A restaurant & bar / coffee shop / live music space in Beijing, China.
Next Performance: Thursday 29th October 2009 – 9:30pm (Free Entry)
Pierre, Kamila & Pierre form a lively Jazz trio worth coming out for. They do a variety of music music ranging from jazz to Bossa Nova. They perform both standards and originals. They are:
Kamila Nasr (Canada) vocals/flute (of Girassol Bossa Nova Quartet and Chimera fame)
Pierre Billiard (France) Guitar
Pierre Pradat (France) keyboard
Starting this August, we begin a season of “Dinner Jazz” live music events on alternating Sundays. The musicians play upstairs in the restaurant on the first and third Sunday every month from 7:30pm offering the perfect panacea to a long weekend! We have a 50 person capacity upstairs offering an intimate musical experience up-close and personal with the musicians. We have an eclectic mix of acts incorporating Jazz, Bossa Nova and other musical styles so there should be something for everyone. To avoid disappointment, booking for these events is strongly recommended. Check our website and the free press for the schedule. Join us at Ginkgo for food, drink and jazz!
Gin is distilled grain alcohol flavoured with different herbs and spices known as botanicals. The main flavour ingredient in gin is juniper berries, which gives gin its distinctive dry taste and aroma. Other botanicals can include coriander, angelica root, citrus peels and liquorice.
Hendricks Gin is handcrafted in small batches in small batches in Ayrshire, Scotland using a 19th century pot still. Instead of boiling the ingredients like many other gins, the still “bathes” them in vapours at a leisurely pace – the more leisurely the disillation process, the more intense the flavour of the finished gin. The recipe for Hendricks Gin includes traditional botanicals such as juniper, coriander and citrus peels and an unexpected infusion of cucumber and rose petals which gives Hendricks Gin its truly unique and unusual flavour.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the bottle is squat and brown and distinctive – almost a nod to gin’s medicinal roots, because it looks like something you’d buy from an apothecary. The second thing is that instead of crowing about how their gin is the greatest thing since the polio vaccination, the little pamphlet that comes with the bottle almost dares you to try it. With slogans like “It is not for everybody” and “Preferred by 1 out of 1000 gin drinkers,” Hendrick’s definitely stays away from typical marketing techniques, though it does say Hendrick’s is “loved by a tiny handful of people all over the world.” But the question is whether the gin itself lives up to the quirky claims and dry humor?
The answer is unequivocally “Yes.” As soon as you pop the cork out of the bottle, there is definitely a juniper smell, but instead of the industrial tang found so often found in other gins, the odor is pleasant and mixed with a light citrusy smell. Just by taking that first whiff you know you are in the presence of something special. As for the taste, the only adjective we can come up with is “velvety.” There are the typical juniper/evergreen tastes, combined with citrus and even a mint undertone.
If you’re a gin drinker, someone who typically sticks to a Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray, we highly recommend giving Hendrick’s a try on your next visit to Ginkgo. The best way to enjoy it is with tonic, served, not altogether surprisingly, with a slice of cucumber. You’ll be glad you did. Don’t just drink it – savor it, sip it, enjoy it.
More About Hendrick’s Gin can be found on their website: www.hendricksgin.com
Nothing beats a glass of Pimms on a hot summer’s day! The British beverage is almost as much a tradition as the cup of tea, and in the Summer months the drink is downed by the gallon, popular at sporting events like Wimbledon fortnight and Henley Reggata.
Origin and History of Pimms
In the early 1840s, James Pimm, landlord of an oyster bar in London’s financial district began selling a health tonic called Pimm’s No 1 Cup, the ‘cup’ being a contemporary reference to the tankard in which a drink was served. Using gin, quinine and a secret mixture of herbs, James Pimm served up the brew as an aid to digestion. Patrons would eat his fresh oysters and then down a chaser of Pimm’s. Previously gin alone had been offered but Pimm added the spices to make it more palatable and less harsh for his customers.
In 1859, backed by some of his well-heeled clientele, Mr Pimm began marketing Pimm’s No 1 commercially, and during the late 19th Century it took off among the bon viveurs of English fashionable society, and was soon being distributed to wherever the sun didn’t set, reportedly making it as far as the officer’s mess in Khartoum, Sudan.
After the Second World War, Pimms extended their range, using a number of other spirits as bases for new cups. Scotch lent its name to No. 2 cup while No. 3 used brandy, No. 4 rum, No. 5 rye and No. 6 vodka. Of these sequels, the vodka cup and brandy (now called Winter) are the only ones in production while original No. 1 cup still reigns supreme in popularity. During a Wimbledon fortnight, some 80,000 half-pints of Pimm’s No 1 Cup are sold to punters who should be watching tennis!
While a number of variations exist, by far the most popular way to serve Pimm’s is with lots of fresh fruit and mint, over ice and topped up with lemonade. Enjoy a Pimm’s at Ginkgo this Summer by glass (35 RMB) and large pitcher (150 RMB).
More about Pimm’s can be found on their website here.
The specific character of this Polish vodka comes from its delicate bison grass flavour – every bottle contains an individual blade of bison grass. The plant grows only in the woods of the national park of Bialowieza on the border between Poland and White Russia. The extremely rare wild European bison are found there as well, hence the name. Numerous attempts to cultivate bison grass in other areas in the world failed, so each blade of bison grass in a bottle of Grasovka is a present from Polish nature!
The product name “vodka” originates from the Old Polish language and was derived from the word “woda” – translated “little water”. Traditionally, vodka was distilled in Poland, Russia, Finland and Sweden. To this day, it is unclear whether the first vodka was made in Russia or Poland; both countries claim to have invented it and used the cereal-based distillates as medicine.
Historically the alcohol content of vodka was not very high, and combining the distilled liquor with herbs, roots and grasses (in the case of Zubrowka’s vodka) was more usual. Only in the 18th century did vodka became a pure and clear spirit.
We invite you to try Grasovka on your next visit to Ginkgo, as a shot or with a mixer. The delicate flavour from the bison grass wins converts every time!
