‘Fords Gin was created to be a versatile all-around cocktail gin that could be a ‘go to’ gin for bartenders making the classic gin cocktails. The journey started with a bartender friend of mine and I drawing chef-like flavour maps that showed gin botanicals paired with key flavours and ingredients found in classic cocktails.’
Recipes
Drinks
Monday is officially Margarita Day, so the folks at Tequila 1800 have hit up some of the country’s leading bars to get the take on this all time tequila classic.
“A spritz is always effervescent. Whether its bubble is acquired through soda water, prosecco, some other sparkling wine, or a flavored soda, the spritz would not be a spritz without buoyancy.” – Spritz, Italy’s Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail
Undoubtedly one could classify vodka as a ‘beginner’s spirit’, reserved for the days of underage drinking- but the versatility alone should give us pause to reconsider what this ‘spirit without distinctive character, aroma or taste’ can bring to the table.
In Simonson’s own words: “One ingredient, you’ve got a nice dram. Two, you’ve got a highball. Get three things to marry together, you’ve likely got a cocktail on your hands. More than three and you’ve got a more complicated cocktail, not necessarily a better one.”
This month we headed to Grain bar, on the ground floor of the Four Seasons Hotel to check out three of their banger cocktails that use Tried & True Straight Wheat Vodka. Big thanks to Adam Lau, Pablo Moore Rubio and the team from Grain for pulling this awesome shoot together.
The sun is shining across Australia, the beaches are beginning to (safely) welcome more visitors and glasses full of one of Italy’s most famous Aperitivo drinks are being shared amongst friends to celebrate the new season. Needless to say, it’s time for an Aperol Spritz!
This week, The West Winds Gin will release just 1400 bottles of a one-off gin made on Chardonnay lees. The West Winds Sur Lie Gin (French for ‘on lees’) is a limited-edition gin aged for 12 months in used Chardonnay barrels as well as incorporating the use of Chardonnay lees into the mix; a first for a gin anywhere in the world.
For this month’s photoshoot we headed to Old Mate’s Place in Sydney’s Clarence Street. With Dre Walters and Dan Noble leading the charge this is a joint that is serious about its cocktailing. This drink features their house-made labour of love the Pea & Pear Shrub. Noble says: “The drink is a light, effervescent delight. The perfect cocktail for the spritz lover in all of us.”
So, should your mint leaves be crushed in a Mint Julep? According to the late Gaz Regan, the answer was a firm no, with the mint “only to serve as an aromatic garnish”. Here we check out three classic recipes from classic minds – the Mint Julep, the Old Fashioned and A La Louisiane
“You will have plenty of drinks to mix from these pages, with the specs looking sharp and good to go for most of them. The two I have made are from Mr Hess himself. The first is Champagne Antoine, if you’re like me and sometimes love your drink bone dry then this will hit that spot.”
“Ever since I began working in decent cocktail bars many moons ago, bartenders have been trying to push the dark, bitter and overtly aromatic onto unsuspecting customers, who for the most part, were just looking for a glass of boozy juice and a good time.”