This past weekend the world celebrated International Gin & Tonic Day. Well, those of us in the world who actually knew it was International G&T Day celebrated; those of us who were unaware woke up filled with regret on Monday morning for having missed the occasion. I am here to remedy that situation! Since I had other posts already planned out for the first three days of the week, this is my first opportunity to share a Gin & Tonic to commemorate the day. If I, as a cocktail blogger, can be late to the party, then so can my readers. Let’s just call today a make-up day.

The weather in Philadelphia has been absolutely beautiful and it seems as though spring has finally arrived, even though we were wearing winter coats just last Friday. This made me want my Gin & Tonic to have a bright and sunny feel. Whenever you make (or order) a Gin & Tonic your first move is choosing your gin. What do you feel like? Do you want something mild and traditional, or something that has a bit more of a backbone to it? Do you want something citrusy, or do you want something more botanical? I asked myself these questions and decided that for today’s drink I wanted to use Plymouth gin as my base. I’ve mentioned Plymouth many times before as being the perfect spirit for people to try in a drink if they think they gin is really not their thing. It’s mild, low in alcohol, and has just enough flavor to make its presence known, without being too overwhelming. Something made me also want to add Chartreuse (I think this is where the trouble started), and I reached for the yellow label rather than the green, even though I tend to like that better with darker spirits. Then I added in some lemon juice, some pineapple gum syrup from Liber & Co., and just a dash of Black Cloud Saffron Mango bitters to pull out the saffron flavor that’s in the yellow Chartreuse. Oh, and I muddled a few basil leaves and a pineapple chunk first. Alright I know what you’re saying… what kind of a Gin & Tonic is this?? Yes, yes, I may have gotten a bit carried away. Blame it on the weather or on those beautiful tulips. Or on my happy state of mind. This cocktail turned out to be a bit more like a sour or a even a mojito variation, but I did top it off with Fever Tree’s Mediterranean tonic water which is quite wonderful with the basil and lemon. So this is the overachiever’s Gin & Tonic. Or it’s the I-feel-bad-I missed-the-holiday Gin & Tonic. Or it’s not really a Gin & Tonic at all and that’s why I called it Gin & Tulips. You decide. In any event, it’s like drinking sunshine in a glass and I’m so very excited to share it with you. Happy Spring!!

Gin and Tulips

2 oz Plymouth gin
¼ oz Yellow Chartreuse
½ oz Liber & Co. Pineapple Gum syrup
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
1 dash Black Cloud Saffron Mango bitters
3 oz Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic
2 basil leaves
1 pineapple wedge

Muddle the basil and pineapple with the gum syrup in the bottom half of a cocktail shaker. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the tonic water). Add ice and shake for 20 seconds or until very cold. Double strain into a Collins glass filled with ice and top with the tonic. Garnish with a pineapple and basil sprig. Enjoy!