to tell you all that you should give up wine...

[dancingwithmyselfandthecat]

... In favour of gin.

I am a total convert. Mixed with tonic or bitter lemon it is perfect for any post five o clock scenario or meal. Also, it works out cheaper, doesnt get you as tired and you wake up feeling refreshed.

Pink gin with angastora bitters is yummy

Annie, if you drink naice gin it slips down nicely without a mixer. I can hardly stomach most gin, but Bombay Sapphire with loads of ice (maybe a few slices of cucumber) is delicious.

Gin turns me into either the life and soul of the party, the person everyone wants to know, OR the person sobbing in the corner with eyeliner all over her face, who everyone studiously avoids.

Would prefer not to take the gamble.

I love gin. But pouring your own measures is a dangerous game. Too much definitely ends in tears for me. In fact could probably put all cases of getting over emotional when drunk down to gin. But then most cases of falling asleep in stupid places or being violently sick are down to wine.

Love gin! A few slices of cucumber and lime sprig of mint topped up with tonic water. Lovely!

I don't understand all this 'gin makes me miserable' nonsense. It is made from mashed grain, just like most vodkas and there's little or no difference in the other essential ingredients or the production process, with the exception the addition of junipers (always) and botanicals (varied) for flavour.

It's like saying that orange squash makes you miserable but blackcurrant squash doesn't.

Annie I drink gin with lemonade as don't like tonic. Also good with soda water

If you are having an adverse reaction to any alcoholic drink it's probably just because you are drinking to much of it.

There was a thread on here recently about a man who 'always gets nasty when he's had whiskey. the whiskey doesn't agree with him and he becomes an aggressive twat.'

Nooooo.....drinking too much doesn't agree with him and he is an aggressive twat.

For everyone who says they don't like gin I would suggest trying a different gin or mixer. Gin and fresh orange or cranberry is lovely
The range of tastes in different guns is much less subtle than vodka - Gordon's is a strong gin flavour whereas Bombay is so weak in flavour it is almost vodka. Keep trying as there is probably bound to be one you like

I've been googling this now and it seems there is evidence that dark spirits give you a worse hangover than clear spirits (I think most of us already know this) and of course you may get 'differently' drunk on wine or beer compared to spirits, but there is no evidence that gin will affect your mood any differently to vodka.

It is a longstanding urban myth that stems from when the poor drank it in the 17th c, and it was made from just about anything that would ferment, so the quality would be suspect and it would be dangerous, as would all cheap alcohol have been.

Poor and downtrodden women would drink it in excess to blot out the harsh realities of daily life, and yes, the effects were awful. But frankly the effects were no different to how they would have been if it had been crappy vodka instead - which is just gin with the absence of juniper and herbal flavourings. If juniper itself (or any of the other herbs commonly used) were a mood enhancer or a depressant I think we'd know about it by now.

Try Hoxton Gin. It tatstes amazing.

Gin and ginger beer! Nice.

Hendricks and Cucumber, with a tiny splash of tonic- yum!

I like those ready mixed cans. Great for an occasional drink and keeping to a measured quantity. I still like wine but have had few chances to drink it in the last few years. A bottle is too much and even if I could drink more freely, I find it sends me to sleep after a glass.

Ive recently bought lidl gin and it is safe to consume, ladies.
Forgotten name of it though.
Goes down very nicely with that Italian lemonade which defeats the purpose of buying gin at lidl but never mind.

Gin is a lovely early evening drink.

Not calorific like wine either (using slimline tonic).

Gin is flavoured vodka

I was amazed when I found that out

Yes it's lovely with San Pellegrino orange or lemon. Also delicious with elderflower cordial and soda (same size measure of cordial as gin if you have a full flavoured gin) topped up with soda/fizzy water

YABU. Gin and I do not get along.

If you are having an adverse reaction to any alcoholic drink it's probably just because you are drinking to much of it

I do think different drinks have different effects, which isn't too surprising as they use different ingredients with different trace elements in them.

Look at homeopathy, which everyone knows has real effects even though there is not a trace of the active elements :)

Oh and you can't compare gin and wine. Wine is the ambrosia of the gods, gin is best used to kick start tractors on cold mornings.

I absolutely agree that different spirits have different effects. As children we would try to persuade my mother to drink gin rather than Scotch as whisky made her argumentative and aggressive in a way that gin did not.

I'm with you OP. Gin and vodka are the way to go. For some reason I now have it in my head that they are healthy low carb options.

Some visitors are weird though, and they don't want to drink gin or vodka and prefer wine. There's no accounting for taste.