Words by Jeb Gavin, Photos by Clarissa Villondo
We (and here I mean the royal we, people capable of walking into a Jaleo and eating too much at any given moment) are into the second week of the D.C.-area Jaleo’s two week Gin and Tonic festival, and frankly I’m not sure we’re doing anything more important this week. Sure, you could be finalizing your dog’s Halloween costume, or trying to figure out how to install Eduardo the giant spider on your roof, or just converting your closet to a small, walk-in SAD lighting array a la Broad City. But all of those things can and will be accomplished after consuming some ham and cheese, and probably the best autumnal gin and tonic I’ve ever had.
In this case I’m referring to their Gone Apple Picking G&T. The mix of Kendrick’s gin, PX and manzanilla sherries, and Fever Tree tonic (specifically the Indian variety) is garnished with a shaved cross section of Granny Smith apple and a single star anise pod. There’s no polite way to say this, but the drink smells like a Yankee Candle with a Hummelesque name like “Gone Apple Picking”. Do not be put off by this. It tastes like some sort of magical, complex apple soda that gets you drunk. I had bolstered myself Thursday evening thinking I’d drink three gin and tonics, wish I was on a boat somewhere three months ago, and then have a hot toddy to commiserate and acknowledge the changing of the seasons. Instead this cocktail manages to ease the transition effortlessly.
In the event you aren’t an apple fan (or scared of the equivalent of a gin based appletini), the menu also includes Jose’s Choice made with lemon verbena, juniper, lemon and lime, or the Green Shades which contains Green Hat gin, cucumber, rosemary, and lime. Both solid choices, but again, it’s both officially and mentally Fall, so I’m going to go back to the Gone Apple Picking, at least this week. I may end up hectoring the bartenders into making it even later in the season.
The menu for the festival seems to augment the usual fare rather than supplant it entirely. While sipping our cocktails we managed to mindlessly hork down an entire order of pa amb tomà quet – bread rubbed with tomatoes. The thinly sliced, crusty bread with just a slight hint of tomato and garlic is a solid contender for the Simple Food, Best Food crown, right up there with the humble peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or cereal and milk.
Rather than slow down with the gin, we first tried the gin and tonic spheres. It seems the crew at Jaleo swiped some alginate and calcium chloride from Minibar to make cocktails in the style of Ferran Adrià , one time boss to Jose Andres at the now closed El Bulli in Spain. Turning a jaundiced (not literally) eye to spherification, I wasn’t impressed. You can get cocktail “caviar” prepackaged now. But thinking back, it’s a damn good gin and tonic, and the thing just dissipates – not an easy trick as the thickness of the skin on the surface increases quickly the longer you keep the sphere in the calcium bath. Perhaps if they’d taken the Gone Apple Picking, clarified it with a milk punch, and spherified the result, then my clearly hypercritical sense of self importance would be sated.
Likewise, while I’m always happy to eat a Rappahannock oyster, the small splash of gin and tonic covering it was overwhelmed by the brine, and the minced lemon peel was no substitute for some mignonette and/or hot sauce with a squeeze of lemon juice. I should eat a couple dozen gross more oysters just to confirm my way is better. Yes, better to have a bigger sample size, like say, 12^3 oysters lined up in front of me.
Closing out the evening was another high note, a gin sorbet. Sweet but not cloying, augmented with tonic espuma (not particularly fizzy but very flavorful and light), lemon, and macerated cherries, it was the right blend of flavors and aromatics and alcohol, but in dessert form. I think (as they’ve yet to add bunyol con crema to the menu despite my numerous requests) you could and should have a spectacular meal at Jaleo this week, buttressed by a perfect seasonal gin and tonic and a strong addition to their helados y sorbetes lineup.
