Beer and wine have the dubious distinction of being prehistoric — even a Paleolithic nomad can make himself such a tipple given the right rock to use as his open-air brewery. But if you’re like me, such rude pleasures are not always enough. After a day of acting like a Cro-Magnon to my subordinates, I want to feel like a gentleman at home. This is when I turn to the gin and tonic: the cocktail that tastes like civilization.

It took the rotten old British Empire to throw together something as perplexing as the G and T. Its strange flavours are a relic from the Victorian occupation of the malarial parts of the world — army officers combined harsh quinine (a pharmaceutical extract from Peruvian tree bark) with sugar and soda water to make it more palatable. The fact that gin somehow leaked into this medicine just showcases that special kind of ingenuity that the Brits used as they conquered a quarter of the world.

After the jump: Gin through the ages, and all you need to make the perfect G and T.

Matthew Sullivan's Short Cellar column will now appear every two weeks on lawandstyle.ca. Watch for a new edition next Thursday.

Meantime, check out our extensive archive of Matthew's columns.

Matthew’s taking the week off. Here's a round-up of some great columns from the Short Cellar cellar.

Experimental wine (September 10, 2009): Lab findings on from the source on how Cab Sauvs from Chile taste after cellaring.

Inniskillin proves me wrong (March 25, 2010): Matthew learns to love the Cab Franc grape.

The 2007 vintage of Le Clos Jordanne (January 14, 2010): The first in a three-part series on the rise of the Ontario micro-terroir vineyard.

The LCBO has been releasing phalanxes of wine tailored for summer sipping on the patio. This week, the Short Cellar brings you a survey of the best bottles for hot-weather rehydration:

St. Urbans-Hof 2008 Riesling, Germany ($15.95, Vintages #995746)
German Riesling is my go-to summer drink: it’s refreshing, not too alcoholic, and — unlike some New World Rieslings — has a good balance between acidity and sweetness. The St. Urbans-Hof is a superb value in this sort of wine. It has a rich, idiosyncratic nose with lots of grass, herb, cantaloupe and celery root. The palate is mellow and mid-weight, with flavours of peach-in-syrup and apricot. It has a plump but attractive silhouette. Although it lacks complexity, it makes up for it in sheer drinkability. 88/100

Dr. Fischer 2003 Riesling Spätlese, Germany ($17.95, Vintages # 146340)
The 2003 Dr. Fischer Riesling Spätlese is a pure delight: a well-made German Rielsing with seven years of precious maturity. Age has given its dense, fruity core a slightly baked quality, like a Dutch apple pie. But this rich fruit is invigorated with a youthful tartness which keeps the palate fresh. A very correct hit of petrol and wet stones comes off the nose. Delicious. 90/100

Two wines — including one amazing inexpensive find — after the jump.