The Colonial Sunset Martini

Colonial Sunset Marteani

Colonial Sunset Marteani (2018) Erik Fausak

I’ve heard there is nothing more annoying than having to scroll through some long-winded story and scroll through more ads to get to a recipe.  I agree.  Prepare yourself and friends this marteani, and allow me to regale you a story while you sit back and imbibe:

Ingredients:

Rooibos (flavored if you like – I like ginger rooibos) (2 tablespoons/30 g)

Honey (to taste – I like 1 tsp/5ml)

Your favorite gin 

A lime (to garnish)

Directions:

1.     Prepare the rooibos (this takes a minimum of about 15 minutes).  I use a Teavana container, put the rooibos in the container and add desired amount of honey (I do 1tsp/5ml).  Boil the water and add.  I usually go one of three directions with this:  

a.    Let rooibos steep 10 minutes and add some ice to the container.

b.    Let rooibos steep 25 minutes and don’t add ice

Rooibos is nice because it doesn’t become too bitter like tea or other tisanes if steeped for long periods of time.  

c.  You could also do this with room temperature water and let it steep for a few hours but I find the rooibos doesn’t have the same flavor.

2.    Use a cocktail shaker and put generous ice in it.  Place 3oz (90ml) of your favorite gin and 3oz (90ml) into shaker and shake. 

pouring gin (2018) Erik Fausak

3.    Place in martini glass and garnish with a slice of lime

4.    Enjoy

Other cocktails:

Rooibos-infused Gin– I also use the same Teavana container and place a generous amount of rooibos (I generally place 2 tbsp/30 g for 16 oz(480ml) of water/alcohol, but I may be overgenerous) in container.  Pour in Gin (or vodka) and let sit for 40 minutes. Strain out the gin and you now have a rooibos-infused gin.  This method was really inspired by Mei Leaf YouTube segment on making tea infused liquors.

Rooibos Rickey– I put in 1.5oz (45ml) of rooibos-infused gin and add 0.5oz (15ml) of lime juice and fill glass with lemon flavored seltzer water.  Add a slice of lime for garnish.

RGT (Rooibos-Gin and Tonic)– 1.5oz (45ml) of rooibos-infused gin and top off with your favorite tonic water (I personally enjoy Trader Joe’s or QTonic).  Garnish with a slice of lime.

 

rooibos infused gin (2018) Erik Fausak

Alright, now that you’ve prepared a drink, let me regale you with a story of rooibos and gin:

Rooibos

Natural History

Aspalathus linearis is a leguminous shrub that occurs in the Cederberg and surrounding areas in South Africa.   The genus Aspalathushas 278 species and the species linearishas needle leaves (and actually where the name  linearisoriginates)(Malgas and Oettle, 2007).  There are many types of Rooibos (see table 1), but the one of commercial significance and cultivated is referred to as the Rocklands type from the Pakuis Pass and broken into the cultivated Nortier type and wild Cederberg type (that has broader and courser leaves)(Joubert and de Beer, 2011). Rooibos was first scientifically described and recorded in 1772 by Swedish botanist Karl Thunberg and officially named in 1963 by another Swedish botanist, Ralph Dahlgren.  Rooibos grows in the fragile fynbosecosystem, singular to South Africa and threatened with invasive species and climate change(Malgas and Oettle, 2007).  Rooibos is cultivated in Cederberg in the Western Cape with a lower elevation and more extreme temperatures and Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape at a higher elevation and narrower temperature ranges(Joubert et al., 2016).  Rooibos has two means of reproduction: resprouting from previously established roots, reseeding from fire events, and cross pollination from their yellow flowers pollinated by a specific solitary bee and some wasp species.  A. linearis has a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, they are one of the first plants to root after a fire.  Unfortunately, the cultivated varieties appear to be destroyed in fires(Malgas and Oettle, 2007).  

Anthropological Context of Rooibos

Rooibos has been consumed by the indigenous peoples of South Africa, the Koisan, for quite some time. The Khoisan people are considered to have one of the longest histories in the world dating back 20 kya(Cole, 2014).  Rooibos tea has been a traditional part of the Khoisan arsenal for treatments of asthma, colic, eczema, headache, nausea and mild depression.  It may be surprising to know that 80% of the world’s inhabitants rely on indigenous or traditional medicines for primary health care needs and most involve the use of plant extracts.  (McKay and Blumberg, 2007).    

Khoisan preparation of Rooibos involves bruising of the bright green leaves with the back end of a hatchet or driving a trailer over the leaves.  The plant grows from 0.5 meters to 2 meters in height and are not typically harvested until about three years of age(Malgas and Oettle, 2007).  I could not find anything about ceremony or ritual surrounding the serving of Rooibos, but South African industry has developed a sensory wheelfor tasting Rooibos.  Rooibos even has some popular reference like in Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.

Economics of Rooibos

Rooibos was first made commercial in 1904 by the efforts of Benjamin Ginsberg from Clanwilliam.  He obtained samples from Khoi descendants and worked with P. Le Fras Nortier to cultivate the plant in an effort to help local farmers. By 1954, A Rooibos tea board started regulating the industry.  Rooibos is now enjoyed in 37 countries and rapidly becoming one of the most consumed tisanes. The largest importer of Rooibos is Germany followed by Netherlands, Japan, UK, and the United States.  Rooibos went from 33 tons being exported in 1970 to 5,633 tons exported in 2010 (Joubert and de Beer, 2011).

Gin, a brief introduction

Dutch in origin but popularized in the United Kingdom, especially with the “London Dry Gin”. Gin has had a long history in Britain, particularly in the 17^thcentury and the government actually encouraged it by reducing tariffs in the hopes of replacing brandy.   Gin actually enjoyed popularity amongst all classes, even Queen Anne was known to enjoy imbibement of the juniper flavored spirit(History of Gin | The Secret Gin Club, no date; Stanley, 2012).  

Cole, D. (2014) The Khoisan Once Were Kings Of The Planet. What Happened? : Goats and Soda : NPR, NPR. Available at: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2014/12/22/371672272/the-khoisan-once-were-kings-of-the-planet-what-happened (Accessed: 29 April 2018).

History of Gin | The Secret Gin Club(no date). Available at: https://secretginclub.wordpress.com/gin-history/history-of-gin/ (Accessed: 31 March 2019).

Joubert, E. et al.(2016) ‘Major production areas of rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) deliver herbal tea of similar phenolic and phenylpropenoic acid glucoside content’, South African Journal of Botany. Elsevier, 103, pp. 162–169.

Joubert, E. and de Beer, D. (2011) ‘Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) beyond the farm gate: From herbal tea to potential phytopharmaceutical’, South African Journal of Botany. SAAB, 77(4), pp. 869–886. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2011.07.004.

Malgas, R. and Oettle, N. (2007) ‘The sustainable harvest of wild rooibos’, Environmental Monitroing Group Trust, pp. 1–32.

McKay, D. L. and Blumberg, J. B. (2007) ‘A review of the bioactivity of South African herbal teas: rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) and honeybush (Cyclopia intermedia).’, Phytotherapy research : PTR. England, 21(1), pp. 1–16. doi: 10.1002/ptr.1992.

Stanley, T. (2012) ‘A sobering look at boozy Britain.’, History Today. History Today Ltd., 62(4), p. 44. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=74184840&site=ehost-live.