Holland GINvented Gin

Holland GINvented Gin, so hh♡ can thank her ancestors for being the first to make this spirit, (Happy Heidi’s heritage are Dutchy’s - the Weitjens Family).  Heidi Weitjens is the first to make a King Island Gin in the first distillery on King Island.  The key local ingredients are Native beach botanicals, picked fresh and distilled by this Native founder (Heidi was made on King Island), therefore it was natural to name King Island’s first ever distilled spirit, ‘Native Gin’.

We like to have fun tasting different tonics with our gin, so to celebrate Gin and Tonic Day, here are a few favourites, all of which are made in Victoria, Australia, see photos by Heidi Weitjens, shown below.

Gin and Tonic Day is celebrated in America every year on the 9th of April, to appreciate this vintage drink and it tastes great!

Gin has had a rollercoaster ride by falling in and out of fashion throughout the ages. In the 17th century Gin was popularised by the English, ever since the British Troops were introduced to the spirit as 'Dutch Courage'. 

 

 

 

 

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Why GIN and Tonic day is GINtastic
      What other cocktail has the  ingredients listed in its name? G&T is arguably the easiest drink to make; all we need is 30ml Native gin, pop in a big ice block (made from the purest water you have) and add 45ml of tonic water and smile because we know it’s going to taste great. Look your friends in the eyes, ‘cheers’, sip and enjoy. 

      Posting a selfie with this refreshing drink is a good idea, if you forgot to take a happy snap on the first round how about the next?  Thanks to the drink’s GINcredible and irresistible taste, we know that there’s no such thing as just one G&T. We do encourage everyone to drink responsibly and not to drink and drive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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It’s easy to make - Let the good times beGIN

A standard G&T drink is usually made up of just two ingredients, Native gin and tonic. We can make it how we like it, there are no set rules really.

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How much Native Gin to tonic 

The old school saying is don't drown it dear, a one-to-two ratio is fine; one nip Native Gin to two nips of tonic. Try Heidi's Native Gin neat and then gradually add tonic water and keep tasting until you've found your favourite ratio. Swapping the brand of tonic (we choose Australian made) also completely mixes up the taste of a G & T. 

How to keep Native Gin and tonic fizzy? 

A lot of ice cubes keep the temperature of the drink lower, which means that the carbon dioxide in the tonic finds it harder to escape, keeping the drink fizzy for a long time.

G & T GINspirational ideas

We can also add different flavours to get creative and make a noticeable change to a standard G&T. Have fun getting creative and mixing up the taste of a G&T to find what works best for you and your friends enjoying a spirits tasting with Native Gin. Try things like seven drops of freshly squeezed lime juice (citrus is best added in drops not wedges dropped into the gin), or a thin slice of cucumber, even using a fresh sprig of Rosemary as a swizzle stick, simply stir the ingredients twice and remove, will all make a difference.  

The beGINning of GIn and Tonic

1840 The G&T is Born - Tonic water is created after British citizens and army personnel in India mix quinine with soda, sugar, and lime.

1857 The Great Indian Mutiny - The British Crown obtains control of India after the Sepoy Mutiny, which leads to an influx of Britons and G&Ts in the subcontinent.

1870 Schweppes in the House - Schweppes introduces its “Indian Quinine Tonic” later known as “Indian tonic water.”

2010’s Ginnaisance - After falling out of fashion for a while, gin and G&Ts make a comeback called the “ginnaisance”, (the renaissance / revival of Gin).

What makes gin and tonic special is that it’s surprisingly easy to prepare yet tastes amazing. The ingredients are in the name; it doesn’t get any simpler than this, does it?

Its origin is even more interesting. Gin and tonic was invented by the officers of the Presidency Armies, the Armed Forces of the East India Company operating in the Indian subcontinent. Malaria was a frequent problem for Europeans living in India and other tropical regions during this time. In the 1700s, Scottish physician George Cleghorn researched the use of quinine in the prevention of malaria. Quinine was consumed along with tonic water, but had a bitter taste.

In the early 19th century, the officers of the Presidency armies in India began adding a mixture of water, sugar, lime and good old gin to quinine to make the drink easier to go down. That’s how the famous gin and tonic cocktail was born! It was easy to make this drink as the officers were already given gin as part of their ration. Since tonic water is not used as an antimalarial medicine these days, it has lower quantities of quinine and is usually sweet and not at all bitter as it used to be.

Winston Churchill said, “Gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen’s lives, and minds, than all the doctors in the Empire.” Now, that’s some noteworthy praise. Soon, Schweppes arrived, the famous tonic water in 1783, which was aimed at the growing market of overseas Britons who had to take a daily preventative dose of quinine. Schweppes and other commercial tonics boomed in the colonies, and eventually in Britain as well. So, it appears we have malaria and the British Army in India to thank for this sweet and delicious concoction called G&T.

World Gin day is in June, please stock up on Native Gin in time to join us in this world celebration of this GINtastic spirit.  

Order online and shop for Native Gin on this website, or call Happy Heidi on 0488 CHEERS | 0488 243377

Thank you

♡ hh♡ King Island Distillery

Founder | distiller | chief bottle-washer :-)

 

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Some of the info source: National Today