Drink G&T’s around town to support local restaurants nationwide
Order a gin and tonic at seven Tacoma-area restaurants this spring and a Scottish gin brand will donate money to the Independent Restaurant Coalition, a group formed in the wake of pandemic shutdowns last year — and one that helped secure $28.6 billion for the industry’s small businesses in the latest coronavirus relief package.
The Botanist Islay Dry Gin will donate $5, up to $25,000 total, for every G&T poured at hundreds of bars and restaurants across the country, including 25 in Seattle and the South Sound. Donations to the IRC will double on April 9, National Gin and Tonic Day, and on Memorial Day weekend, May 28-31.
Part of the broader $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the financial relief, known as the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, functions as a grant program for small food and drink establishments — whether a full-service restaurant, a food truck or a brewery taproom — that can prove lost revenue in 2020 versus 2019. Unlike previous federal pandemic relief packages, this fund excludes restaurants owned by publicly-traded companies.
Stop by Macaluso’s in the North End for memorable Italian and warm hospitality. Downtown, Stink Cheese & Meat will also participate, along with The Fish Peddler on the waterfront. In Fife, Smokey Joe’s Cigar Lounge, located inside BJ’s Bingo, will pour these drinks, along with Gino’s at The Point in Northeast Tacoma and Gino’s Bistro in Maple Valley.
You can also take home a cocktail kit to whip them up at your leisure. Each kit includes a 375-milliliter bottle of The Botanist and two bottles of fancy tonic. (Prices for cocktails and kits vary by restaurant.)
Owned by Bruichladdich Distillery, this gin is produced in Islay (pronounced “ai-luh”), the Scottish island best known for its smoky, briny single malt whisky — though each house, and each batch, offers far more nuance than its reputation purports. Some of the 22 botanicals here resemble those in classic London Drys, including cassia, coriander, lemon and of course juniper, but The Botanist adds twists of orange, cinnamon, as well as licorice, angelica and orris root.
At Macaluso’s, the bar will serve its G&T in a stemmed glass with a thinly sliced cucumber, an ideal springtime refreshment. Gino’s at The Point tops its “B&T” with elderflower tonic, a swirled cucumber and edible flowers.
Gin & Tonics for the IRC in Tacoma
▪ Details: April-May, $5 for each drink ordered at participating restaurants; donation doubled April 9 and May 28-31; full list of participating restaurants at theinfatuation.com/all/collection/botanist-tonic
▪ Alfred’s Cafe, 402 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma, 253-627-5491
▪ Gino’s at The Point, 6912 Soundview Dr. NE, Tacoma, 253-242-7951
▪ Gino’s Bistro, 23917 SE Kent Kangley Rd., Maple Valley, 425-433-6220
▪ Macaluso’s, 5101 N Pearl St., Ruston, 253-267-1340
▪ The Fish Peddler, 1199 Dock St., Tacoma, 253-627-2158
▪ Smokey Joe’s Cigar Lounge, 4411 Pacific Hwy E, Fife, 253-231-4444
▪ Stink Cheese & Meat / El Tufo, 628 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253-426-1347
This story was originally published April 9, 2021 at 5:45 AM.