#fords gin

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The last time I wrote, for most of the last month in fact, I have been on a serious rum kick - which is not quite over, if those Smith and Cross old fashioneds from the other night are any indication of where my head is at. Still, I have been gearing up for my focus for the fall: gin. I figured out some time ago that I am quite keen I on gin, but a lot of folks I know aren’t - in spite of the recent explosion of new craft distelleries offering gins in a variety of styles, many drinkers are mostly familiar with London Dry, seldom drink gin outsdie of basic sours and tonics, and tend to think of it as a summer only drink. My mission was simple - to prove the naysayers wrong. Over the past few weeks, I sampled quite a few bottles - Tanquery Malaca, NYDC Dorothy Parker, Ford’s, and Jensen’s London Dry, and Warwick are among my favorites, looking to create something that offered a story on multiple levels, with an eye to find those with flavor profile that were not only smooth and easy to drink neat(!), but was also an inspiring base for a simple, clean cocktail that could appeal to a range of tastes regardless of the hour or season. Ulimately, I went with Ford’s, the least floral of them all and thus very amenable to mixing. Finally, I wanted a drink with a dash of romance, something that was equally bracing and exciting as it was calming and relaxing. The inspiration for this week’s drink is Angus Zhou’s minted White Lady, which offers takes the classic gin sidecar and pushes it more into gin julep territory while dispensing with the laborious building and mixing process. The end result is no less elegant looking, and plays right to gin’s strentghs as an aromatic, botanical drivel spirit. For my version of Angus’ drink, I reduced the amount of Cointreau and added a splash of Creme de Menthe, which was actually the main component in place of gin in the original rendition of the drink, invented by Harry MacElhone while manned the bar at Ciro’s in Prohibition Era London. I found this easier to prepare on the spot, but I definitely encourage using Angus’ approach of infusing the Cointreau with fresh mint if you have difficulty finding a good quality bottle (I reccommend Tempus Fugit’s version, which is clean and not overly sweet). My favorite thing about it is that it’s simplicity belies it’s high end taste and appearance. I named my version the Rhett Butler, imagining that he may have enjoyed this as much as any Julep on a hot Georgia afternoon. Rhett Butler 1 3/4 oz gin 3/4 oz lime 1/2 oz Cointreau 1/4 oz Creme De Menthe Mint Sprig METHOD Combine all ingredients in a shaker and add ice. Shake until well chilled, dump into a rocks glass over large ice, garnish with a mint sprig, and serve.