Specifically, their crash course on gin tasting
When it comes to alcohol, I prefer a non-cocktail—wine or beer please!—or if gin and whisky are the night’s poison, then a little tonic water helps. I like knowing how much alcohol I consume and cocktails, aside from being tagged as girly drinks, which they are not, are often high in sugar. Sugary drinks also contribute to terrible hangovers, so no thank you.
But when DrinkManila invited us out for a crash course on gin tasting featuring Booze Online’s Hanami Gin, Empress 1908 Gin and Langley's Old Tom Gin, I reconsidered.
The second leg of DrinkManila’s Women and Tipple series, a set of tasting events that spark conversations among women about what women actually like to drink, kicked off with a quick history lesson and taste profile of the night’s featured bottles.
Hanami Gin 43% ABV | Empress 1908 42.5% ABV | Langley’s Old Tom Gin 47% ABV |
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But the highlight was perhaps DrinkManila’s resident mixologist Icy Mariñas showing us how to use the gin to make fun cocktails made for and inspired by women:
Purple Unicorn featuring Empress 1908 Gin
What: Think gin and tonic topped with cotton candy
Taste: Surprisingly not as sweet as it sounds
Serve: At your next summer party
Ingredients
45 ml Empress 1908 Gin
Top with Fever Tree Tonic Water (Indian)
Fresh lemon (wheel)
Tarragon
Grapefruit peel (express before putting cotton candy)
Grapefruit bitters
Cotton candy
Directions
Pour Empress 1908 Gin in goblet
Add herbal ice cubes, tarragon and lemon
Top with tonic water
Express oil from grapefruit peel
Spray grapefruit bitters
Make sure to serve in a goblet and to make pretty with rose tea and blue pea ice cubes.
Lady Macbeth featuring Langley’s Old Tom Gin
What: Not too sure, but she’s pretty complex
Taste: A savory drink
Serve: When you want to impress at a dinner
Ingredients
45 ml Langley’s Old Tom Gin
2-inch lemongrass
Ginger 2-inch pieces
20 ml lemon juice
20 ml Monin Agave Syrup
1 dash cardamom bitters
45 ml aquafaba
Orange peel—express oil
Finish with 3 drops orange bitters
Directions
Muddle lemongrass and ginger in a shaker
Add all the ingredients (except the orange bitters)
Dry shake. Add ice and shake again
Strain into glass—express oils of orange peel
Finish with orange bitters
Garnish with lemongrass
Serve in a martini glass.
Furiosa featuring Hanami Gin
What: Like a Bloody Mary but with kimchi
Taste: Sweet, sour and spicy
Serve: When feeling bold or daring, no actual event necessary
Ingredients
45 ml Hanami Gin
25 ml Monin Strawberry Purée
7.5 ml Monin Mango Syrup
30 ml lemon juice
Half a barspoon kimchi powder
Lemon peel
Directions
Pour ingredients in a shaker
Add ice and shake
Strain into glass with crushed ice
Express oils from lemon peel
Garnish with kimchi chip
All three cocktails were true to form and taste, with Furiosa emerging as the crowd (and my personal) favorite. Who knew that gin with kimchi, strawberry purée and mango syrup would taste so good together? Only DrinkManila and it definitely blew everyone's mind.
Art Alexandra Lara
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