301415 Sat Jan 28 08:43:54 -0800 2006 22 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1680632 Seeing the posts below about Martinis and different Gins started me thinking with the remaining brain cells that I have left. In SC there is an island called Pawley's Island south of Myrtle Beach where the people talk about being arrogantly shabby. When it comes to my day to day drinking habits I tend to be a bottom shelf buyer in the Red Dot Store. For those who do not understand in SC years ago liquor stores where not allowed to put any advertising on the exterior of their buildings. One enterprising owner of a store painted large red circles on his store. This became a common practice and thereby the name stuck. So I tend to be arrograntly bent over. Back to the gin. For my regular gin I enjoy McCormick Gin. I have never tried the Plymouths, Hendricks, Millers and Juniperos this is all new to me. I have had Beefeater and my fav is Tanqueray. As to Bombay Saph. big Woop not much flavor. To me the sweet tart flavor of a correctly proportioned G&T is Nirvania. 2to1 Schwepps tonic in the little glass bottles with one measure of Tank prop your feet up at the beach on a warm winter day and it does not get any better. I do want to try those other gins and that is why I love chowhound so much it expands my horizions but unfortunately also my waistline. Sat Jan 28 08:43:54 -0800 2006 0 1 wiener hound 1 1680646 For G&Ts we tend to use Gordons. One new trick we learned this past summer was to add some fresh mint to the G&T along with the tonic and lime. It is quite tasty. One day I had some basil picked washed and drying on the kitchen counter, my DH mistook it for mint, that made an interestng G&T! Sat Jan 28 12:40:39 -0800 2006 1680632 0 Candy 1 1680648 Try the Schweppes Bitter Lemon, tough to find but makes a really good alternative to G&T. Sat Jan 28 12:59:03 -0800 2006 1680632 0 Larry 1 1680649 I too like Gordon's for my G&T. I just can see buying expensive gin to cover it up with tonic water. Schwepps is by far the best tonic water available, Canada Dry being too sweet for me. And, if you're into "low carb" the diet Schwepps really isn't all that bad. We have a lime tree in the back yard that produces year round. Fresh lime juice MAKES a G&T, without it just not worth drinking. Sat Jan 28 13:05:43 -0800 2006 1680632 0 Monty 2 1680660 Have you noticed the difference between the anemic version we get here in the US and the Schweppes "Indian Tonic" sold over in the UK? Sat Jan 28 16:29:54 -0800 2006 1680649 0 Larry 3 1680774 Yes, apparently has something to do with that amount of quinine requiring a prescription in the U.S.... Mon Jan 30 10:22:19 -0800 2006 1680660 0 deibu 2 1680688 I also like Gordon's for my everyday G&T, but my tonic of choice is Seagrams. I prefer lemon over lime as my garnish. Sat Jan 28 19:47:26 -0800 2006 1680649 0 Terrie H. 2 1680793 Absolutely agree that Schwepps is mandatory. Canada Dry has no bite and and seems flat. Have been known to drive to 5 different stores to find little bottles of Schwepps. Sometimes it seems like it is in short supply in NorCal because all the stores are sold out. Mon Jan 30 14:01:21 -0800 2006 1680649 0 SF-Glen 1 1680650 I did a gin tasting with some friends a few years back and the results were as follows: best G&T - Tanqueray Ten (w/Plymouth a close 2nd) best martini (twist category) - Hendricks best martini (olive category) - Beefeater best w/Lemon Lime soda - some crazy brand a friend brought back from a Spanish isle. Sat Jan 28 13:14:24 -0800 2006 1680632 0 joypirate 1 1680657 The talk of gin reminds me of a scene from the classic movie "The Old Dark House" (1932. Creepy Horace Femm (Ernest Thesinger), attempting to be courteous to his storm stranded guests, enters the room with a bottle and glasses on a tray and beams "It's only gin, you know. Only gin. I like gin" They proceed to drink it straight. I like gin too, but I don't believe I've ever seen anyone drink gin straight. Sat Jan 28 16:01:26 -0800 2006 1680632 0 Jimmy Buffet 2 1680679 I was in a restaurant once and there was a table full of women who were a bit boisterous and a bit loud. They were ordering drniks and one of them (quite audibly for everyone in the restaurant) ordered a "gin martini, but hold the vermouth." One of her companions ask her "if you want gin on the rocks, why just not order it?" And the gin drinker responded "ladies don't order gin on the rocks!" Sat Jan 28 18:32:00 -0800 2006 1680657 0 Candy 2 1680680 I was in a restaurant once and there was a table full of women who were a bit boisterous and a bit loud. They were ordering drniks and one of them (quite audibly for everyone in the restaurant) ordered a "gin martini, but hold the vermouth." One of her companions ask her "if you want gin on the rocks, why just not order it?" And the gin drinker responded "ladies don't order gin on the rocks!" Sat Jan 28 18:35:39 -0800 2006 1680657 0 Candy 3 1680687 >> ordered a "gin martini, but hold the vermouth." Yes, I've heard of people just passing a bottle of vermouth over the glass w/o opening it, or showing the bottle to the glass for the ultimate dry.... Sat Jan 28 19:32:09 -0800 2006 1680680 0 Jimmy Buffet 4 1680689 Heck, I don't even want the vermouth in the same room as my gin. Sat Jan 28 19:51:03 -0800 2006 1680687 0 JMF 4 1680804 Another popular method is to open the bottle and place it in front of a fan across the room. Winston Churchill preferred little more than giving the vermouth bottle a glance from across the room. My favorite, pour a shot of vermouth, down the shot, and breathe heavily into the mixing glass. Mon Jan 30 14:46:40 -0800 2006 1680687 0 JK Grence (the Cosmic Jester) 1 1680705 As noted well below I use Tanqueray. Ordinary Tanqueray for G&T and Ten for martinis. I think G&T's are better with half soda and half tonic water and lemon not lime. Unfortunately Schweppes refuses to sell their diet tonic water in Canada. So G&T's are especially loaded with calories. Sun Jan 29 08:58:21 -0800 2006 1680632 0 Tom 2 1680798 What is the calorie load from non-diet tonic water?? Mon Jan 30 14:20:59 -0800 2006 1680705 0 Tom Hall 3 1680855 Generally 10 calories per oz. One cup is 80 cal. Gin is 70 or so cal per oz. If you really love G&T, it could add up! Mon Jan 30 22:32:42 -0800 2006 1680798 0 Snackish 1 1680794 I travel to Seattle often on business and the bar at the Roosevelt Hotel stocks something around 35 gins. My everyday gin for G&T is Tanqueray, but I also like Hendrick's alot. Had Brokers in Seattle and thought it was fantastic, but have not seen it in bars in the Bay Area (although have seen it at Nob Hill). Plymouth for martinis. Can't stand Boodles. Mon Jan 30 14:06:30 -0800 2006 1680632 0 SF-Glen 1 1680799 I always have liked Bombatonics- standard old Bombay gin and I agree that fresh lime is absolutely essential. Mon Jan 30 14:22:45 -0800 2006 1680632 0 Tom Hall 1 1680811 Wall Street Journal did a blind tasting with all of their food and wine critics last summer. No Sapphire or 10 made the list. The top four were: Boodle's Plymouth Beefeater Tanqueray Mon Jan 30 16:17:59 -0800 2006 1680632 0 Hugo 1 1680857 I seem to recall a friend returning from a triip to the Netherlands and returning with tiny (shot glasses really) and genever which she said was Dutch Gin. We drank the chilled Genever straight in these tiny glasses. I recall nothing after the third drink. Mon Jan 30 23:38:40 -0800 2006 1680632 0 fai jay (fai jackson) 2 1680872 Back in the sixties while working in the Netherlands I stayed at a resort called the Bad Boekelo near Hengelo. The bartender was so upset when I said I didn't like Genever that he insisted I try a different one every night when I stopped in the bar. Three weeks later not a duplicatre and there were still a lot of untasted bottles. Just in passing the hotel was built at an old salt mine which left a large hole that became the pool complete with a wave machine. Tue Jan 31 09:15:55 -0800 2006 1680857 0 Tom