Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Ever wonder how a cold, refreshing, and freshly-churned scoop of sorbet would taste when infused with a premium gin with a light floral aroma?
No need to wonder anymore because premium distilled gin Hendrick’s partnered with proudly Filipino Italian gelato shop BONO Gelato to create four unusual and fresh flavors of sorbets with just the right spunky kick of liquor.
The unique frozen delights took inspiration from four Hendrick’s signature cocktails.
The Hendrick’s & Tonic was a tribute to the classic gin tonic cocktail. What makes it stand out is that the combination of the cucumber, cucumber juice, and tonic water in the sorbet brought out the flavor and aroma of the gin, giving it a slightly creamy taste, despite not having milk.
The Gin Basil Smash kept it simple with just three ingredients: the distilled gin, lemon juice, and basil. The fresh lemon juice gave the sorbet a tarty taste without the bitterness, while the nuttiness of the basil further made the simple mixture taste more complex.
The Philippines’ abundant fruits took centerstage in the Mango Citrus sorbet. The ripe and sweet aroma of the yellow Philippine mangoes and citrusy calamansi juice were mixed with the Hendrick’s Gin to create a sorbet that tastes exactly like a hot, summer afternoon. The Mango Citrus sorbet, which was topped with local dried mangoes, was easily a personal favorite.
Gin mixed with fruits is a no-brainer combination, thus the Lychee and Gin sorbet was created. Taking cue from the Ayrshine Twinkle cocktail, it was refashioned to create a fruitier and fresher sorbet by adding juicy lychees, white wine, and the Hendrick’s Gin.
As for the alcohol content of each serving of the sorbet, it contains 0.6% of alcohol. You won’t really get drunk on a single scoop of the gin-laced sorbet — unless you have an alcohol tolerance of a baby. If you finish 10 scoops of the sorbets, that would equal to the alcohol content of a single bottle of beer.
The Hendrick’s Gin and BONO Gelato pair up was announced to select media groups on Tuesday (August 4).
‘ ’17’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:b1e4bf92-e641-456d-9bdc-bf044455a471’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘BONO Gelato’s Chef Zarah Manikan churning the Gin Basil Smash
BONO Gelato Research and Development Head Chef Zarah Manikan told CNN Philippines that their gelato shop’s challenge in creating the Hendrick’s Gin sorbets was their commitment to stay true to the original flavors while adapting the properties of a sorbet.
“We were able to achieve the delicate balance that is intriguingly enjoyable,” she said.
This unusual partnership of gin and sorbets would only be available through BONO Events’ on-site catering service, from which you can choose if you want the BONO team to freshly churn the sorbets on site using liquid nitrogen or if you want a simple gelato scooping station.
