Bombay Sapphire Gin & Tonic
Bombay Sapphire was the first gin I ever tried.
My mom introduced me to it when I was younger. (Actually, being of German descent, I was introduced all alcohol very young. But that’s another story.)
I was in high school when my parents had enough money to start buying hard liquor again. It was about then that I remember seeing the signature blue Bombay Sapphire bottle in the fridge. Sure, there was always some rum or Cointreau or Triple Sec in the house, but that was for baking and had stood around the house for years.
Red wine and white sparkling wine had been the drink of choice around the house until this point. Mostly because my dad could make large quantities that tasted quite good for just a few dollars. His wine tasted even better than some of the commercial wines after a few years of practice.
Before the blue bottle appeared, my mom had mentioned that during her university years, when she could afford it, her drink of choice was a Gin & Tonic at bars. Compared to many other high balls or cocktails, it was clear and clean. Apparently the hangovers weren’t so intense either because of this.
It was summertime when the Bombay Sapphire bottle first appeared in the fridge. A rash of limes followed to fill one of the fridge compartments. My mom wasn’t a fan of Schwepps tonic water, but it was all we could get at the time, so a whole fridge shelf was filled with that as well.
It started out with my mom drinking one G&T on the longest, warmest summer nights in the beginning. Either on a Friday or Saturday night after my dad had left for the weekend for work. As the summers passed, the more frequent the gin began to be consumed. The more people participated in the G&T evenings.
Since the gin craze has swarmed several continents, my favourite G&T memory is still from about 13 year ago, when I was working as an undergraduate nurse in a nursing home. My 1500 - 2300 shift ended and I came home to find my mother sitting on the back porch lounger, sipping on her second gin and tonic. It was the height of summer, with the Soltice fast approaching, last light still visible on the opposite horizon. I peeled out of my uniform and poured myself a Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic also, and we sat and talked for a long time into the night.
And despite the surgence of gin popularity (which we thouroughly enjoy), we always came back to our old faithful, our go to, our standard in which we judge other gins by, the Bombay Sapphire Gin. The gin in the blue bottle.
Et Voila!
Our standard Bombay Sapphire Gin & Tonic recipe that we enjoyed on those summer nights look very much the same as the Bombay Sapphire recipe:
2 oz gin
4 oz tonic water (or to taste)
slice of lime
How the P family and how Bombay Sapphire suggest to make a G&T differs. Our suggestions are as follows:
Make sure your bottle of gin as been in the freezer for a day at least. Trust me.
Buy ice trays that make large cubes of ice. They won’t melt into your drink as fast.
Place the large ice cube into a short glass (or tall. Or goblet. Whatever. Make sure it’s not leaking.)
Pour gin over ice.
Slice the lime and place into glass.
Top with tonic. of your choice. We recommend Fentimans or Fever-Tree Premium Tonic Waters
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. It’s a legit story.
