It’s summer, it’s terribly hot, and you may need a beverage with a bit more refreshing power than a glass of wine.  To my wife Laura, that means only one thing: gin and tonic. Our go-to G&T place is the aptly-named The Gin Corner, a terrific (and nearby) “gin joint” where we could easily spend a couple of years working our way through the myriad of potential combinations of the different gins and tonics.  That will have to wait until retirement. But this time, we had a cousin visiting us — good-natured and always ready to help us do research for this blog.  So we decided to tackle the entire (but much smaller) G&T menu at the Stravinskij Bar at the Hotel de Russie.

The Hotel de Russie is a few minutes walk from our apartment, just below Piazza del Popolo. It is one of the loveliest, and poshest, hotels around — often with a Ferrari or two parked out front.

The bar’s outdoor seating is in a courtyard, with a view of the hotel’s gardens.  As you can see from the photo up top, it is beautiful space.

Here are the official six special G&Ts available at the Stravinsky Bar:

Vine Street:  Tanqueray gin, Cardamom, Rosemary, and tonic water.  This was Laura’s favorite.

The Dandy:  Hendrick’s gin, Bulgarian Rose and Lavender Bitter, and tonic water. Nice and refreshing, with a bit of cucumber.

Mr. Smith:  Sipsmith gin, Pimento, Ginger, Juniper berries, and tonic water.  This was my personal favorite of the six.

Roman G&T:  VII Hills gin, celery, sage, black pepper, and tonic water.

The Venetian:  Bombay Sapphire gin, Aperol dust, and tonic water.

Lemon Tree:  No. 3 gin, Acqua di Melissa, lime kaffir, and tonic water.  This was our cousin’s favorite, and Laura’s runner-up.

Each G&T comes in at a whopping 22 euros.  Yikes.  There are generous bar snacks (mini sliders, mini caprese salads, olives, chips and nuts) provided, though — indeed, enough for a light meal:

And, it’s an absolutely gorgeous and sophisticated place to while away a few hours late at night, after the sun goes down.