Classic Recipe with a Twist: Sunset Gin and Tonic

So much has happened since my last post on the blog! When we last left our hard-hitting cocktail coverage at the end of 2018, my world – our world – was a different place. Since that time, I had a big day at the day job, the aftermath of which has contributed to my extended absence from posting. (I’ve done a little better on Instagram, but only a little.)

And of course, since earlier this year, we’ve all been struggling to adjust to life during a pandemic. For some of us this has meant virtual quarantine. Some luminaries of the cocktail universe have sought to help us through it all. One offered to give us recipes we can use based on ingredients we have in our house (Derek Brown is just an amazing human being). Many others have minted new “quarantini” cocktails for us to sample. (I don’t have any of those for you, but I do have a classic martini, a hot and dirty martini, and even a totally dry (i.e., alcohol-free) martini for you if you’re interested.)

Pandemic/quarantine has knocked me off my cocktail blogging game a bit. I (like many of you I imagine) now work from home day after day and for some reason that new pattern has further disrupted my already disrupted flow for creating cocktails and then posting here about them. I’ve said “yes” to collaborations on Instagram, thinking they would motivate me to get back to it, but then failed to follow through. I guess there is a momentum to this kind of thing. It’s (at least by comparison) easy to keep blogging going when you’re consistent about it; but impossible when you get out of rhythm.

So I know better than to promise you that “I’m back,” but I am at least popping up to say hello and offer you something to drink as you wait patiently for the world to return to normal. This one is inspired by the last superfun thing I did before quarantine: visit South Africa.

South Africa is a wonderland. I can’t show you everything I loved about it – there isn’t enough space here (and at some point we need to get to the recipe). But let’s consider at least a few items: penguins, mountains, zebras and sunsets.

The penguins flock in large groups and just kind of party, looking as awesome as you would imagine. There’s no ice or cold weather here – it was in the 70s or 80s (Fahrenheit) in this shot. But they look unperturbed as they mingle on the shore between occasional trips to the water to cool off and look for food.

I didn’t realize that South Africa was so mountainous (although, when I reflected on it, I realized I hadn’t given the matter a great deal of thought either way in advance of visiting). But it is. Mountains are among the range of glorious topography on which the eyes may feast while traveling the “Garden Route,” a lengthy stretch of road that is a destination unto itself in South Africa, even as it transports you from one thrilling place to another.

The zebras – and the other wildlife, including lions, rhinos, elephants and ostriches – were also sights to behold. Sure, these are the same animals you’ve seen in zoos. But seeing these animals in the wild, up close, is nothing like seeing them in the zoo. These were animals living out of quarantine – in wide open spaces. They went where their business took them, and looked magnificent doing so.

The uncrowded horizons of South Africa’s wilderness also played host to fantastic sunsets. The beauty of the scene faded quickly as sunsets do; and the night’s dangers were such that returning to shelter for the evening was the certain conclusion to an exciting day. Just as certainly, though, the next day came, along with the freedom to return to the outdoors in search of new adventures.

South Africa also bestowed at least one more gift: the discovery of Six Dogs Blue gin (website):

I got to sample it while there one afternoon in a gin and tonic. It’s a floral tasting gin with a blue color imparted by the butterfly pea flower that comprises one of the ingredients. Because the butterfly pea flower is sensitive to changes in pH levels, the blue turns a shade of pink when acidic additives are introduced. Thus, the blue gin became a pink gin and tonic once the tonic was poured over and mixed in with the spirit.

After returning home, I finally got around to tinkering with the gin on my own, just as it was becoming clear that the sun was setting on life as we know it in the United States, with reports of the first cases of coronavirus in the country starting to roll in. I decided to recreate the gin and tonic I had first enjoyed in South Africa, but with a twist. Rather than use a traditional carbonated tonic, I used Jack Rudy’s Classic Tonic Syrup, which has a stronger flavor than standard tonics (and is sometimes diluted with a soda top-off to add carbonation, resulting in a more typical tonic flavor and feel). And rather than mixing the ingredients, I layered them:

The resulting gin and tonic shone like a sunset in a glass – the tonic sinking to the bottom, and turning some of the gin pink on its way down, while leaving a layer of twilight purple-blue at the top. I appreciated the vision for a moment before mixing the ingredients, resulting in a pink concoction with delicious botanical and herbal flavors that tasted like the spring that was just around the corner in early March.

Reflecting on these closing acts of the pandemic makes me smile about the future. We’re not there yet, but soon we’ll be partying like penguins again, and I’ll be there when we are to serve you a “Sunrise” cocktail of some sort. Until then, keep sipping and hang in there.

And wear a mask for God’s sake.

Here’s the recipe:

Print Pin

Sunset Gin and Tonic

Gin and tonic recipe using Six Dogs Blue gin from South Africa and Jack Rudy's Classic Tonic Syrup

Course Drinks

Cuisine Sour

Keyword gin and tonic

Prep Time 2 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 minutes minutes

Servings 1 cocktail

Calories 150kcal

Author Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

• 2 oz. butterfly pea gin I used Six Dogs Blue
• 1 oz. tonic syrup I used Jack Rudy's Classic Tonic Syrup

Instructions

• Fill a rocks glass with ice
• Pour in the gin
• Carefully layer the tonic syrup over, pouring over a spoon back if necessary, to create a layered effect
• If a consistent taste is desired, stir the ingredients to combine them

Enjoy!