Serve
Four ways to pour it.
The bottle does most of the work. Cold, ice, nutmeg — then decide how long you want the evening to be.
The classic
Over ice.
- Chill the bottle properly.
- Fill a short glass with ice.
- Pour 100ml.
- Grate a little fresh nutmeg over the top. Lime wheel optional.
The long one
With soda.
- Tall glass, lots of ice.
- 50ml Gouté Balvin.
- Top with chilled soda water.
- Squeeze in a wedge of lime and drop it in.
For a crowd
The punch bowl.
- Two bottles into a bowl or big jug.
- Plenty of ice, a sliced lime, a whole nutmeg and a grater on the side.
- Ladle 100ml into short glasses over fresh ice.
- Fourteen serves. Nobody has to play bartender.
After dinner
The small glass.
- A 50ml pour in a small glass, cold from the fridge, no ice.
- A pinch of nutmeg.
- Where you’d normally reach for port or a digestif.
What to eat with it
It likes heat, smoke and salt.
Jerk chicken, fried plantain, saltfish, a goat curry — the lime and bitters cut through spice and fat, and the nutmeg picks up the allspice. It’s also very good with a cheese board, a Sunday roast, and the end of Christmas dinner.
Keep the food warm and the punch cold. The contrast is the point.
Know your serve
Gouté Balvin is 20% vol. A 100ml serve over ice is 2 UK units; a 50ml pour is 1. The 700ml bottle holds 14 units.
The UK Chief Medical Officers advise not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days. drinkaware.co.uk