Drinks and Sips · Card DR11
Gin and Tonic with Dried Fruit
A tall, fizzy balloon glass of gin and tonic crowded with ice and garnished with a skewer of home-dried orange and lemon wheels that slowly release their bittersweet oils. Juniper berries in the glass push the gin's piney side forward. Dry the fruit on a slow afternoon and you have garnish for weeks.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 2 hr 30 min
- Total
- 2 hr 45 min
- Serves
- 1
- Level
- Easy
- Cuisine
- Spanish
Method
Step 1: Heat the oven to 200F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Slice the orange and lemon into rounds 1/8 inch thick, flicking out any seeds.
Step 2: Blot the slices with paper towels, lay them flat on the sheet and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, flipping once halfway, until dry to the touch and translucent like stained glass.
Step 3: Cool the wheels completely on a rack; they crisp as they cool. Store extras in an airtight jar for up to a month.
Step 4: Fill a balloon glass to the top with ice, stir with a bar spoon for 15 seconds to chill the glass, then pour off any meltwater.
Step 5: Add the juniper berries and pour in the gin, then slowly pour the tonic down the bar spoon so it keeps as many bubbles as possible.
Step 6: Thread 2 or 3 dried wheels onto the skewer, lay it across the glass with the fruit dipping into the drink, and give one gentle lift with the spoon to mix.
Kitchen note
Pouring tonic down a spoon handle instead of splashing it onto ice keeps carbon dioxide dissolved, because every rough surface the tonic hits gives bubbles a place to form and escape.
Easy swap
For an alcohol-free glass, steep 4 crushed juniper berries and a strip of lemon peel in 2 oz hot water for 10 minutes, chill it, and use it in place of the gin.
Filed nearby
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