Insanely Good Gin & Tonic

Tried this tonight, but with Tanqueray subbed for the Brooklyn Gin (I thought it'd be similarly minimalist). It's fine. The Suze dominates, especially on the finish. I don't think the bitters are necessary, and I'd like more lime. Thanks,  Zachary

Remarkably good. I used 2oz gin, 1/2 oz lime juice, and Fever Tree.

If you're making this without making Chaim's lime cordial (recipe at the link), I would steep some lime peels in the gin/Suze combo until fragrant and then strain before adding ice and tonic. 

This drink was rather (one might say "insanely") popular when I was at The Up & Up. While the gentian flavor from Suze isn't what I personally go to G&Ts for (side note: can we get a quinquina answer to Suze/Campari on the market?), this is a thoughtful, balanced drink with nerd interest but broad appeal. 

Rafa - I thought about the cordial but it doesn't seem there's a good way to scale that down considering the time investment. Perhaps lime juice for the cordial isn't a good substitute? Thanks,  Zachary

Could falernum (and juice) play some role in a quick and dirty sub for the cordial (and perhaps the bitters)?

Craig - too much almond there. Almond + Suze sounds like a wrong path. Suze is just such a difficult thing to use. Rafa - as for a Quina sub for Suze... my first thought would be to make a tincture of lime and vanilla and dilute it with flat tonic water and a touch of OFW to 30 proof. Thanks,  Zachary 

Quick and dirty, I would just fast-infuse some lime peel à la Toby Cecchini: https://punchdrink.com/recipes/toby-cecchinis-gin-and-tonic/

The aromatics of the Pisco (while I was there we used white Armagnac) are subtle/negligible in this drink, and the bump of extra sugar isn't very KC-friendly.

Thanks,

R

I tried this using a lime cordial I make for gimlets (a sous vide prep of equal parts lime juice and cane sugar, with the lime peels being removed prior to juicing and being added in).  I already got too much cocktail crap in the fridge so I wasn't looking to make another cordial just for this drink.  The Brooklyn Gin is a typical New Western style gin (i.e lower proof--80 in this case--and citrus heavy with the juniper pushed to the background).  I tend not to like gins in that style with G&Ts, and given there was already more citrus in my build using my cordial, I used Ford's.  I liked the addition of Suze. Not sure I would serve this to my dad when he's looking for a G&T, but it's an interesting enough twist for the cocktail nerd crowd.

Also, there is--or was--a cinchona bark liqueur available (though with limited availability), Vicario Quina Liqueur.  Not easy to find (got mine somewhere in Brooklyn a few years ago) but it was a really nice product.

I'm drinking one of these with the julienned lime from the above note + 1 tsp sugar to get in the cordial ballpark. It's much better than my first attempt - the massive whomp of lime oil tames the Suze bitterness nicely. Thanks,  Zachary 

Done with Morgenthaler cordial recipe and botanivore gin.  Probably will go to tanq next time as more juniper will stand up a little better but still a great drink.