Discussion
After getting paralytic at about 15 years I did what everyone says but actually did it...I never drank again.
Until recently that is (17 years later) my fiancé got me into gin and tonic, I do like it and unlike beer I can handle it (that and for some reason can drink prosseco and champagne and not feel sick) I do feel worse in the morning from g&t though, I can drink a bottle of the latter and be fine (a bottle for me is a lot, just started drinking remember
)
Anyway, we have Gordon's, I've tried Bombay but prefer Gordon's. I notice though no one else mentions this, is it crap? Should I be trying some of the others?
Until recently that is (17 years later) my fiancé got me into gin and tonic, I do like it and unlike beer I can handle it (that and for some reason can drink prosseco and champagne and not feel sick) I do feel worse in the morning from g&t though, I can drink a bottle of the latter and be fine (a bottle for me is a lot, just started drinking remember
)Anyway, we have Gordon's, I've tried Bombay but prefer Gordon's. I notice though no one else mentions this, is it crap? Should I be trying some of the others?
m3jappa said:
Anyway, we have Gordon's, I've tried Bombay but prefer Gordon's. I notice though no one else mentions this, is it crap? Should I be trying some of the others?
Depends what you mean by crap. I've always found Gordon's rather unsubtle, unbalanced, and rough round the edges - there isn't the level of elegance and complexity I usually look for in spirits.
Some people love the stuff though, and to each his own! Never hurts to explore a few different gins though...
The important thing is to use proper strength Gin ie 47%+ and the highest quality tonic you can afford.
Fever tree is pretty good but my favourite is 'Q Tonic' which is sweetened subtly with Agave nectar rather than sugar.
http://www.qtonic.com/inspiration.html
I also like my Gin and also the tonic to be very well chilled so I don't need to use ice and then just a slice of unwaxed lemon to garnish.
Fever tree is pretty good but my favourite is 'Q Tonic' which is sweetened subtly with Agave nectar rather than sugar.
http://www.qtonic.com/inspiration.html
I also like my Gin and also the tonic to be very well chilled so I don't need to use ice and then just a slice of unwaxed lemon to garnish.
nightwalker said:
it must be something that happens as you hit your 30's!
Christ, I obviously hit my 30s a little early. I moved away from lager at 15 (horrible taste, and requires far too much liquid in order to feel mildly tipsy - so I was forever going to the loo, plus I think I had overdone it too many times) and on to vodka (usually straight on the rocks).Coming from the North, even drinking neat vodka was considered a bit girly. So it wasn't until I moved to London at 18 that I was able to enjoy G&Ts. And that has been my tipple of choice ever since.
In terms of different gins, actually the differences amongst most commercially prepared gins are very subtle, if noticeable at all. The majority of them will receive the base alcoholic liquid from a commercial distillery (such as Cargill: http://www.cargillfoods.com/emea/en/market-categor...) and then add some botanical flavourings.
So the drinks produced by Diageo (Gordons, Tanqueray), Pernod-Ricard (Beefeater, Plymouth, Seagrave) and Bacardi (Bombay Sapphire) will often have the same base alcohol as the likes of Waitrose gin (which is actually quite pleasant as a daily drinker).
Therefore the difference is usually simply the botanicals and alcohol content, except for the much more expensive, independent brands. For instance, Gordons is a lighter-weight version (37.5% in UK form)) of its sister brand, Tanqueray (?47%).
As it goes, my usual tipple is Gordon's Export Strength because it can generally be obtained for £8 a litre at all good duty free outlets and is very pleasant to drink. Sadly the lack of recent travel, and the speed with which we get through gin (it doesn't help that almost all friends who come round for a drink, drink gin), means that I have been on Waitrose gin for the past month. It's actually quite good. I also like Greenalls (but not their lack of an Export Strength) and Bombay, but not Beefeater, which I find somehow lacking.
In terms of "special" gins, I don't tend to drink too many, as bottles disappear too quickly for it to be worthwhile. Hendrick's gin, a brand of William Grant & Sons, is very pleasant - I think one of their selling points has always been that they control the distillation process, so put the botanicals in before distillation, but I may be wrong. Tanqueray 10 is very pleasant too, but not really worth the extra over ordinary Tanqueray.
heres a tip I picked up somewhere.
If you take Lemon or Lime (should be lime to be honest) with your drink but can never use a whole fruit in one go, cut it into slices and put in the freezer. Then when you want a drink in the future you already have to hand a piece of fruit and as it's frozen it can double up as an ice cube!
If you take Lemon or Lime (should be lime to be honest) with your drink but can never use a whole fruit in one go, cut it into slices and put in the freezer. Then when you want a drink in the future you already have to hand a piece of fruit and as it's frozen it can double up as an ice cube!
Kudos said:
heres a tip I picked up somewhere.
If you take Lemon or Lime (should be lime to be honest) with your drink but can never use a whole fruit in one go, cut it into slices and put in the freezer. Then when you want a drink in the future you already have to hand a piece of fruit and as it's frozen it can double up as an ice cube!
If you're going ot be a purist, it shouldn't be lime, but lemon. Most gins use lemon peel as a botanical. Few, if any, use lime.If you take Lemon or Lime (should be lime to be honest) with your drink but can never use a whole fruit in one go, cut it into slices and put in the freezer. Then when you want a drink in the future you already have to hand a piece of fruit and as it's frozen it can double up as an ice cube!
I quite like Tanqueray and Gordons, positively hate Beefeater and think Bombay is marketing over substance and no better than supermarkets own brands. Hendricks is nice but reserved for the misses to have with cuncumber, as a bloke though I cannot stand the taste of cucumber.... Not keen on lime, it can make it taste soapy, got to be lemon in my book.
However the secret is in the tonic too, you cannot beat the single airplane size tins of Schweppes, full fat rather than diet. Any other tonic can imho ruin a good Gin.
Another tip is to smear the rim with the lemon before serving if you like the fresh taste or if you want to pass it off as stronger than it is smear with gin!
However the secret is in the tonic too, you cannot beat the single airplane size tins of Schweppes, full fat rather than diet. Any other tonic can imho ruin a good Gin.
Another tip is to smear the rim with the lemon before serving if you like the fresh taste or if you want to pass it off as stronger than it is smear with gin!
fredt said:
Lots of interesting gins cropped up the last couple of years, tried most of them but keep coming back to trusty old Tanqueray 10.
With schweppes of course
T-Ten is the trusty favourite in our household too. We try others, but it remains our favourite.With schweppes of course
Schweppes is ok; Fever Tree is where it's at though. And the juice of half a lime.
bigdom said:
MonkeyMatt said:
I would like to distil some Gin! how does one go about it?
Effectively you need to distill a pure tasteless spirit circa 95% abv, then steep in your chosen botanicals and dilute to appropriate level.
However, there is this plae in London where you can make your own, and they then keep your recipe on the books so you can reorder it
http://portobellostarbar.co.uk/ginstitutelondon/
Matt172 said:
bigdom said:
MonkeyMatt said:
I would like to distil some Gin! how does one go about it?
Effectively you need to distill a pure tasteless spirit circa 95% abv, then steep in your chosen botanicals and dilute to appropriate level.However, there is this plae in London where you can make your own, and they then keep your recipe on the books so you can reorder it
http://portobellostarbar.co.uk/ginstitutelondon/
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