Laura Zastrow
Gin: You can trust it in a way you can’t tequila.
Some people respond to gin the way I do to truffle oil: Nope, nope, too fragrant. I think truffle oil smells like manure, but I love gin. To me, gin’s best qualities are both strong and silent. Gin brings a lot of its own flavor to a drink, even as it blends well with other ingredients. A tasty example of gin’s powerful yet supporting role is the Oh Snap!, a verdant new item on the summer cocktail menu at Heritage Tavern, 131 E. Mifflin St.
The main ingredient in this dazzling green drink is market snap peas. After juicing a bushel of them, then straining them several times, bartenders balance that sweet vegetable extraction with lemon. The result is deliciously fresh.
But think about it: What other spirit could complement — and support — a velvety blend of juiced peas? I wouldn’t trust tequila with that kind of viscosity. I’m not sure a dry variety of gin would even pass muster.
In fact, bartenders at Heritage use St. George Botanivore, a multilayered gin that blends juniper berries with a big basket of other herbs and fruits, including bay laurel, star anise, fresh cilantro and several other things I wouldn’t recognize in a botanical lineup. Doesn’t matter, though. Once again, the gin stands alone.
