While you might associate gin and tonic with the British—they’re the ones who spread the drink far and wide after all—it’s the Spanish who have come up with the best way to experience this summer classic. Not to be confused with a cocktail that has more ingredients this mixed drink has an illustrious past as does Spain’s take on the perfect G&T drinking experience. However gin is a Dutch invention that was used medicinally as far back as the 1600s. Tonic water with quinine helped combat malaria a potentially fatal disease and became commercially available in the 1850s.
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 Jim & Tonic | 2021-10-03 14:14:07 |  219 Views |
Why You Should Serve Gin in a Copa Balloon Glass
The birth of the drink as we know it today is a little hazy but in 1868 the British were already drinking G&Ts in India. The British also came up with the idea of throwing lime in them to prevent scurvy a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. But it was the Spanish who invented the glassware that makes for the best G&T drinking experience bar none. Their contribution the Copa de Balon resembles a red wine glass and helps concentrate the aromas of the gin as you sip your drink.
Alcohol and glassware have a long and intertwined history from wine to cocktails to beer. The role of your beer glass is more important than you might think as they are designed to enhance the unique flavors of a beer. Just ask the Belgians who have taken the beer and glassware game to the ultimate level (I once had a homebrew beer in Ghent with a special glass. Yes they are serious). Just like different types of beer and their unique glasses a gin and tonic is best served in a Copa de Balon for the same reason.
The Copa de Balon originated in the Basque region of Northern Spain in the 1700s. The name which translates to “ball cup” is bulbous and deep with a stem to prevent your hands from warming the contents. While the British sip their G&Ts from a tall Collins glass you don’t get the same sensory experience as you do with the Copa de Balon.
