Gin Soaked Boy

Historically though,gin was the colourless spirit of choice for cocktails,with vodka gaining prominence only after the 1950s when American actors promoted the spirit. “Juniper infused drinks have been around since the 13th century,but gin itself was a Dutch invention in the 16th century.” Gin was,however,popularised by the British and initially was a poor person’s spirit. It wasn’t till the 1800s when it began to be favoured by the upper classes and was used in cocktails. “Jerry Thomas,the first American bartender to write a book on cocktails,wrote about various gin-based cocktails,including the Martinez,the precursor to the Martini,” Padovani beams. The invention of gin and tonic in British-occupied India was significant as it still remains a popular cocktail,despite the redundancy of consuming tonic water (which contains quinine) to prevent malaria.

So where does gin go from here? Gin should,Padovani says,already be competing against flavoured vodkas. He believes that in the premium segment,it is already re-gaining ground over vodka. “In a way,gin is monotonous as it has always been the same. I have,however,noticed that it has overtaken vodka in terms of bartenders’ interest in top bars in London and New York. The question is,how can this be reflected in general consumption?” For this,Padovani thinks that bartenders have the responsibility to make cocktails that are more open and easy to re-create at home. He is liberal and thinks you should consume gin whichever way it suits you,even on the rocks or in a punch bowl.

Despite hoping for the above,Padovani doesn’t think Indians will switch from vodka to gin in droves. “I don’t see any future in consuming mass quantities of basic gin,” he says,citing the example of Spain which now consumes more gin than Britain. “Instead,I think vodka drinkers who are looking for something different should consume premium distilled gin and we are trying to target that market which has an educated palate.”