An inspiring evening of gin and food combinations featuring some very unusual G&T cocktails with gin by Karakter Distillery at Restaurant 1906 in Bled.
Featuring the ‘Pipe of Peace’.
Gin and food pairings are the perfect summer treat with the freshness that gin cocktails bring.
G&Ts are refreshing AND verstatile—they provide room for lots of experimentation. And that’s precisely what sommelier Danijel Galjot does at Restaurant 1906, Hotel Triglav Bled. His gin cocktail concoctions are always tantalising and impressive, and their combination with food ever so inspiring.
This is the second gin and food event I’m experiencing at Hotel Triglav Bled, and I’m happy to be back at Restaurant 1906 where the dishes are always fantastic. The first gin and food pairing I attended at this restaurant featured gins by Limbay. This time, we’re drinking gins by Karakter Distillery.
Karakter Distillery
Three young men, including Urban Bajrič, whom I met at this event, are behind Karakter Distillery, a popular gin brand from Bohinj (Bohinjska Bistrica) nearby Bled.
The Karakter team is all about innovation, and uses a modern approach to create premium spirits. They combine an array of fragrant herbs and spices, including dwarf pine needles and wild thyme, to make a unique and bold gin with character.
7 Gin and Food Pairings You Really Should Try
If you’re into making your own cocktails, then the following recipes will really inspire you. And if your mixology skills need some honing meanwhile, I suggest you look out for Hotel Triglav Bled’s next food and gin night.
Below are the gin cocktails we had at Restaurant 1906, together with their food matches.
Goose Liver Pâté with Spruce G&T
Canapé: Goose liver pâté with a spruce sponge on a rice cracker. As I eat the spruce sponge I wonder, am I eating moss? It really does resemble spruce moss.
You can see how things have been carefully thought out to follow the spruce theme here, also coming down to the presentation of this canape on a piece of spruce bark.
Welcome drink: Dwarf pine needles-infused gin with spruce powder, homemade tonic, and wild thyme.
Tuna with G&T Hard Rock
Cold starter: Raw tuna encased in celery house ravioli (very similar to a Chinese steamed pancake for Peking duck), with fresh cream and sage mayonnaise.
G&T Hard Rock: Mineral water and Jacob’s scallop (a type of saltwater clam).
Shrimp Bisque with G&T Green Monkey
Soup: Shrimp bisque with coconut terrine and pickled lemon.
G&T Green Monkey: Kiwi, banana, and basil.
Sweetbread with G&T Nero (early grey gin and tonic)
Warm starter: Sweetbread with morel sauce and hazelnuts.
G&T Nero: Earl grey tea, almond milk, and black truffle.
Hake in Gin with G&T Loiblpass (spinach gin and tonic)
Fish main course: Hake in gin with a poached egg in bone marrow sauce.
G&T Loiblpass: Spinach, lime, and yoghurt.
Restaurant 1906 sommelier Danijel Galjot named this cocktail after the high mountain pass linking Slovenia with Austria, located in the Karawanks chain of the Southern Limestone Alps. He loves the colour green and the bountiful nature in that alpine pass.
Here Comes the Pipe of Peace: Black Angus with G&T Pipa Miru (Blueberry and Refosco Gin & Tonic)
Meat main course: Black Angus steak with cocoa, roasted celery, vanilla, and kale.
G&T Pipa Miru: Blueberry, Refosco, and shiitake mushroom.
Okay, so what is this ‘Pipe of Peace‘? It’s ‘Pipa Miru’ in Slovene, and for the sake of this cocktail takes the form of a dug-out spruce bough. What’s the purpose of this large branch here? During the making of this Pipa Miru coctktail, smoke is directed into the dug-out bough and the sommelier pours the Karakter gin through it so that the gin acquirs a smoky flavour. So, in other words, this ‘pipe of peace’ is a smoker.
Pear with G&T Old Rose
(photo: Domen Bizjak)
Dessert: Szechuan pepper meringue, marjoram, and olive oil ice cream.
G&T Old Rose: Peach, rose, and cucumber.
(photo: Domen Bizjak)
Food and Drink in Bled
Restaurant 1906 is preparing its next food and drink event, which will take place on the occasion of St Martin’s Day (Martinovanje), which Slovenians celebrate in a very special way. I’ll give you the details about this event as soon as I get them, so look out for that one via my Facebook page.
Gin Cocktails
I’ve no doubt you have enjoyed discovering the above G&T cocktails and have been as impressed as I have with that ‘Pipe of Peace‘! (Just in case you missed this, you must scroll up and check it out.)
And please do let me know once you succeed in making these cocktails yourselves. 😉 Thank you, as always, for joining me on my food and drink journeys, and see you soon!
