the goodist

Recipe: The Carbonated Negroni

Bitter is beautiful, the Italians know this far better than we sugar-addled Americans, and hence Campari - the deeply bitter/citrusy booze with a long secret history (it's said only one person knows the entire recipe). 

Campari's most famous drink is the Negroni - deceptively simple and bitter as hell - it rewards only those that earn it. Like a big hoppy IPA you'll likely hate it at first, but then slowly find yourself craving that sharp citrus bite. I dare say it might be my favorite cocktail (at least this week) but something about it being served 'up' didn't do it for me texturally. Bitter sour drinks really click for me when there's some CO2 involved...so out comes the carbonator...

Recipe: Tonic Water

As promised, here's the riveting conclusion to Making the Perfect Gin and Tonic...

Now that we've made wonderfully bubbly carbonated gin, it's time we make some tonic. Tonic water, originally developed to protect British troops from malaria while conquering strange and foreign lands, tasted awful in it's original formulation. The inclusion of quinine (from the bark of the South American cinchoa tree) made the beverage very bitter, but staved off malaria and allowed for the otherwise impossible colonization of Africa. Quickly the British colonialists realized that a dram full of booze helps the medicine go down and thus the famous G&T was born.

Modern tonic water bears little resemblance to the tonic water of the past, the quinine is still there but much reduced (and therefore less bitter), the sugar content is through the roof (~35g (!) of high fructose - about the same as any other soft drink on the market), and various flavors, preservatives, and citric acid (for a bit of tart). There are a few designer tonics out there now that use real sugar and less of it, but they're expensive, so lets make our own shall we?

Recipe: Carbonated Gin

With no AC at home and 100+ degree days, it seemed only rational to create a perfect gin and tonic - with cooling doses beginning promptly after breakfast. A well made G&T is excellent refreshment, but there have always been two problems with the modern recipe that have annoyed me. One, I like the ratio of gin to tonic near 1:3, but at this point the beverage looses carbonation, especially as the ice melts. Two, tonic water contains as much high fructose evil as any mainstream soda on the market unless you pay for hard to acquire and very expensive specialty products. Both of these problems can easily be solved with a carbonation machine and a little creativity.