Though none of y’all will really care about this bit of administrivia, this is my first post from my new high powered personal laptop, and man…I love me a new computer.? The fact that I also dragged myself away from WAR is an accomplishment, too…

I really probably wouldn’t have thought of this as a big gin week except for two major things – one related to a certain gin cocktail, the other a gin itself.

First off, I was at Marshall’s and decided to have a negroni.? Now, ever since I did my miracle fruit tasting of Campari I’ve been in love with it.? A Hendricks negroni in NYC was quite wonderful, but we went more traditional at Marshall’s – just Plymouth, I believe.? The trick was the additional ingredient.

You see, Marshall had gotten himself a bottle of the new Fee’s Rhubarb Bitters and added that to the negroni.? WOWZERS.? That added a whole new dimension to it which I loved.? I’d planned on getting some from Kegworks but our friendly local liquor store said that he’d be getting some in soon so I decided to wait.? He’ll also be getting in some of their new cherry bitters.

The other big thing that happened this weekend was a new kind of gin.? One I should’ve been expecting but had forgotten about it.? Something that made me very, very excited.

See how excited I was?? Hayman’s Old Tom Gin!? HUZZAH!

The first thing I made with it was what Jay Hepburn over at Oh Gosh! recommended, which was Jamie Boudreau’s recipe for a Martinez.? That is:

Martinez
1 1/2 ounces Hayman’s Old Tom Gin
1 1/2 ounces Carpano Antica
2 bar spoons Luxardo maraschino liqueur
2 dashes Fee’s West Orange bitters
Stir with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.? Garnish with a twist of orange, if you have it, I didn’t, so whatever.

Wow.? What a great drink.? I made the second one with the Bitter Truth orange bitters and honestly, I think it made it better – I bet the orange Angostura bitters would work also.

The second drink I made with it was a Ramos Gin Fizz.? I used the recipe out of Gary Regan’s _The Joy of Mixology_.

Ramos Gin Fizz
2 ounces Hayman’s Old Tom Gin
1 ounce heavy creme
1 raw egg white
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/4 ounce orange flower water
club soda
2 half wheels of orange, for garnish
Combine everything but the club soda and garnish into a shaker with ice.? Shake for a long time.? Until your hands hurt and arms get tired.? Keep shaking.? Don’t be a wimp.? When you finally do wimp out, and you better have gone for at MINIMUM 60-90 seconds HARD, strain into two champagne glasses if you’re the kind of person who does that kind of thing, or just strain it into one white wine glass if you’re me.? Top with club soda (I used Stirrings) and garnish (I did not).

Wow.? That drink hit the SPOT on a Sunday afternoon!? It was fan-freakin’-tastic.? I can’t get over that, even if I did have to walk outside to shake it so I wouldn’t wake up the future sister-in-law from her nap.? One recommendation I’d make: maybe go a bit less than 1/4 ounce of the orange flower water.? That’s very potent stuff.? You might also want to measure out the creme last; it can coat the measuring cup and make it hard to see for other ingredients until you thoroughly wash it.

The final gin drink was actually a bit later.? I was walking over to a friend’s house to watch the ‘Skins-Cowboys game and wanted a drink for the walk.? I made a double (almost) Negroni, using Zuidam genever gin, added in a couple dashes of orange Angostura, and topped it with the club soda I had leftover from the Ramos Gin Fizz.? Ahhhh – a tasty travel drink that set up as a nice apertif for the dinner later.

If you have the chance, I highly, strongly, almost blasphemously recommend that you go find yourself some Old Tom Gin.? The Hayman’s that I have is fantastic, and now I want to get more kinds and try them out, too.