Gin

[kentauros]

Up until last year, I had never, ever had gin. I was under the impression it was nasty stuff. Maybe it is to other people, but now I like it even more than good vodka. Yet, I still don't drink anything but sipping tequila straight. None but that type of tequila are palatable to my tongue (and throat.)

But man! Gin has one helluva kick! Much stronger than vodka for the same amount. And as my sister related to me earlier this year: Gin makes me loopier than any other kind of alcohol.


I made a "Gin-Gin Mule" but I didn't have mint leaves, so I used a little vanilla extract with the ginger beer and lime

[vanlassie]

1. Gin is delicious. I told my college departing son:

"This is gin. Drink it when other people are buying. But, NEVER bring it home. It's too damn good and will cause you trouble."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Gin & tonic.

The very best drink on a hot day. Use Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray 10 and Schweppes with a bit of club soda so the tonic water doesn't seem so sweet; toss in a slice of lime and enjoy. This is very smooth, so be careful - you'll be drunker than you expect.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. Absolutely, although I tend to get the cheap stuff...

Gordon's is fine with the strong taste of the tonic.

But, Gordon's, Beefeater, Tanqueray... it's all good when relaxing before dinner. Or after dinner.

I've even lost my taste for Scotch now that I've been drinking gin for a while.

[kentauros]

10. This was my introduction to gin.

I used Jamie Oliver's Ultimate Gin and Tonic recipe:

However, I did not use that brand of gin. I did use Fever Tree tonic water, but my gin is a Texas brand from Fort Worth, "The Lone Star Gin" - 1835 brand

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. Now I want a G&T but it's too early.

The sun isn't over the yardarm yet. Maybe later...

I like Fever Tree but it's kind of expensive, and I always cut the tonic water with a little bit of club soda so it's not so sweet. I'll have to try it with a mint leaf. Out in the yard I've got a patch of catnip, which is a mint; but that might be kind of weird, and I don't want the cats to start drinking. They're goofy enough as it is.

[kentauros]

12. I get the Fever Tree because I just don't make drinks often at all.

And I do like it sweet, so no club soda

There are a lot of different herbs in the mint family, including basil. That would be an interesting flavor combination.

Imagine, too, if you used catnip oil for your mosquito repellent needs (it's a natural repellent, comparable to deet.)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. If I used catnip oil as a mosquito repellent

my big orange cat who is made of Velcro anyway would never leave me alone.

[kentauros]

22. That's why you give them a little bit of valerian tea first

Valerian is above and beyond in its effect on cats, and is perfectly safe for them, according to my vet. When I had a cat, I would take a little of my tea, pour it in a saucer to let it cool, and then add a drop of valerian tincture. He'd upset the saucer every time, but it was hilarious watching him react. And then he'd be even calmer after the initial crazy-phase was over

[PasadenaTrudy]

42. Fever Tree is the best!

Can't stand that Schweppes crap

[Xipe Totec]

31. Try it with Fever Tree

Pricy but worth it.

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[The Velveteen Ocelot]

34. I've had Fever Tree and it's good.

I just twitch a bit at the price.

[Xipe Totec]

36. As they say in their promo, it's 3/4 of the drink

So don't screw up a good gin with bad tonic.

[trackfan]

3. A gin martini(also, and more appropriately, known as a "martini") is the quickest way to a good mood

that I know of.

[csziggy]

4. Gin was the first booze I ever drank

Just a sip from my Mom's martini. It was a very long time before I tried any other alcoholic beverage...

Back then we lived in a dry county. Once a month my parents would drive to Tampa and come home with a case of gin and a bottle of vermouth. Some months they had enough vermouth left to skip buying a bottle. The olives could be bought locally.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Heh- a case of gin and a bottle of vermouth...

Sounds like the martini recipe I remember that called for waving the vermouth bottle over a glass of gin.

[csziggy]

8. Yep - that's pretty much what they did

I don't remember the exact recipe but Dad would carefully measure the precise amounts. He used a shot glass for the gin and a measuring spoon for the vermouth.

They gave up martinis when they weren't supposed to drink anymore. Then they went to Southern Comfort mixed with juice or screwdrivers with vodka. Yeah, like that's not drinking!

Mom still mixes her own drinks but we keep the ever lasting bottle of booze for her - it only has a little more than my sister thinks Mom should drink a day. It gets refilled every afternoon during Mom's nap. Personally at 95 I think Mom should drink as much as she wants but I don't do the day to day care so I just follow the rules when I visit.

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

45. Oh yes!

My recipe is to put a dash of vermouth in the glass...swirl...and toss out. Add icy cold, good quality gin, and good olives. Enjoy

[Hoyt]

7. Gin is OK, but stick to tequila and mezcal.

[kentauros]

9. Tequila is just to harsh to my palate.

I can do the sipping kind, but not often, and only half a shot at a time. It's the only liquor I can drink straight, and even then only in tiny sips. Gin is perfect for me because it mixes so well. I'm simply not a drinker of straight liquors, and that's probably a good thing in the long run

[Mosby]

16. Tequila is better with a splash of sweetened lime juice.

The sugar smooths out the harshness and brings out the flavors more.

Aged tequilas that is, I wouldn't use a blanco.

[kentauros]

18. Thanks for the tip.

I'll have to try that sometime

[Xipe Totec]

32. Try Sotol - A whole 'nother experience

[kentauros]

33. Interesting review :)

I'll consider it, next time I need to buy tequila. However, as it's just me here, I don't go through spirits very quickly at all. The 750ml bottle I have will likely last a few years

[Xipe Totec]

35. Sotol is very, very hard to find

You'll be lucky to find a bottle or two in deep South Texas.

So if you find it, hoard it.

PS:

Here is a more traditional review, with an explanation of the differences between Tequila and Sotol.

Main differences:
1).- Champagne yeast fermentation
2).- Toasted oak barrels, not charred, and never previously used.
3).- Double column distillation.
4).- More in the review.


https://www.abarabove.com/sotol/

[kentauros]

37. Spec's has it:

At least online (sotol search)

These are the brands and choices that came up in that search:

De Terra Texas Sotol - $63.67

Hacienda De Chihuahua Sotol • Extra Anejo - $87.99

Hacienda De Chihuahua Sotol • Oropuro - $58.52

Hacienda De Chihuahua Sotol Anejo 2 Yrs Old - $31.25

Hacienda De Chihuahua Sotol Plata - $22.99

Hacienda De Chihuahua Sotol Platinum - $36.31

Hacienda De Chihuahua Sotol Reposado - $23.88

Ocho Cientos Sotol • Blanco - $48.31

Sotol Por Siempre - $40.31

[Xipe Totec]

38. I updated the reply above

I'd go with the Hacienda de Chihuahua Añejo.

That's the one I've tried, and the one I can vouch for.

[kentauros]

39. The 2 year old, or the Extra?

As there's quite a price difference

[Xipe Totec]

40. 2 Year. The stuff is good from the git-go nt

[kentauros]

41. Well, that one does look good.

So I'll make a note of it, too

[Hayduke Bomgarte]

13. I knew a guy years ago, who was a big gin fan

Besides extolling the "kick" it has, he swore it has amazing aphrodisiac properties.

I never liked it, myself, so I couldn't say.

[kentauros]

14. The only aphrodisiac properties I could imagine

would only happen if you're both drinking it and subsequently get just as giggly together

[OriginalGeek]

15. Hendrick's Gin

and a little tonic with a lime twist. Lovely way to spend an evening.

[Doc_Technical]

17. "Doctor Jimmy and Mr. Jim,

when I'm pilled you don't notice him
he only comes out when I drink my gin."

[Paulie]

19. I love FEW American Gin from Evanston, IL

It's more of a white whiskey, with a very long hang time. Hendricks in a pinch and I have others buy me Bombay Saphire.

[NV Whino]

20. Bombay Safire East.

A new version with lemon grass and vietnamese pepper corns. Smoooooth. Makes a great martini.

[haele]

23. The Gin Rickey (Lime Rickey) was one of the first cocktails and it was somewhat medicinal.

Juice of one lime, 2 oz dry gin, ice, and seltzer water in a tumbler with two twists of lime peel, and gently stir. One a day for a week before going to bed was supposed to be good for rickets and/or night cramps. Don't add sugar.
My g-g-g- grandmother, a midwife/nurse in a small town, added a drop of genitain extract to help keep the tummy settled.

Laz is has been nursing a large bottle of Tanquery Rangpur gin (good dry gin with lime and herbs - reminds me of g-g-g-grandmother's recipie) that I got for him along since February; we're only down half.

Haele

[KamaAina]

24. I had a nice Tanqueray martini in NYC last week.

Nice enough that Mom couldn't resist helping me out with it.

[Yavin4]

25. Try Guzzler's Gin

[gvstn]

26. Everyone I know has a gin story about me.

Two drinks and I black out but still have enough energy to act like an idiot.

I still like the taste of a coldgin and tonic with lime but am afraid o drink one. Funny when your twenty but no at fifty.

[handmade34]

27. Gin is good. ...the very best is

Barr Hill

http://caledoniaspirits.com/spirits/

made very close to my home... expensive and worth every penny



Owner Todd Hardie spent over four decades as a beekeeper before deciding to incorporate his raw, organic Vermont honey into craft spirits. His first honey house, which required a $1,000 down payment and had a mortgage of $133 per month, was home to 180 colonies. Today, on the banks of the Lamoille River in Hardwick, Vermont (population: 3,174), Caledonia Spirits remains rooted in the traditions of sustainability and Vermont agriculture.

Barr Hill Gin is a London dry-style gin that, unlike other gins, uses only one botanical during distillation — juniper. The rest of its complex, gentle flavor profile comes from the raw honey (made at one of Hardie's now 1,900 colonies), which is added during a second distillation.

The distillery's 25-gallon still is made from recycled stainless steel and is a testament to Hardie's commitment to environmental sustainability. The bottles, which are filled and labeled by hand, are sealed with beeswax (what else did you expect?) cut from a huge hunk of luminous lemon-yellow wax from Singing Cedar Apiaries.

Barr Hill Gin earned the Double Gold Medal at the 2012 New York International Spirits Competition. "The best fertilizer is always the footprint of a farmer,"Hardie says. This gin has his footprint all over it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. Death's Door gin is good, and unusual.

It's made from wheat grown on Washington Island in northern Wisconsin, and it's one of the few gins made from organic ingredients. It's got a nice crisp flavor. http://www.spiritsreview.com/reviews-gin-deaths-door.html

[kentauros]

30. If Spec's carries it, then I'll have to give it a try when I run out.

I'll make a note to myself and write that one down. Thanks!

[Xipe Totec]

29. Bombay Sapphire Gin-Vapor Infused, and Fever Tree Tonic Water

The perfect Gin and Tonic.

[ohnoyoudidnt]

43. Indeed

[kentauros]

44. I'm sure it was "medicinal" gin, too