The gin thing is getting out of hand

[Ithinkitsgoingtorain]

Bog standard gin plus ordinary tonic, dash of elderflower cordial, ice, slice of cucumber (I am trying to keep on trend). Works for me! I can't be bothered with forty different gins to choose from. They all taste the same after the third one. I'm just trying to economise.

So find a gin you live and stick with that one. You don’t have to try all 40!

I have my favourites. If Bobby’s is on offer (a rare delight) then that’s an absolute no brained, my favourite every time. Pricey but worth it.
If not, I like a Whitley Neil orange gin, a Brokers or Bols Geneva.

I really couldn’t get worked up about having too much choice, sometimes it’s nice to try something different, but if you don’t like that, then just find your gin and stick to it. Personally I love trying new gins.

Oh why didn’t I make rhubarb gin when it was rhubarb season??!!

Do you think it would work with stewed rhubarb out of the freezer?

Don't like gin at all.

Apparently we've passed peak gin and the next thing is going to be rum.

I’ve decided after a lot of research, I don’t need posh gin.

Bog standard gin and cheap tonic. Ice.

Done ✅

Nope. Disagree. Love it. Mermaids Isle of Wight gin is my fave. Just seen rubarb gin which I do fancy!

Never had gin either .

BIWI DO you eat the rhubarb afterwards?

Many, many years ago (about 30+) I was given a bottle of Bombay Sapphire which was then one of the few alternatives to Gordons or Beefeater.

I was SO disappointed when I poured it & it wasn't blue!

@DrDiva it did on that "Ultimate Shopping List" programme on Channel 4 last year.

I miss gin. I'd barely just discovered it and then I went and got pregnant! Not related though, I swear

I drink a variety of gins when I'm out (Opihr, Monkey 47 etc) because it expands my horizons. At home, I stick to my pink gordons. My parents have a "Gin Bar" because gin is trendy hopefully when they get bored of it I'll have millions of bottles some of that come my way!

For now I'm stuck with my Seedlip alcohol free though ;)

I like gin!
Having tried a few, they definitely don't all taste the same, honey gin is different from seaweed gin, raspberry gin is very different from rhubarb gin, and there is no similarity in taste between marmalade gin and cucumber gin.
If anyone is struggling with gin, I will be happy to help by drinking it

Been a gin drinker for many years. Just joined a gin club for three months, was a freebie. Salivating quietly thinking about the lovely boxes going to arrive.

BunsOfAnarchy you need a proper pink gin made with Angostura Bitters, tastes completely different.

Sloes are ripening too, will be making sloe gin in the next few months which means I need to decant and bottle last years (and start drinking it).

I've found my gin. Brockmans. I've given up the search.
Controversially though, I do think a decent tonic makes the difference!

Why elderflower cordial?

Schweppes tonic is fine. Hendriks, Bombay or Gordons* are all nice. You have the choice to spend more or less but I wouldn't spend less. You can taste the difference.

Gin is great because it's accessible, drinkable, varied and versatile. For what it's worth, I liquidised a lot of my savings and invested it all in several small gin distilleries as well as Fever Tree a few years ago (hainvg just stopped working for Diageo). Some luck involved of course but it's easy to see these trends coming.

Rum is due a comeback and it will.

*some of the uneducated sneer at Gordons but it always performs excellently in blind tastings. It's the Bells of the Gin world.

I tried gin for the first time a few months ago to see what the fuss was all about.
It was quite possibly the nastiest thing I've ever drank.

Loonoon

But, but, but...the whole point of gin is that there is no such thing as gin that tastes of gin. There isn't one 'gin' flavour.

Gin is alcohol with flavourings, which can be any combination of herbs and botanical that the gin-maker decides to add. It's supposed to be pot purri in alcohol form.

Well I agree with you but only because the brewery is insisting we offer a special selection of gins, each of which must be paired with a specific tonic, with either fresh berries or other fruits in it depending on the gin concerned. It is a right pain in the arse when (as often happens) someone orders three different gin cocktails and customers are four deep at the bar! If they do it with rum as well, I will have a staff revolt on my hands!

I love trying different ones. I have some lemon drizzle Sipsmith that my mother in law bought me. It's devine.

I hope the next thing is port, served with some cubes of stilton on the side.

"I hope the next thing is port"

I'd say the same about sherry but it isn't versatile enough for marketing to make enough money with variations of it. The image of the two can be changed easily enough.

@Spacepenguin

"the whole point of gin is that there is no such thing as gin that tastes of gin"

Nonsense. Juniper + botanicals. HTH

I've always been a gin drinker too, my first stolen spirit from the parental drinks cupboard was gin.

Personally I don't think you can't beat a generous Bombay Sapphire, slice of lemon and a full sugar Schweppes tonic on an aeroplane out of a plastic cup.

Have to disagree with OP, not all Gin is equal. and you CAN taste the difference! I think it's lovely to have so much choice, and why not? Whisky, beer and wine drinkers have been waxing eloquent about the complexities and nuances of the variety of their own peculiar tipples for donkeys years..let us Gin mothers have a go too! Never met a Gin I didn't like..apart from Ophir. That stuff is truly rank.

As YoThePussy says above, Pink Gin is with angostura bitters rather than just a colour (or used to be anyway). Our hot summer "go to" drink would be a long glass full of crushed ice, gin, 2 dashes of bitters then top up with chilled water, tonic or lemonade (depending on taste & mood). POSSIBLY a mint leaf picked from the flower beds in the top.

Gin is alcohol with flavourings, which can be any combination of herbs and botanical that the gin-maker decides to add. It's supposed to be pot purri in alcohol form.

Not strictly true. Gin's predominant flavour must be from juniper berries for it to be called gin.

*@PanGalaticGargleBlaster *

Monkey 47 has to be my favourite gin! Have you tried the Aldi black forest gin? Would love to know if it's in any way comparable.

Loving Whitley Neil Rhubarb and Ginger gin at the moment. Planning on doing my own sloe gin in the autumn!

I blinking love a good gin and tonic. But none of this flavoured crap added. A decent measure of Hendricks, fever tree light tonic and a good handful of ice.

The rest is just gimmicky crap. I thought the point was to taste the botanicals, not drown them out with synthetic additions.

I love a gin and tonic, but I think Gordon’s is fine, as is Bombay and Hendricks. I can’t get too excited about others as for me the flavour is a lot to do with the tonic water and lemon. It’s a classic.

Rum on the other hand, has a more powerful flavour and for me it’s quite a difference and nice to have lots of variations. I like all the different combinations, flavoured or Spiced, dark or light, mojitos or so on.

GeminiRising

Monkey is a bit more expensive but I have a bottle for when I want to treat myself.

Not tried Black Forrest gin, will look out for it though.

Currently in my cupboard I have:

Monkey 47
Silent Pool
Deaths Door
Tanqueray 10
Dingle
Dry Line gin
Eden Mill
Glendalough gin
Gin Mare
Gin GM
Garrick Temple