This gin and food pairing made our January!

January's beautiful Gin of the Month, La Republica has brought a little sunshine into this cold, long month with the help of fruity cocktails, South American inspired dishes and fiery G&Ts!

The list of botanicals in this beautiful Bolivian gin are wonderfully exotic and really give this spirit its distinctive, unique flavour. All foraged in South America, you will find juniper, coriander, cardamom, orange, lemon, anise, cinnamon, ginger, açaí, copoazú, ají gusano, cacao, chuchuhuasi bark, canelón bark, palo santo and sacha Culantro - phew!

These flavours are all native to South America and we wanted to see how well they paired with one of the most popular dishes of this part of the world - Ceviche.

We were lucky enough to be invited to the gorgeous Senior Ceviche, in London's Fitzrovia, where we were treated to an array of their famous Peruvian ceviche.

This warm, welcoming, vibrant restaurant was exactly what we needed on a cold January afternoon. Greeted by Boudy and his team, we were soon nestled in amongst the foliage and beautiful surroundings inspired from travels around Peru.

First up is EL CLÁSICO a fresh and zesty dish of sea bass ceviche with ají limo tiger’s milk, sweet potato purée, choclo corn,red onion, coriander and plantain. The creamyness of the seabass and sharpness of the lime mixed really well with the earthiness of La republica's perfect serve and the plantain crisp added a lovely crunch.

Next up was SEÑOR CEVICHE, one of the most popular dishes on the menu and for good reason! A combination of sea bass, octipus and sweet, crispy baby squid. We accompanied this with a side of ASPARAGUS & SWEET POTATO ANTICUCHOS in a delicious cheese sauce - it was so good we actually fought over the sauce! Again, paired with La Republica, the mixture of zest, spice and sweetness of the food, with the savoury warmth of the gin worked perfectly.

We had a wonderful afternoon and just for a moment were transported to the vibrant, colourful and sunny streets of South America! We will definitely be back for more top notch ceviche and the cocktail menu looks pretty good to...

Want to have a go at making your own gin-soaked ceviche? Get our recipe here.