Actually, Round 2 was Gin. In August. Yes I know that this post is much delayed, but I thought it might be better if I posted it before our NEXT cocktail club meeting. It is a bit short, mainly because of my poor memory (and need to get to work).
H hosted Round 2 and given the oppressive heat, she had the lovely idea of taking the club outdoors. Which was quite a wonderful idea. It was the first relatively cool night in some time. We gathered in the early evening and had a pleasant and thoroughly relaxing picnic...complete with the most appropriate cocktails that you could think of. H also handed us printouts that explained a lot about the origin and history of gin....wonderful little history lesson to go along with our cocktail studies : )
I may have a bit of a bias, but to me, gin is the perfect summer liquor choice one can think of. It is perfect for cocktails, stands up to ice very well, and has a crisp refreshing edge that just makes you feel cooler. Plus, there are so many different flavors in gins, it is endlessly fascinating to mix. So what did we drink?
Well H started us off with a classic known as the Bee's Knees. And it was....gin (Tanqueray), lemon, and honey..light, refreshing and perfect for a summer night. In fact, we could have just drank those all night, except we had other beverages to imbibe in as well.
We did a brief tasting of three different gins: Plymouth, which we found to be pleasant and well balanced but not overwhelmingly junipery, Tanqueray, in which the juniper taste predominates, and Old Tom's....which was so smooth, we all thought this could be a sipping gin (how often does that happen!). We tried these alone, and with several accompaniments..most particularly, watermelon and cucumber, to bring out different characteristics of the gin. Mrs. O brought another gin based concoction....one that reminded us of bad nights in college and grape drink. Oh my, how far we have come.
We followed up our little tasting with several classic gin based cocktails...the gin and tonic, the Negroni (made with Hendrix Gin, Campari and Carpano Antigua), and a Gin Fizz (which makes that little fizzy sound that is so refreshing to hear as well as drink).
By this time, we were being feasted upon by mosquitos, so we decided to call it a night.
Until next time!
NY Cocktail Club
