Gin. A thread about gin.

[IndigoSpritz]

Which brand(s) are you on just now ? I'm off gin until April but I shall begin by finishing ( if that's possible) the bottle of Beefeater I opened last September. I usually go for slightly higher quality offerings such as Tanqueray and Morrison's Best and I'm happy with Schweppes tonic. Fever Tree doesn't really do it for me. I've yet to try Aldi gin but there's a new Aldi being built nearby so there may be an opportunity there.

DH cracked open a bottle of Sipsmith lemon drizzle gin tonight. I'm currently 33 wks pregnant so no glass for me but I tried a sip and by god, I could have drank a pint of the stuff, bloody lovely.

Monkey 47 all the way but it's expensive. Mid range but good are Tanqueray and Gordon's export (not the horrible stuff they sell in the UK). Budget bargain is Aldi's award winning Oliver Cromwell gin.

Oh I love gin. We have a few open at the minute.

These are my favourite ones we have
Tanqueray 10
Bloom
Hendricks
Brockmans
Harris
The botanist

We’ve also got Hestons citrus sherbet, Eden Mill, Whitley Neill rhubarb and ginger & Parma violet but can usually only have 1 of these at a time as I find strong flavours too much to have loads of.

Monkey 47 is probably my favourite but we don’t have any at the minute.

Merinocool - interesting you mention Eden Mill. I find it incredibly bland and uninspiring. Wonder if I need to mix it with anything in particular to bring out the flavours?

I don't like sugary syrupy gins so was prepared not to like the Parma violet gin someone gave me. But oh my it was delicious!

AndNoneForGretchenWieners for you, what a lovely thing to do, so kind.

Tinstar. Mine is the Love one not sure if that’s the same as yours, I find it quite florally and just had it will fevertree light.

But I thought that nobody on MN drinks more than a thimble of sherry once every 5 xmases 😏

Love a gin but still rather traditional and love a Bombay with schwepps

Apparently Gin is not cool anymore, the hipsters have now moved onto rum.

Rum's been on the up for a couple of years now, so I'm hoping that's the end of gin and tonic cards/ice cream/cake/crisps/chocolate etc ad infinitum. Hopefully it'll all be rum related instead.

Mount Gay! Delicious.

(I never post on the "how much do you drink threads" as they always seem to attract the small glass of wine once a month brigade ...)

DH bought me this one for Christmas

I thought it was going to be a bit sweet and sickly but it wasn't at all. It was so lovely I had to ration it!

Yes, the non alcoholic gin l posted about upthread was Seedlip Garden. Apple in the form of cider or cloudy fruit juice seems to be the main mixer in most of the cocktail recipes I've found. Looking forward to trying them. Thanks

How do you serve your various gin concoctions ? I used to have a nice plain crystal goblet (not huge like the current trend) which I bought at a charity shop. I broke it last year so I'll now be using an ordinary highball glass. Three or four lumps of ice (I do my own with filtered, boiled and cooled water) and a wedge of lime. As I said upthread, Schweppes ordinary tonic, not the low-calorie version.

Was wedded to Hendricks but have since tried Isle if Harris. Now nothing else will do!!

I've looked at some of these 'posher' gins in the shops and I really don't think I could bring myself to spend nearly thirty quid, or more, on a bottle. I'm not skint - it's more a matter of value for money. Tanqueray and supermarket Export gins (e.g. Morrison's) have served me well for many years but if someone with more money than me would care to oblige me, go ahead !

I was bought a gin tasting experience as a present. We tasted some lovely but very obscure gins. At the end of the session I asked the guy running it what supermarket/mainstream gins he would recommend, and he said Beefeater. I've also had another 'expert' confirm this too. So save your money and go for that!

Lots of the ones already mentioned. My favourites are:

Hendricks for a classic
Rock Rose
Ophir - I always go back to this
Sorgin from Aldi made from grapes - I love this one!
Roku
Monkey 47
The Botanist
Bloom

My absolute favourite ever gin is Few Botanical Democracy but it is quite expensive.

It has to be plain tonic for me though, the flavoured ones I find overpowering.

I used to drink Tanqueray at Uni and after a night of over indulgence it took me about 20 years to face gin again.

My current fav is Sipsmith with the fever tree mediterranean tonic-not the refreshingly light one-it's awful and artificial.

Lots of ice, a big goblet glass and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Is it wrong to have one on a rainy tuesday night?

Bought Whitely Neill rhubarb and ginger today. It's very delicate and can't taste ginger! Nice though.

I've just had my garden done and am going to be spending my summer drinking gin on the new patio so I am slowly building up my collection. Branching out from Lidl now and getting braver.

I've bought an ice bucket, large gin glasses and a tray so far too... sad I know but I'm bloody looking forward to it! I will be buying another one from the list on here next month

Does anyone have a recommendation for my next gin?
I don't like normal gin, it has to be a trendy one like the fruit ones! I like sweeter guns

@IndigoSpritz I ask for them for birthday / Christmas / mother’s day. And I also tend to buy one for our summer holiday too. Now we have children, we’re not out for a meal every night, so normally a gin in the garden or on the balcony is a nice alternative.

I know what you mean though, without trying them first, I wouldn’t buy a bottle at c£30. I tend to try them if I’m out and make a note. Or as others have said, get yourself to one of the organised gin festivals, or tasters. That’s normally when I’ve found ones I love (like Jawbox and Roku) I would never have chosen an Irish or Japanese one before.

Love gin, have been a member of the Craft Gin club for a while now and love discovering new ones.
My favourites so far
Opihr
Bathtub
Anno
Silent Pool
M&S no 2
Tanqueray 10
Always w Schweppes light tonic, not a fan of fever tree

I want to buy Roku next

You can buy gin miniatures online. I sometimes do that (we did a family gin lucky dip once). Just Miniatures and Masters of Malt both have a good range. That way you can try lots before committing to a full size bottle.

Can I also extol the virtues of giant ice cubes? DS works in a very upmarket bar and he introduced me to them. They melt much more slowly so dont dilute the drink so much, but still chill really well. The spherical ice cubes look fantastic too! If it's a gin that goes with citrus, he also rubs some zest round the rim and outside of the glass which makes it smell divine; I think that is what makes his G & Ts taste so much better than the ones I make.

Is Blackwood's gin any good ? It's eighteen quid in Booth's at the moment so it's quite tempting.