Sharkbaits Cocktail of the Week: Island Drinks

Happy Friday and welcome back. Another grind of a week has me wiped towards the end here. Not to mention I played my first game of hockey since the end of April due to a combination of injury and travel. So I’m also sore on top of being exhausted this week. Also to top it off, Sharkbait 2.0, who has spent a grand total of 6 days in nursery school is sick, so I’ve got that going for me, which is….nice.

So, once again this post is less cocktail recipe than base spirit review. We were extremely fortunate to have Mom Sharkbait join us on a portion of our trip to Australia. When she left, she stopped over in Fiji for a few days on her way back. Since I’m always in pursuit of random liquors and spirits I can’t find at home, I had her see what she could get while she was there. What she grabbed me was a bottle of Blue Turtle Gin. Now, when I think Pacific Islands, I don’t exactly think of world class gin, but apparently the Fijians are out to prove themselves in the world of gin. Knowing that, I was excited to get my hands on a bottle and try some. Which recipe should I use? I’m thinking their version of a gin and tonic.

Turtle & Tonic

60ml Blue Turtle Gin
120ml tonic water
fresh citrus slice
Good clear ice

Add a generous amount of ice to your goblet. Pour Blue Turtle Gin over the ice. Add your tonic water of choice and give it a slight stir. Garnish with a full citrus slice (lime, moli kula, kumquat, or even a cucumber slice).

Neutral aroma on the drink itself. The lime slice does provide a nice citrus aroma which always pairs well with gin.

Oh man this is fantastic. It’s very smooth, and plays nicely with the tonic. The Blue Turtle isn’t as juniper forward as a regular London dry gin is. I do get some, but it’s most definitely a bit player. Of which I’m not surprised at all, given the spirit’s origin of a collection of islands in the middle of the Pacific. Instead, we get an abundance of citrus flavors. There is also a different level of bitter I can pick up towards the end that lasts a little bit after the sip. I believe that is the Kava showing up. A quick search of Kava tells me it’s a bitter plant native to Polynesia. So, well done on the Fijians using a native plans in their distilling.

I can already tell this gin will be used sparingly. Which I guess is a bit of a shame since it’s so good. However, I don’t want to run out of it any time soon. If I do I suppose that’ll give me a perfect excuse to go visit Oceania sooner rather than later.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)