La Gintonería : Now Open

The gintonic craze here in San Sebastián has reached new heights. Enter La Gintonería, a new bar in Gros that, as its name suggests, devotes itself to the preparation of everyone's favorite refreshing cocktail, the gintonic.

Selection: 61 gins, as well as extensive collections of other liqueur, such as all three Balvenie whiskies.

Default tonic: Schweppes premium line.

Location: Gros. The corner of Dunas Kalea y Zabaleta.

Vibe: Definitely a summery place. This small place feels twice as large thanks to its tall ceilings, and feels four times as large when the doors are open. There's a TV over the doors (new tennis viewing spot?) that was tuned to soccer.

Sample clientele: Four of the hipsters behind San Sebastián's coolest furniture studio, three 60-something men finishing their neighborhood route, three nondescript 30-something guys, and a father, mother and daughter.

Price: Our gintonics were 9 euros apiece, but they were made with premium gins.

We tried two new (to me) gins that came at the recommendation of the owner, after I told him my favorite gins: Magellan and Caorunn.  Magellan is a French gin that has iris flower root, he explained, and Caorunn is Scottish(!). Before serving, the owner/bartender dropped a few dots of grapefruit bitters (in both glasses) and allowed us to smell. Then the drinks were garnished with three (!) lime peels and one lemon. Pretty, but a bit too much citrus when I really wanted to taste the different gins. I need to go back to see if the garnishes differ for different gins. They were accompanied with gummies and potato chips, which is always a welcome touch for a neighborhood bar.

Because, did I mention, this place is right below my house. Uh-oh.

How The Spanish Gin Tonic Won Me Over

Cultural hubris is such a dangerous thing.

Exhibit A: for nearly a year, it prevented me from enjoying what is one of life's greatest pleasures: the Spanish gin and tonic. Aka the gintonic (pronounced yeenTOEneek).

You see, my problem was that I failed to recognize that this cocktail is not synonymous with our gin and tonic. Yes, the ingredients are the same. But it is a cousin at best....how else do you explain the totally different drinking experience? 

Start with THE TIME.  I'll never forget, early in my Spanish sojourn, calling a Basque friend of mine at the 5 o'clock hour. With a gin and tonic in hand. "Qué haces?" he says. "Drinking a gin and tonic," I say. "A estas horas? Estás loca?" He couldn't believe it. Because a gintonic is for after a meal, after dessert, after coffee, to end it all, be it a long, luxurious lunch or a weeknight dinner out.

Then, THE GLASS. Spaniards always use either a big, bulbous glass similar to one of those obnoxious wine glasses, or a cider glass. I used to prefer the latter, just to keep a low profile. Now I feel natural with one of these wacky glasses in hand.

Then, the GIN. This should be obvious, and of all the things that separate a gintonic from a gin and tonic, this is the least different. In the states there is a good selection of gin, just as in Spain. But....I would wager that of bars of the same level, Spanish ones have a wider selection of gins.

Next, the GARNISH. Another sore point for me, as many bars use lemon instead of lime in Spain, which I find apalling. However, the citrus they do use they use it well. Instead of a slice, which practically demands that you squeeze it into the drink, you get a piece of the skin. No pulp, just skin. And, should you be in a bar that is of a slightly higher level, you could potentially get juniper berries as an additional garnish. One more level up, you might be getting different garnishes for different gins: cucumber for Hendrick's, strawberries for Brockman's.

Then, the all important METHOD OF PREPARATION. In the US: ice, gin, tonic from a spout straight in the glass, lime slice on cup. IN SPAIN, when it's done right, the gintonic goes a little something like this: Pour gin in glass. Add garnish, take your sweet time to give said garnish time to mix a bit with the gin. If the garnish is an herb, give it a slap or two to get the oils flowing. Add huge ice cubes to glass. Pour tonic in, slowly, using something such as a long handled spoon to break the bubbles.

Finally THE TONIC. A point that is still iffy on both terrains. In the US, you are likely to get tonic from a spout. That tonic will be Schweppes, if you're lucky, and made with corn syrup. In Spain, you will probably get Schweppes, made with real sugar, from a bottle, since there is a glass trading program that gives them money back every time they recycle a glass. The difference in taste is impressive. Fever Tree is the second most common tonic, which makes me very happy. It's the darling of Imbibers Who Care worldwide, from Boucherie in New Orleans to Vinateria en Donostia. Only slightly sweet, citrusy, never overpowering. Just wonderful. Drink in gallons. Also love Stirrings. See 'How to Mess Up a Gin & Tonic'.

After two years, my professional opinion has evolved to be: gin and tonic: YUCK. gintonic: mmmmm.

how to mess up a gin + tonic : rare tonic tasting

There is no drink I'm more passionate about than the gin + tonic. 

It's a simple enough drink, but I always have to supress laughter when someone says, "How can you mess it up?" Oh, person, let me count the ways. Starting with the most common.

1. You can put lemon in it. No, no, no! Okay, so there are plenty of feuding camps on this, but to my tastes, a lime is almost always the best choice. A broad swath of lime skin, with just a bit of innards to get a few drops of juice in your drink, is the way to go. Why not lemon? With the gins I tend to drink, lime tastes better. Sorry if you gin + tonic inventors didn't have limes back then, but there's no sense in turning your back on innovation.

2. You can use too much tonic. Hint: if you ever use an entire bottle of tonic, your have either used too much or you are drinking a Big Gulp size g+t. My preferred g:t ratio is 2:3. And err on the side of 1:1 if necessary.

3. You use boring gin. A blah gin makes a blah drink when there are only three ingredients. I like Hendrick's the best. Another great gin is G'Vine, from France and widely available here in San Sebastián. 

4. You do things in the wrong order. Okay, disclaimer time. I'm NOT a certified mixologist. But my preferred order of doing things is: ice cubes (3-4), gin, lime, tonic, shake lightly, drink. My very unscientific research has taught me that this cools more efficiently and the need to stir is reduced because the tonic fizzes like crazy upon pouring.

5. You use yucky tonic. Here's the kicker. Because good tonics are NOT widely available. Schweppe's is not good tonic. It's okay tonic, and you'll be able to tell the difference when you try a great one.

Which brings me to my point... a tasting of the world's rarest tonics. I was able to round these up here, to my surprise. Also to my surprise, the final verdict was, well, the same as the one I started out with.

boylan's tonic:: with gin? NO. by itself? maybe. sweetened, too much, with cane syrup. fuhgedaboutit.

abbondi::with gin? NO. by itself? even less so. as sweet, if not sweeter than Sprite, this Italian tonic is not for gin. not really sure what it's for.

fentimann's:: another NO for a g+t, but a fairly hearty yes for general refreshment purposes. This English tonic was spicier than its brethren, making for a pleasant (solo) sip. 

Q tonic:: feel sort of sorry for this guy. OVERRATED. This was the most expensive of the bunch, around 4 euros for ONE bottle. Price aside, it was not horrible, but for my tastes it is too sweet. perhaps it is the agave nectar that gives this one a different edge. props for the artisan tonic...but... 

1724:: a 'concept' tonic, promoted for its unique connection to the mountains of South America where quinine originated, this one's not bad. passable.

6 o'clock::this was my favorite of the tonics that were new to me, although one tonic did beat it out in this particular tasting. it was not too sweet, which i really like. the carbonation was perfect. a good tonic.

fever-tree::ah, Fever-tree. The darling of Imbibers Who Care worldwide, from Boucherie in New Orleans to Vinateria en Donostia. Only slightly sweet, citrusy, never overpowering. Just wonderful. Drink in gallons. 

This taste test, of course, does not include my personal favorite tonic-of-all-time, stirring's, since it's too rare for even me to get my hands on here. I used to have to buy it off a bartender at Bottega. Sea salt, champagne bubbles, yum. 

Until my return, I'm sticking with Fevertree en casa, continuing to order gin and tonics with half the bottle when out, and doing my best to ignore bartender glares.