G&Ts and California Lemons, a surefire cure for the Summer Time Blues

I just received a box of large California lemons from my brother-in-law’s backyard lemon tree. I use them for my summer Gin & Tonics (G&Ts).

While my wife’s favorite summer drink is the Cape Codder, my summer drink is the traditional G&T. If I don’t get my daily cold and lemony G&T, I slip into a form of summer melancholy, so this shipment of lemons was a god send.

The combination of quinine, lemon, and gin is what gives it a unique satisfying taste. As for the quinine, in addition to staving off summer melancholy, I’m told that quinine was originally used by the Brits to counter malaria. So there you go; we’re talking medicinal healthcare here.

A G&T is simplicity itself. The key is to use quality ingredients. Most restaurants and hotels screw it up by using soda from a gun dispenser (that has no quinine) and/or a cheap oily gin. To add insult to injury they also provide a small miserly lemon or lime slice with the drink. The only hotel I’ve found that consistently serves a quality G&T is the Four Seasons. They always provide a freshly opened single serving chilled bottle of tonic water along with an ample lemon or lime slice; so kudos to the Four Seasons.

For home consumption, here’s the recipe for the perfect G&T-

G&T INGREDIENTS
• approximately 1 shot of a good quality gin like Tanqueray.
• Tonic water (from a fresh single serving bottle that has quinine)- Make sure the bottle is chilled. At room temperature the tonic will melt the ice too quickly and produce a watered down drink.
• Ample lemon wedge (or lime) fully squeezed into the drink. Throw the wedge into the drink if you want a garnish.
• On ice cubes
(Some drink recipes call for approximately 2 ounces of gin, but I find about ¾ of a shot glass to be about right. That way you can enjoy your drinks and not get bombed.)

I have mine in a manly un-adorned Stuart Crystal tumbler. But that’s optional.

It’s become a tradition in my family that Christmas is only officially here when we receive the Christmas Fruit Cake from “Uncle” Robert. Likewise, I’m hoping to start a new tradition- that summer is only officially here when the G&T lemons from Robert arrive.

Thanks Robert!

On Cape Codders, Texas, and a displaced New Englander

A guest blog by the ’lil woman

(For quite some time now my wife has had to adapt her staid New England ways to the dissimilar culture of Texas. In this guest post she writes about her inability to get a decent Cape Codder in Texas, a long time frustration of hers. And for the record, she even orders cranberry juice beverages on airplanes where the slightest hint of turbulence can permanently add the red cranberry stuff to your clothes, much to my discomfort as I’m usually sitting next to her wearing khakis or a white shirt.)

To me, the Cape Codder is the ultimate summer drink. Unfortunately it's unknown in Texas, the ultimate summer state.

The Cape Codder and the Seabreeze are well known in New England, where I grew up, but are virtual unknowns in Lone Star State. For years, I’ve been ordering Cape Codders in my adopted home state, only to get a blank stare from the bartender or a relayed “huh?” from the waiter as a response. At which point I order a vodka/cranberry juice instead, which is a simplified, lesser version of the Cape Codder.

You may be thinking - "a drink named after a New England vacation destination is unknown in Texas – what a surprise!" But the "Long Island Iced Tea" is practically as famous and common as Kool Aid here in Texas, so why not the Cape Codder? The Cape Codder is light, refreshing, and, unlike a Long Island Ice Tea, does not overdo it in the alchohol department. In a state that endures 90+ degree heat six months out of the year, the Cape Codder should be a natural.

Thankfully, The Wall St. Journal has just printed an article which gives the recipe for both drinks, so maybe all that will change now.

Here's the drink recipe as given by Eric Felten in the Wall Street Journal Article:

"1½ oz vodka, 3 to 4 oz cranberry juice, ¼ to ½ oz fresh lime juice, and a splash of soda water. Build on the rocks and garnish with anything from a simple lime wedge to a symphonic garniture of lime shell, mint and 'fruit stick.'"

For a change, try it on your next summer outing.

What regional drinks do you like that are unknown elsewhere?

SP