The Gin Thread

Gin and tonic with a touch of grenadine was my first indulgence when I was sixteen. Not one of my best
moments. To this day, I cannot stand the smell of gin. Sorry guys.

 

Anyone tried a Vesper? A guy at work keeps talking about them like they are the best drink ever.

It's basically a gin/vodka martini but with a splash of Lillet instead of using Vermouth.

I had never heard of Lillet before but it looks like it is available at my local liquor store. I also need to grab some more Tanq-10 so will probably buy some of each and give it a try.

Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel

 

Get away from the large distiller's and start trying some of the smaller batch gin's...

Much like micro-brews there is some great stuff going on out there off the beaten path.

 

start runnin' moonshine in the 348

 

I'd grab a FF then if you are going to go into the "import business".

 

I might make the 30+ mile drive out to the little distillery near me just to see how the gin is.

 

Then call me Rosie.
I started on Beefeater(Dad's gin) moved to Tanq.(crazy juice) then found Sapphire and haven't looked back. Didn't care for Hendricks(cucumber, blechh).
As I'm out of all but the Hendricks I'll be shopping soon so will perhaps revisit good old Beefeater, I can always add tonic.
Define dry please.

 

I musch prefer Beefeater over Bombay. I haven't tried Hendricks.

 

It depends on the gin but with Beefeater I would say about a quarter ounce of vermouth for one martini is the max before it starts getting a wet. I don't usually measure though, so I could be off on that.

 

TGIF.....Ten Goodness It's Friday

 

Has anyone had The Botanist Islay?

http://www.drinkhacker.com/2012/01/12/review-the-botanist-islay-dry-gin/

The lady at Spec's said it's the best gin she's ever had. I didn't buy a bottle yet as I was just getting beer. But it will be purchased on my next visit.

 

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I guess it's déclassé in this group, but I don't think you can beat Bombay Sapphire.

Herbalicious!

 

Hendricks, and only Hendricks for me!
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I wouldnt say "it's déclassé", I just preferred the taste of others over it. It wasn't bad at all though.

 

While I haven't had Hendricks, I have had Bombaby. I really like Bombay, but I have to say The Botanist is now my go to Gin. I strongly suggest giving it a try.

 

I've given Hendricks another try as a bottle languishes in my liquor cabinet.
Mixed with a bit more vermouth than I normally use it was very good, perhaps more suitable for the "perfect" martini?
My $.02

 

I bought a bottle of Hendrick's yesterday to give it a try. When I made a drink though it didn't taste very good. Could have been due to the fact that I mistakenly bought and mixed it with club soda instead of tonic. Was quite a disappointment!! I'll grab some tonic and report back when I make a proper drink with it!!

 

Yeah, it was funny. I don't know how I was able to not only buy the wrong stuff, but then make a drink with it and still be surprised when it didn't taste right!!?? Guess maybe I need to pay more attention sometimes!

 

Glad that G&Ts have such a following in the States. In England Gordon's and Schweppes is the standard, always with lemon, never lime; slice, not a wedge.

Lime juice and gin is a different drink, often using Roses lime cordial instead of freshly squeezed, and no tonic added. More like a martini than a long drink. In the US you can get Gordon's Export, with a yellow and orange label. (Gordon's in the UK has a white label on a green glass bottle.) I buy the liter bottles so they are glass - the 1.75l tend to be plastic.

In the US though Schweppes uses high fructose corn syrup (in the UK it's cane sugar). The taste of US Schweppes is therefore cloying and sickly if you are used to the UK version.

Fever Tree is the answer. Excellent tonic. I've done blind taste test with Q and Fever Tree wins for me.

Never Canada Dry though. The most depressing thing is to be offered a gin and tonic as a guest and find the spice of the Bombay Sapphire fighting the sickly tonic with wedges of lime and too much ice.

I use an egg cup to get the gin measure correct and buy glasses specifically for G&Ts so that with 3 ice cubes the correct amount of tonic will fill the glass to within 1/2 an inch of the rim.

I didn't realize how particular I was until I reread this. I guess at a certain age you get to know what you like.

 

What are the measurements you are using for your drinks?