Episode 257
Gin Tonica with David T. Smith
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What’s shakin’ cocktail fans? Welcome to episode 257 of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast!
This time around, we’re joined by spirits judge, consultant, and author David T. Smith, author of such books as The Gin Dictionary, Negroni, and, for the purposes of this interview, Gin Tonica, an exploration and recipe guide focused on the recent phenomenon of the “Spanish-style” Gin & Tonic.
In this lively chat with David, some of the topics we discuss include:
- A history of the Gin & Tonic cocktail, which turns out to be a bit more punk and DIY than it’s often played up to be, as well as a bit more recent than we like to romanticize.
- The ways in which cultural differences in the US and the UK, like the widespread adoption of ice and the proximity to fresh citrus, worked to generate strikingly different conceptions of what we imagine as a “classic” gin & tonic.
- Then, of course, we explore how a few chefs in the Basque region of Spain took this drink into the kitchen in the last 20 years and completely transformed the way the cocktail can look, feel, and taste.
- We also take a moment to zoom out – as we gin nerds like to do – and examine some of the current trends in the gin world, both here in the US, and elsewhere in the world, such as the strategic deployment of local botanicals and the targeted deployment of distillate base AS a botanical.
- Along the way, we answer pressing questions like: why does David know what blood plasma tastes like?, is that a lego piece in your mixing glass?, did you just let Chat GPT write your tasting notes for you?, and much, much more.
Be sure to check out our two previous interviews with David, Episode 60 – The Gin Dictionary, and Episode 181 – Negroni with David T. Smith and Keli Rivers. And for even more fun, tune into our panel discussion with David, Keli, and others, Episode 137 – RTD Revolution.
David and Keli will also be releasing a new cocktail book on The Martini this coming May, so be sure to pre-order your copy!
