From natural, minimal-intervention wines to low-alcohol and booze-free spirits, the way we drink in Australia is constantly changing. Another trend? More spirit-and-mixer concoctions are being served at venues than both cocktails and neat spirits combined.
This means more thought than ever is going into simple, classic drinks like the gin and tonic. And Fever-Tree isn’t just riding this wave – it’s steering it, too.
The drinks and mixer brand has partnered with several venues in Melbourne and Sydney to change the way we drink G&Ts. Called the Perfect Serve, the program sees special G&T drinks served with a 200-mil bottle of Fever-Tree tonic, so you can adjust the strength and flavour to your liking,
One of its partner venues is South Yarra’s Beverly. Twenty-four floors high, with a sweeping Melbourne panorama, flavour and quality are integral to the sky-high bar and eatery.
“The fun thing about Beverly is that you get a really nice, well-rounded experience,” head bartender Thomas Howard tells Broadsheet. “A lot of people want the spicy Margs and the lychee Martinis, and that’s fine, but alongside that we get people who want a Scotch on the rocks, they want a nice reposado tequila, they want a classic Prohibition-style cocktail.”
Catering to both kinds of Beverly drinkers – the easygoing and the more particular – means even classics like a G&T demand extra attention. Here, that means you can order a Perfect Serve G&T – with Sipsmith London Dry Gin, Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic and a singed rosemary garnish – and get a small bottle of extra tonic on the side.
Howard keeps a few key things in mind when selecting the drink’s three basic elements: gin, tonic and garnish. Here’s how he crafts his perfect G&T.
The gin
“With a gin and tonic, you don’t want too much going on in terms of botanicals,” Howard says. “You want juniper, floral notes, some citrus – something bright, because a gin and tonic is meant to be refreshing.”
As an expat Londoner, Howard feels a certain obligation to his homeland, and that’s reflected in his choice of gin. “I feel like a traitor if I use Four Pillars,” he says. Instead, for a G&T he goes for Sipsmith London Dry Gin, and his reasons are more than just parochial. “The botanicals they work with are incredible … it has all those bright, citrusy notes.”
The tonic
“Tonic is always going to be three-quarters of the drink, so it’s an important aspect,” Howard says. You don’t want to default to the same tonic every time, but think about which one pairs best with your chosen spirit. “It’s about having subtle hints that match with the gin and aren’t too overpowering. You want to actually taste and enjoy the gin, and [the right tonic] has a lengthening aspect – that refreshing crispness.”
For his ideal G&T, Howard matches the London dry with Fever-Tree Mediterranean. “It’s their slightly softer tonic – it has slightly less quinine, so it’s not as bitter as people sometimes find tonic to be.” It’s called “Mediterranean”, he says, because the lemon thyme, rosemary and botanicals are inspired by the Mediterranean.
The garnish
Although it doesn’t get a mention in the title, a well-chosen garnish can separate a good gin and tonic from a great one. “A garnish should always be used to highlight the notes that are coming through both the gin and the tonic,” Howard says. He suggests matching a grapefruit garnish with a citrus-heavy gin like Tanqueray No. Ten, while Hendrick’s G&Ts are nearly always garnished with a slice of cucumber – a botanical used in the gin. More often than not, garnishes are chosen to complement the tonic as much as the gin.
For his perfect serve, Howard lights up some rosemary. “Rosemary is an element that’s very much felt through both the Sipsmith and Fever-Tree Mediterranean, so I like to have a singed rosemary sprig,” he says. “The smoke comes off the rosemary, you get that scent through the nose and you’re almost getting the flavours of the drink before you’ve even taken your first sip.”
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Fever-Tree. The Perfect Serve is available at Beverly, Jackalope and Caffe e Cucina in Victoria; Martinez and Henry G’s in Sydney; and The Farmer’s Wife in Allworth, NSW. Order a drink from the Fever-Tree Perfect Serve menu and it will come with a bottle of Fever-Tree tonic so you can create your perfect ratio.