White port and tonic
Portugal's answer to the gin and tonic, and arguably the better one. Three things, two minutes.
At a Glance
Story
White port is port's overlooked pale sibling, made from white grapes and drunk young and cold as an aperitivo all over Portugal, where the ruby and tawny bottles get all the attention abroad. Poured one part port to two parts tonic, it is the standard Porto afternoon in a glass, light, faintly fruity and bitter in all the right places. You almost never see it outside Portugal, which is precisely why you should be pouring it.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz white port
- 3 oz tonic waterQ Tonic for elegant, Canada Dry for lively
- 1 lime or lemon wedge
- icefor the glass
Method
The most civilised drink for the least possible effort. Keep the ratio at one to two and do not drown it, too much tonic and the gentle port simply vanishes under the fizz.
- Fill a tumbler with ice, the more the better, since more ice melts slower and keeps the drink cold rather than watery.
- Pour in the white port, top with the tonic and give it one brief stir. Squeeze a wedge of lime or lemon over the top and drop it in. Lime makes it livelier, lemon makes it more harmonious, and on a hot afternoon you will want to have tried both before the sun goes down.
For a crowd
Never batch this in a pitcher, the tonic goes flat and takes the whole point with it. Set up a station instead, the white port and a bowl of citrus out, tonic on ice and glasses at the ready, and let guests pour one part port to two parts tonic themselves. The only real prep is chilling everything hard beforehand.
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