Photo The Gin & Tonics Garden in London.Credit Susanne Fowler
Gin is the quintessential summertime tipple in Britain, but the traditional Wimbledon gin punch Pimm's No.1 Cup has some fresh competition: the Gin & Tonics Garden, a pop-up bar on a secluded lane within the extensive grounds of the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London.
Inside a small glass greenhouse filled with aromatic herbs, fruits and flowers, Jo Farish, the founder of the bar, oversees a team of mixologists preparing cocktails and herbal tonics using juices and infusions from plants grown in Britain.
She started the gin business about two years ago, while training to become a garden designer.
"It struck me," she said recently by email, "that the only thing that could make my garden visits even more enjoyable would be the opportunity to have a gin and tonic in them."
She set up her first garden bar in a National Trust property, serving gin distilled just two miles away, using apples, lavender and rose petals from the garden to craft beverages that reflected their origins.
"The drinks went down a treat," she said, "and so did the little bits of information" about how to grow the ingredients.
At Kew, the Gin Garden operates in the same way, "serving drinks inspired by our garden surroundings," she said.
Finding the bar is a bit of a challenge and that adds to its charm: It's in an area of Kew known as the Secluded Garden, created in 1995 to display plants that represent sight, smell, touch and sound.
The bar now adds taste to the mix. The bar space, with outdoor seating, is open every weekend and each British bank holiday through Sept. 7. But the menu of botany-inspired cocktails changes weekly.
A recent menu included the Kew-cumber, marketed as a "general tonic" made of cucumber-infused gin, freshly pressed cucumber juice, a basil and mint syrup, a splash of lemon juice and sparkling water, garnished with a cucumber slice and a leaf of fresh basil.
The Goosebery & Fennel: Antioxidant cocktail blends gin infused with wild fennel from Norfolk, in eastern England, a house-made gooseberry and fennel cordial, sparkling water and a garnish of fennel tops and edible Sweet William blossoms.
A Strawberry Cup: Youth Elixir featured strawberry-infused gin, a cordial of rhubarb and the herb Sweet Cicely, fresh strawberries, cucumber and lemon juice, with a final spritz of aromatic camomile water.
Other drinks make use of ingredients like nettle juice, bergamot oil, a lavender and rose syrup, a tincture of Passiflora (also known as passion flower), or a syrup of elderflower, a plant said to alleviate hayfever symptoms.
The drinks are 6.50 pounds, or about $8, each, or 3.50 pounds without gin. Just over 20 percent of the cost reverts back to Kew, Ms. Farish said. (A Kew Gardens entry ticket is required for access to the Gin & Tonics Garden.)
On a recent Saturday, an English woman who gave her name only as Vicky explained what had drawn her to the Gin & Tonics Garden. "I'd seen an advertisement on the Tube, and I love gin and tonics so I had to come and try it," she said as she and an American friend, Corine, sipped a Strawberry Cup and a Rose Garden, the exotic Passiflora drink. "The fact that they do different flavors is a bonus."
Gin, Ms. Farish said in an interview, is an ideal mixer because it also contains botanical ingredients. "We're using No. 3 London Dry Gin, a really lovely classic style of gin containing six botanicals: cardamon, grapefruit, coriander, orange peel, juniper and angelica root."
Gin also played a role in Ms. Farish's family memories. "My grandmother would always have a tray on display with a bottle of Gordon's gin and a couple of tumblers,'' she said. "I very much remember her having a gin and tonic when she was making dinner. It's not what my generation did, drinking gin, but I've always loved it. Now there are thousands of gins. There's even an Irish one with shamrock in it and a really beautiful one made in Cornwall with violets. With gin you've got a free rein and with gin people get really creative.''
The Gin Garden is just one part of Kew's summer festival, Plantasia, organized to promote the healing powers of herbs and other plants. The event also features a "Healing Giant," a human-shaped display showing the curative powers of plants, and a daylong workshop on July 6 on how to forage, dry and store medicinal herbs.
To make a Kew-cumber at home, click here.
