A Short Path Gin and Tonic, Six Ways

Photo Credit: Short Path Distillery
By Eric Twardzik · 05/22/2020

Days, weeks, and even months can sometimes blur together in the age of COVID-19. So it seems appropriate that Short Path Distillery, which normally sells two year-round gins and four seasonal selections, has decided to make all of those varieties available* simultaneously via curbside pick-up at its Everett facility.

“When we closed the tasting room and switched to just bottle sales, we took our seasonals out of the vaults,” says Short Path Distillery director of sales Jessica Solomon. “Since we don’t know when the cocktail bar comes back, we figure we might as well get them into the hands of as many people as possible.”

And in case you’d like to recreate the Short Path tasting room experience at home this Memorial Day weekend—and beyond—we’ve asked Solomon how each of these gins can be used to create a distinctly different Gin and Tonic.

“Gin and Tonics are really easy, and you can jazz them up by just adding fresh herbs, a different citrus, or a different tonic,” she says.

*The distillery has sold out of the Spring Gin, but the spirit is still available in retail stores.

Flagship Gin and Tonic

Muddled mint is used to make the Flagship Gin and Tonic, as Solomon believes it pairs nicely with the spirit’s lavender, lemongrass, and eucalyptus botanicals. For an extra bit of refreshment, she likes to add a squeeze of lime.

“If you just [add] mint and lime to our Flagship Gin and Tonic, it’s very bright and incredibly refreshing,” she says.

Flagship Gin and Tonic
4-6 ounces Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water
2 ounces Short Path Gin
6 mint leaves
Lime wedge

Lightly muddle mint at the bottom of a Collins glass. Add ice, gin, tonic, and a single squeeze of lime.

London Dry Gin and Tonic

Herbaceous basil proves a natural match for the juniper-forward London Dry. Because of basil’s intensity, you can place it at the bottom of the glass instead of muddling it. Fever-Tree Citrus Tonic Water is used to balance the herb’s savory quality.

“If you’re feeling extra savory you can throw some dill in there,” Solomon says. “You’re going to have a drink that tastes like it was picked fresh out of your garden.”

London Dry Gin and Tonic
4-6 ounces Fever-Tree Citrus Tonic Water
2 ounces Short Path London Dry Gin
1 basil leaf
1 dill sprig (optional)

Add basil (and dill, if desired) to the bottom of a Collins glass. Add ice, gin, and tonic.

Spring Gin & Tonic

Short Path’s Spring Gin, made with lemongrass, lemon balm, and lemon peel, has a citrusy character that pairs well with thyme. It also contains elderflower, which Solomon maximizes by opting for Fever-Tree Elderflower Tonic Water.

“We try to sync up those complimentary flavors and enhance them,” she says.

Spring Gin and Tonic
4-6 ounces Fever-Tree Elderflower Tonic Water
2 ounces Short Path Spring Gin
3-4 sprigs thyme

Lightly muddle two thyme sprigs at the bottom of a Collins glass. Add ice, gin, and tonic.

Summer Gin and Tonic

Short Path’s summer gin may be blueberry-infused—but don’t mistake it for a saccharine flavored spirit.

“The gin rests on wild Maine blueberries for two weeks, so the skin contact from the blueberries creates that really nice purple color, as well as some of that more earthy blueberry flavor,” Solomon says.

To complement those earthy notes, she gives sage and tarragon a quick muddle in the glass before adding the gin and tonic.

Summer Gin and Tonic
4-6 ounces Fever-Tree Tonic Water
2 ounces Short Path Summer Gin
2 sage sprigs
2 tarragon sprigs
 
Lightly muddle sage and tarragon at the bottom of a Collins glass. Add ice, gin, and tonic.

Autumn Gin and Tonic

The botanicals used to create Short Path’s Autumn Gin include orange peel, lemon peel, star anise, and cinnamon, giving it powerful baking spice flavors. Rather than introducing a new flavor into the mix, Solomon keeps this season’s Gin and Tonic simple, garnishing it with a cinnamon stick and star anise to accentuate its existing profile.

Autumn Gin and Tonic
4-6 ounces Fever-Tree Aromatic Tonic
2 ounces Short Path Autumn Gin
Cinnamon stick, for garnish
Star anise, for garnish

Add gin and tonic to a Collins glass filled with ice. Garnish with cinnamon stick and star anise.

Winter Gin and Tonic

“Winter Gin is the most savory of our gins,” says Solomon. “It has a ton of rosemary in it, so we try to play off of that [by] adding a rosemary syrup.”

To further complement the botanical, the drink is garnished with a rosemary sprig and a lemon wheel.

Winter Gin and Tonic
4-6 ounces Fever Tree Tonic
2 ounces Short Path Winter Gin
½ ounce rosemary syrup*
Rosemary sprig, for garnish
Lemon wheel, for garnish

Lightly muddle two thyme sprigs at the bottom of a Collins glass. Add ice, gin, syrup, and tonic, and garnish with rosemary sprig and lemon wheel.

*Rosemary syrup (yields about 1½ cups)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 rosemary sprig

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan, then steep rosemary for 5 minutes. Remove rosemary, add sugar, and stir until dissolved. Keeps about 2 weeks, refrigerated.

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