The Roots of Ice and a Slice

Every business starts with that spark of inspiration, and for us it was a wonderful Ginsperience in Tenerife that put our idea in motion. We had been staying at Anthelia Hotel and thought it best to escape the hotel pool and hit the beach with the kids. After building up an appetite playing in the sea we retreated to a superb sea front fish restaurant. Needing something to take the taste of sand away, we asked if we could have a gin and tonic and we were presented with a comprehensive menu of gins and tonics - more than the usual pub fare that we had grown up with. Settling on our choice, we waited for our drinks to arrive, but instead the gin waiter arrived with his gin barrow 8 gins and 4 tonics! - we were given a masterclass of how to make the perfect gin and tonic.

The balloon glass had ice cubes added and swilled around to chill (given the warm climate the glass was hot), the water was then strained away. Each gin came with it’s own serve - peels of different fruit and then botanicals, these were carefully placed in the glass with tweezers and in the case of the cinnamon stick, warmed with a lighter before tonic was dropped down a bar spoon.

Needless to say, the end result was the perfect gin and tonic (and to be sure we had a second one) and whenever the sun peaks out from the clouds, our minds travel to that bar and catch the eye of the gin waiter.

When we got home (armed with a few bottles of duty free), we had our friends around to bore them with holiday photos and share our new way of serving gin. Needless to say, it was a huge success and we thought it our mission to bring this experience to you. If you have not tried a craft gin with a speciality tonic, served in a balloon glass with a warmed cinnamon stick then I promise you, are missing out.