The drink that inspired many an over-worked executive to succumb to being pleasantly aenesthetised at `Martini lunches'. The Martini is one of the few survivors of the old days, as copiously drunk today as it was then.
The Singapore Sling is another all time favourite - created by the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, to cool the expats out to colonise the natives. Then the much misunderstood Gimlet. Now guys, a Gimlet is a classic cocktail which combines gin and lime cordial, stirs with a lot of ice and strains into a cocktail glass to be drunk straight. What? No soda? Fat chance! If you add soda, its not a Gimlet anymore, just a gin, lime cordial and soda or a `gin and lime'. If you like it nice and tangy, you want a Tom Collins - gin, fresh lime juice (generous quantity), sugar and soda in a tall glass over ice. And of course there's gin and tonic, that most basic yet incredibly popular drink. All you do is fill a tall glass with ice, squeeze two wedges of lime and drop the used shells in, pour in a decent measure of gin and top with tonic. Then latch on to the glass and don't let it out of your sight. A perfect hot-weather mate.
Switching regular gin with orange or lemon gin, makes for pleasant drinking. Popular brands of gin include Booths, Blue Riband, Forbes, Mansion House and the recently introduced Gilbey's - the first international label in gin. Flavoured gins are suddenly flooding shop-shelves - Blue Riband Duet (lime), Tango (orange) and Pinada (yucky pineapple); Kedia's `Fruit Punch' flavoured gins have an interesting ginger gin and `chalta hai' mango, orange and lemon gins. Their bottles come dressed with a tag spewing fairly puerile limericks.
A Recipe or Two : Its back to real business then - preparing for the rising mercury with two of the most refreshing thirst-busters.
SINGAPORE SLING: GLASS - collins INGREDIENTS 60ml gin juice of 2 lemons 3 teaspoons powdered sugar 1 tablespoon cherry brandy soda water to top GARNISH fruit stick (pineapple&cherry) TO MAKE: Put cherry brandy in glass. Fill 3/4 glass with ice cubes. Blend the sugar with the lemon juice and add to the glass along with the gin. Gently top with soda. Place the fruit stick in the drink.
GREEN ORCHID GLASS: highball INGREDIENTS: 60 ml gin 2 teaspoons mint liqueur 2 wedges fresh lime tonic to top GARNISH: used lime shell, orange slice/peel TO MAKE: Fill glass with ice. Squeeze in the lime and drop the used shells in. Por in the gin and liqueur. Top with tonic. Garnish with the orange.
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