Sips & Synopsis

• This Weeks Makings

• Trivia Question

• Drink of the Week - Bee's Knees

• The Gin Style Guide

• Bonus Cocktails

• Mocktail Moment - Chamomile Bee's Knees

This Weeks Makings.

World Gin Day is this Saturday.

Which means this is the perfect week to talk about the spirit that wears more personalities than any other bottle on the bar.

Gin is botanicals. It is juniper, coriander, citrus peel, angelica, sometimes cardamom, sometimes cucumber, sometimes a dozen things you have never heard of. Every brand picks its own recipe.

Which means every gin tastes different. Some are crisp and piney. Some lean floral. Some go all in on citrus. The fun is in the tasting.

This week we are pouring a three-ingredient classic that lets all of that come through. A Bee's Knees, the way it was first served in the 1920s and still the easiest way to actually taste what is in your bottle.

In this issue:

• A three-ingredient Drink of the Week that earns its place at brunch

• A guide to the major gin styles and which bottle to pick for what

• Two bonus cocktails for guests who do not reach for gin

• A trivia question about what makes a gin a gin

• A zero-proof mocktail with all the honey and lemon, none of the proof

Trivia Question ❓

Which botanical is required by law to be the primary flavor in any spirit labeled as gin? A) Coriander seed B) Angelica root C) Juniper berries D) Citrus peel

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter

Bee's Knees

Gin, fresh lemon, and a Prohibition classic that lets every botanical sing.

Ingredients

• 2 oz London Dry gin

• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice

• 0.75 oz honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water, stirred until smooth)

• Lemon twist to garnish

Directions

1. Add gin, lemon juice, and honey syrup to a shaker with ice

2. Shake hard for 15 seconds until very cold

3. Double strain into a chilled coupe

4. Express a lemon twist over the top and drop it in

Why It Works

Honey gives the lemon something to soften into. Lemon keeps the honey from getting cloying. The gin sits right in the middle and tells the truth. With only three ingredients, this is the cocktail that lets you actually taste what is in your bottle.

Behind the Bar - The Gin Style Guide

Gin is the most opinionated spirit on the bar.

Every distiller picks their own botanicals, their own ratios, their own personality. That is why a martini at one bar can taste nothing like a martini at the bar across the street.

Here are the main styles and what each one is best at.

London Dry. The crisp, juniper-forward style most people picture when they hear the word gin. Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray, Beefeater. Reach for it when you want a martini, a gin and tonic, or a Bee's Knees that lets juniper sing.

Plymouth. Slightly softer and earthier than London Dry, with citrus that pushes forward. The original gin and tonic gin. Use anywhere London Dry goes when you want a gentler hand.

Old Tom. A sweeter, rounder style from before the dry-style era. Use for Tom Collins, Martinez, and any cocktail where a touch of body helps the other ingredients land.

Genever. The Dutch ancestor of gin. Malty, almost whisky-like. Use for cocktails where you want depth and a base spirit that feels heavier than a typical gin.

Contemporary or New-World. Anything that breaks the juniper-first rule. Hendrick's with cucumber. Aviation with lavender. Empress with butterfly pea. Use these when you want a specific botanical to be the loudest thing in the glass.

When the gin is doing the talking, every other ingredient just has to know when to stay quiet.

Bonus Cocktails

Boulevardier

The Negroni's American cousin. Stirred, deep, and built for a slow sipper.

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz rye whiskey (or bourbon)

• 1 oz Campari

• 1 oz sweet vermouth

• Orange peel to garnish

Directions

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice until very cold. Strain into a chilled rocks glass over a large ice cube. Express an orange peel over the top and drop it in.

Why it works

Whiskey brings warmth where gin would bring brightness. Campari and vermouth do the rest. It is a Negroni for cooler hands or longer dinners.

Daiquiri

The original three-ingredient cocktail. Cold, bright, perfect.

Ingredients

• 2 oz white rum

• 1 oz fresh lime juice

• 0.75 oz simple syrup

• Lime wheel to garnish

Directions

Shake all ingredients hard with ice until very cold. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a thin lime wheel.

Why it works

Three ingredients, balanced just right. The Daiquiri is what every other rum sour is trying to be.

Mocktail or Zero Proof Option

Chamomile Bee's Knees

All the honey and lemon. None of the proof.

Ingredients

• 2 oz strong-brewed chamomile tea (steep one bag in 3 oz hot water, then cool)

• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice

• 0.75 oz honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water, stirred until smooth)

• Lemon twist to garnish

Directions

Shake the chamomile tea, lemon juice, and honey syrup hard with ice until very cold. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Express a lemon twist over the top and drop it in.