Recipe: At home Aperitivo

It’s the small things you often miss when you can’t get out and enjoy our local bar scene.

For Never Never Distilling Co, it was bar snacks and how they effortlessly amplify the flavours of our favourite drinks. So they put together a simple way of enjoying a gin and tonic at home, using some pantry items that are great to keep on hand, largely because they have a long shelf live. 

Never Never describe the Juniper Freak Gin and Tonic as: “A super-charged representation of classic gin style. At 58 per cent ABV, the Freak is jam-packed full of concentrated character, which creates a cloudiness when tonic water is added. This rich, intense oiliness works really well with an array of bar snacks, perfectly suited to an afternoon Aperitivo at home.”

They salty and oily snacks they recommend include: “Plump green Sicilian olives soaked in local olive oil, mild cacciatore salami served with fresh sourdough and flaked sea salt. The intense pine and citrus notes found in the over-proof gin work beautifully well with the bright creaminess of the Sicilian olives. The native pepperberry back-palate found in the Juniper Freak also compliments the spice in the pork, salami and peppery olive oil.”

See the recipes below.

30ml Juniper Freak Gin

100ml Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic 

Garnish with fresh rosemary and pink grapefruit. 

5 slices of fresh sourdough 

200g of mild pork cacciatore

Quality fresh local olive oil 

Green Sicilian olives soaked in their oil.

Build gin into a wine glass, add 100ml of tonic and top with ice. Garnish with pink grapefruit and rosemary. Usually rosemary is too intense a garnish for most gins, but with the Freak you will still find that the intense juniper character is very present on the nose.