By Jay Erisman, EQ Wine and Spirits Manager

We had our friends the Haltons over for dinner a while back. We of course enjoyed some nice wine with the free-form wild mushroom lasagna. All of us, that is, except Charles. Charles has a terrific job at a nice Baptist seminary. He loves his co-workers, but the job does require that he abstain from alcohol. Poor fellow. I wanted to serve Charles a non-alcoholic but grown-up cocktail, and came up with a bittered tonic. And it was Special.

It’s easy. You just fill a long glass with ice, shake in a generous measure of your choice of bitters, and top it up with the best tonic water you can find. You can garnish with a lemon twist if you like, or three Italian Marasca cherries (the real maraschino cherries, not the garish food-colored American cherries) on a long pick.

The fun consists in trying different bitters in the tonic. Grapefruit, lemon, orange, blood orange, or peach bitters all give a different zing. You can also try ginger ale or soda water in place of the tonic. But please, use top-notch ingredients. If you can’t drink the real thing, you at least deserve the finest of tonics.

These are great when you have to drive somewhere, and you can even drink them at work as I’m doing right now. The bittered tonic has entered regular rotation in our house when we want something refreshing and light. The sale goes something like this:

Me: Darling, would you like a beer?

Wife: Mmm, no thanks, sweetheart, that’s a bit too heavy.

Me: How about a Charles Halton Special?

Wife: Ok!

My wife graduates this Sunday with her Ph D. To celebrate in style, we’re having friends and family over for a reception where the Champagne will flow for all. Except for one very nice man/person/mensch/awilum. That would be Charles, sipping on his Special.

The Charles Halton Special

One bottle bitters, your choice*

One bottle best quality tonic, such as Stirrings or Fever Tree

Tall Collins glass

Ice cubes

Lemon twist or three Marasca cherries for garnish

Fill the glass with ice cubes. Shake 5-7 healthy dashes of the bitters over the ice. Fill the glass with tonic, stir once or twice, and add the garnish.

*Recommended bitters include the classics such as Angostura or Peychaud’s, or the modern classic Regans’ Orange Bitters. Other terrific choices include Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters, and Fee Brothers Peach, Grapefruit, or Lemon Bitters—all of which are also entirely non-alcoholic. Peach bitters in ginger ale are very nice, and grapefruit is great in the summer.

Tags: bitters, cocktails, summer, tonic

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