Can someone explain the allure of Gin?

[LadyRochfordsHoickedGusset]

It tastes like petrol to me.

It's the tonic most people don't like, not the gin.

Tonic tastes very similar to gin imo. That’s why I like yo drink tonic when I’m driving.

I used to drink vodka neat (when I was a foolish carefree teenager).

One party my friends thought it would be funny to put water in the empty vodka bottle and see how long it took me to notice. Happy to report that it was the moment I lifted the glass anywhere near my nose. It definitely has a smell and it definitely has a taste.

Surely only someone who has cut out their tongue or chain-smoked cigars for three decades would say vodka doesn't have a taste!?!

There's something seriously wrong with your taste buds if you can't taste vodka (another drink of which I'm not a fan)!

If you don't like it then maybe don't drink it? If your only experience is with cooking gin such as gordons I'm not surprised. I like gin and have tried lots of different ones, some I love and some I'd happily never taste again.

If your only experience is with cooking gin such as gordons I'm not surprised

Wow! The snobbery

I have done a couple of blind tasting of gin, and in both cases I liked Gordons the best. It has a refreshing juniper taste, and to me epitomises what gin should taste of. I don't want gin to taste of rasperries or grapfruit or lemon meringue pudding. I just want gin flavoured gin. And Gordons does it the best for me. I also like Tanquerray and Bombay Sapphire, and currently have a bottle of York gin on the go, but I always go back to Gordon's.

I think the currrent gin fashion is generating a lot of snobbery, and people like to look down their noses at Gordons because it is available everywhere and was the only gin you used to be able to drink in pubs.

It's not snobbery, don't be ridiculous. Gordons has a very distinctive taste and smell and is very ginny for want of a better word. I wouldn't base my like or dislike for gin based just on a tasting a traditional gin. It's a very personal thing, I don't like normal gordons but I like their pink gin.

I've got some left over from Xmas, I've been trying to like it but I just don't. However today I've tried it with lemonade instead of tonic and it's quite nice (probably because I can't taste the gin)

So why did you call it "cooking gin" then?

It does have a very ginny taste. That's why I like it

I hate the pink Gordon's - not ginny enough and I don't like the fruit flavour, it tastes synthetic to me. The great thing about gin being fashionable (as vodka was in the 90s) is that there's lots of choice. I like Larios 12 or Bombay Sapphire best.

Find the taste disgusting and it makes me feel really sad the next day! Always think of it as 'mothers ruin' as my gran used to call it.

Yes it was known as 'mothers' ruin' for a lot of the last century wasn't it?

And then in the 50s and 60s there was 'mothers' little helper' = Valium.

I should add I don't even know what type of gin it was that I tried as the few times I did was on nights out.

'Were' on nights out, soz.

I had to train myself to like it - absolutely hated it when younger, tried it a few times from my 30th onwards and wasn’t very keen but would persevere for some reason, then all of a sudden bloody loved it. Was the same with olives.

Why I felt compelled to ‘push through’ my dislike is unclear, but I’m glad I did it’s probably my favourite drink now. When we had the good weather last week I was sat in the garden just fantasising about a large cold gin and tonic with ice and lots of lemon and lime. Currently pregnant so can’t partake sadly.

Well I love getting ruined and helped

Sounds like a Tinder bio Macncheeseballs

Congrats AliasGrape.

I work in the drinks industry too, here here. Thank you everyone 👍🏻

Gin to be true gin must be juniper based but there are so many other botanicals out there to add to the juniper base and gin can be as diverse as wine. Keep trying with different gins as well as mixers. We sell over 50 different gins alone.

The next big thing will be rum.

DD loves rum, especially spiced rum.