collins glass filled 2/3rds with ice. Stir and serve immediately.
This version, for me, was overly bitter. The drink smells strongly of grapefruit, which is nice, and it is refreshing but the bitter finish of the drink was just so damned long I couldn't get past it. I sort of had to go back to the drink quickly to cleanse out the bitter aftertaste which made a tall long drink a fairly short and unenjoyable experience. However, based on giving the drink's other version another shot I think the qualities and character of the grapefruit you use will have everything to do with how this drink turns out. Feeling that something had gone amiss in this experience I bought another grapefruit, remembered the drink was also in 'The Joy of Mixology', and upon finding the recipe slightly different went ahead.
Tart Gin Cooler ver. 2
- 2 oz gin
- 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice
- 2 oz tonic water
- Peychaud's bitters to taste
Build in a collins glass filled with ice and serve.
A revelation! This is a great drink. I put a good sight more Peychaud's bitters in the drink than in the first version (4-5 dashes) and I believe the reduction in tonic water serves the drink very well. The finish of the drink was much cleaner and crisper and the whole experience was improved from top to bottom of the glass. I still used London Dry gin even though it doesn't specify it to keep the comparison as even as possible. The additional bitters also provides an additional pink hue to the drink that makes it more attractive (Peychaud's is a deep rose color). It was also extremely refreshing and perfectly suited to a hot August dusk under the Magnolia.
Both of the drinks strongly feature bitter flavor profiles and if it's not your thing I don't recommend this. However, the second does a wonderful job of balancing bitter and tart with just a hint of sweet in the background from the grapefruit and a touch of herbals from the bitters. I think, at least with the cheap tonic water available here, the reduction in tonic water in the second is a great boon to the drink's character and you should be sure the grapefruit you use for this one has a little give on the outside indicating it's well into ripened (and sweeter) territory. And, I would definitely keep the bitters 'to taste' even if you use version 1. I mean, truly, aren't you looking for an excuse to really taste those obscure bitters in your drinks after all?
Tart Gin Cooler ver. 1 Rating: 
Tart Gin Cooler ver. 2 Rating:
So, when the heat is on, hats off to you Glenn Frey, this is going into my Summer rotation for sure. Prosit!
- one of these days I will get a functional camera to take worthy pictures of these things, I promise [↩]
What sorts of gins do you classify as “Dry”? I usually keep Hendrick’s, Bombay Sapphire, and Plymouth. I think of Plymouth as the “dry” one.
Well, there are really two parts to the question; ‘London Dry’ is a designation of the gin’s production style/method and ‘dry’ is an indication of taste/character.
Gin originated in Holland in the 17th century (as ‘Genever’) but after the column still was invented in the early 1800s, London distilleries developed their own process and style of gin production that led to the ‘London Dry’ (and FAR more prevalent) style of production. London Dry is so prevalent that most recipes assume London Dry when they state ‘gin’. In truth, ‘Plymouth gin’ is the only other recognized English ’style’, but other gins (such as Hendrick’s, Citadelle, Magellan, etc.) that may use the column still method but not feature the same primary flavor profiles are coming into their own and you’re seeing them featured more often.
You’ll notice that neither your Hendrick’s nor Plymouth bottles designate them as ‘London Dry’ but your Bombay Sapphire does. That being said, both Hendrick’s and Plymouth are sweeter in character (though the Plymouth finishes damned dry) than almost any London Dry gins I’ve had. So, while you might find a gin designated ‘London Dry’ that’s sweeter in character than non-London Dry designated gin, I think you’d be hard-pressed to do it. The ‘Big 3′ of premium London Drys are Beefeater, Bombay, and Tanqueray (Gordon’s, Booth’s, Boodles, and Llords are examples of others at varying levels of quality).
The Dutch-style Genever is a whole other subject I’ll do a piece on soon. Anyone have anything to add or have I missed something? There are certainly some grey areas here I know.
On a related note and speaking of grapefruit, I’ve tried the Jasmine Cocktail as listed below listed from Drink Boy’s site:
* 1 1/2 ounces gin
* 1 ounce Cointreau
* 3/4 ounce Campari
* 1/2 ounce lemon juice
http://www.drinkboy.com/Cocktails/recipes/Jasmine.html
Also featured on Rob Hess’s Small Screen Network show the Cocktail Spirit:
http://www.smallscreennetwork.com/
I’ll have to try the Jasmine Cocktail recipe with a dash or two of Pechyaud’s and a splash of tonic a la Tart Gin Cooler. Or maybe a splash of soda water.
Well, I took your reply to heart and, while I still had a little bit left in my bottles of Bombay Blue and Plymouth, I bought a bottle of regular Bombay and Beefeater. I compared these four to Hendricks. Honestly, my goal was to like the Bombay regular and Beefeater the best.
For a price comparison (before tax, all U.S. $ and all 750 ml except the Plymouth which is a one liter) here goes:
Hendricks: $24.99
Plymouth: $23.99
Bombay Blue: $29.99
Bombay: $15.99
Beefeater: $14.99
I tasted all straight at room temperature (I know, I know but I wanted a straight shot right out of the bottle).
Hendricks: damn. smooth, complex (botanicals), creamy(?). The wifey likey.
I thought all the London drys had an astringent component to one degree or another
Plymouth: sharp, balanced with some bite but not very botanical the wifey say okay but she’ll take the Hendricks.
Bombay Blue: fair amount of alcohol bite but I thought it very complex with botanicals. The wifey likey
Bombay regular: Smooth, low on botanicals not very complex. Wifey no likey
Beefeater: what the hell?!? Very smooth, light on the botanicals and not very complex. Wifey say, “Weak, gimme some Hendricks.”
Ok, so Gin needs to be mixed – it’s not bourbon and never pretended to be. So, I mixed teeny tiny martinis with 0.5 oz gin, 0.25 dry vermouth (Martini Rossi – I think that this vermouth is not very overpowering and that’s why I used it. My other vermouth is Noilly Prat which I find more flavourful), one dash of orange bitters (Reagans 6), two ice cubes stired for about 20 seconds and strained. Wifey and I shared (we’re close like that)
Hendricks: Damn, smooth, still creamy and it just tastes rounded not sharp, wifey likey.
Plymouth: smooth, very smooth, ummm, too smooth? Wifey say, “Listen, I’m trying to cut a mango and make sure Cole (our 19 month old) doesn’t do something worthy of his last name with the cat out on the lanai now gimmee my Hendricks”
Bombay Blue: smooth but complex as the botanicals come through
Bombay: actually very nice, smooth, not as complex as the Bombay blue but very drinkable. Wifey likey (has settled down now that the cat has skeedoodled to a safe location).
Beefeater: Hmmm, you know I think there’s a slight difference since I know what’s what but you could swap this out with the Plymouth and I’m not sure I’d complain. Wifey a bit miffed at me since I went ahead and read the last page of her Harry Potter book she got at midnight last night and now I know know how it ends all in the context of the fact that I’m not all that interested and haven’t before now read one word of any of the other Potter books and she’s pretty much interested in the Hendricks.
Bottom line:
Hendricks: in – damn that’s different, smooth, creamy, complex and almost no bite.
Plymouth: this was not expected but I could replace this with beefeater
Bombay blue: still in, very nice, smooth, lots of complexity not a lot of bite
Bombay: you know very nice but I can tell the difference in a martini between regular and blue and for the five bucks difference for a 750 ml I think I’ll snag the blue.
Beefeater: for $15 bucks and a nine smacker difference between the Plymouth I could swing the Beefeater – call me crazy.
Anyway, I tried to be brief, hope I wasn’t too long.
[...] struck me most about this was how well the Peychaud’s complement the grapefruit juice. As cocktailnerd pointed out, you’ll definitely want the bitters “to taste”, as a major flavour component [...]