When the weather finally warms up in these parts all we want to do is sit out in the garden with the sun, the birds, a good book and a tall cool drink. But this spring we're going on a quest for better cocktails - not crazy new recipes or exotic infusions, just better quality quaffing. We tend to consume a lot of tonic water for one thing, mixed with gin, of course (but also vodka and rum; if you've never had a Mt. Gay and tonic with lime, you don't know what you're missing). The well-known tonics that are readily available however not only have a medicinal, metallic taste, but we hate to abuse good gin by insinuating it into the same glass. Ditto the other muck cluttering up the drinks section in our local supermarket.

So this season we're banishing the big-name brands and stocking up on all-natural ingredients from Stirrings, the Massachusetts-based company dedicated to improving America's drinking habits. They cost a little more, but like the best things fitting that description, they're well worth it, and made entirely without the aid of artificial colors and flavors, corn syrup, and preservatives. Stirrings' tonic is made with triple-filtered water, Cinchona bark extract (a source of quinine), and a little cane sugar; infused with "champagne-like" carbonation, it's crisper, cleaner and lighter than the stuff we've been poisoning ourselves with these long years.

We're also going to lay in some of their all-natural club soda, made with triple-filtered water and a pinch of hand-gathered fleur de sel from France, and their other excellent sodas. And if we get really adventurous, we might try their mixers, garnishes, essences and syrups, including authentic grenadine made with real pomegranate. We'd tell you more, but we've suddenly been struck with a powerful thirst.

Gallo is a name that typically resonates with the wine industry but they are branching out to embrace a new alcoholic beverage -- gin. Their new venture, New Amsterdam Straight Gin, is said to be smooth enough to sip on its own but certainly perfect for a martini or G&T. Its manufacturing facility is in Modesto where the rest of E. & J. Gallo's complex is located. Aiming for the 25-49 year old market with a premium brand that will cost between $13-$14 per bottle, Gallo's gin isn't the first time a wine company has tackled the liquor market. All gins are flavored with juniper berries but I think the twist of citrus flavor added to New Amsterdam Straight Gin sounds delicious!

Just a couple of weeks ago I mentioned a new vodka coming out of Wisconsin. It turns out that Wisconsin is quite the hotbed of distilling lately, forget beer, it's all about the vodka now. The Great Lakes Distillery is a small-batch distillery located in Milwaukee Wisconsin. They hand-craft distilled spirits in limited quantities and currently make Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Vodka and Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin. The Rehorst vodka, is made from Wisconsin red wheat, along with a special yeast, and filtered Lake Michigan water. The Rehorst gin is made with traditional gin botanicals plus two never found in gin before, sweet basil and Wisconsin ginseng. Both spirits sell for $30.

[via Wine Enthusiast]

Described as a "collaboration between the drinks, crystal, art and design worlds," Bombay Sapphire Revelation is a collection of 5 absolutely gorgeous bottles. Bombay Sapphire is the drink (of course), Baccarat is the crystal, Garrard is the art/jeweller, and Karim Rashid is the bottle designer. The Revelation line consists of 5 bottles shaped like enormous jewels, all the same with the exception of their caps -- each uniquely decorated with diamonds and sapphires.

The entire collection is worth $1 million, but each bottle (priced at $200,000) will be displayed separately at one of 5 airports around the world (New York, London, Dubai, Sydney, and Singapore) starting around the end of March with proceeds to benefit The Smile Train charity. And along with the beautiful Revelation bottle the new owners will also receive a years supply of Bombay Sapphire gin.

Via My Selection

Another new liquor launch and it's finally not a vodka! Right Gin is a new gin that first launched for 100 days in las Vegas. The gin is made from ingredients sourced around the world: water from Lake Bolmen in Sweden, juniper from Austria, coriander leaf from India, cardamom from Russia, lemon and vergamont from Sicily, lime and bitter orange from the West Indies and black pepper from Borneo all in a spirit distilled five times from corn. It is designed to appeal to those who have previously wrinkled their nose up at the thought of gin as a rather astringent potable best left to English gentlemen or to be doused in tonic water and served at Memorial Day cookouts. The gin is now available in New York, Boston and Chicago and sells for $35.

[via Martini Groove]

The Cognac region in France has become the latest hot place to make vodka but it is also the home to a new gin. G'Vine is a new gin made by Eurowinegate which is based in the region. It is the first white spirit to be distilled from grape vine flowers. According to a Wine Spectator article, G'Vine is derived from the Ugni Blanc grape flower and distilled in small batches with gin's traditional botanicals such as juniper, licorice, cassia and coriander. The gin is then blended with the flowers of the Ugni Blanc leaves and distilled again. The resulting drink is said to have a more floral noise than traditional gin and to be more soft and delicate. G'Vine is currently only available in stores in the New York and New Jersey area but you can find it online for under $30.

Penderyn Distillery, a company we have profiled for its line of Welsh whisky, is now extending their range into vodka and gin. Brecon Five vodka and Brecon Special Reserve gin are both are distilled with waters drawn from the Penderyn Distillery in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, UK. The Brecon Five vodka is five column distilled for purity and smoothness and made with wheat grain and comes in a bottle meant to resemble a block of ice. The Brecon Special Reserve gin is infused with 10 specially selected botanicals, married with Penderyn barley spirit. Both sell for around $30.

[via Brand Republic]

We don't hear as much about new gins as we do the other white spirits so news of any innovation in this old standard is always welcome. Tanqueray has come out with a new version of their classic gin. Tanqueray Rangpur is distilled with Rangpur limes for a more subtle gin taste with a hint of lime. A review over on Liquor Snob reports that the gin is very smooth and excellent in martinis. The 750 ml will retail for $21.99 and it should be making its way to major markets soon.

If every state has a vodka (or two), Oregon's is Medoyeff. The vodka, created by House Spirits Distillery in Portland has a loyal following in the state and elsewhere. House Spirits Distillery also has created Aviation Gin and currently has a new project, House Spirits whiskey. An article in Willamette Week reports that House Spirits owners Christian Krogstad and Lee Medoff insist on using local ingredients and are currently in the beginnings of their five year process to create an American whiskey. Given their dedication to craft, this should be a tipple worth waiting for.

Hold the lime, make it a cucumber!  A cucumber is the best choice of fruit for your Hendrick’s gin and tonic.  The cucumber brings out the fortifying combination of infused botanicals. In this old apothecary shaped bottle you will find a gin infused with Bulgarian Rose, coriander, and cucumbers. Unlike most English made gins, Hendrick's is small batch distilled in Ayrshire, Scotland. The lowland Scottish water provides the perfect medium for the grain spirit and the unusual array of botanicals.
I can unhesitatingly say this is absolutely the best gin I have ever had. Feathery, crisp, and a clear essence of cucumber.    With it I have made an absolutely prestigious gin martini and gin and tonic.

Organic spirits are all the rage. Yet another one from the UK was spotted by the Hippyshopper. Juniper Green Organic Gin  is 100% organic, using organic grain, pure water and organic botanical herbs. Juniper Green Organic Gin is distilled at Thames Distillery near Clapham in Central London, which is now the only distillery in London and has been in business since the 1700s.  It sells in the UK for £13.99.