Gordon’s Lemon Meringue isn’t gin!

[SSRI]

I bought a bottle over the counter at my local mini supermarket, they didn’t have my fave Sicilian Lemon so thought I’d give this a go. In tiny writing at the bottom it says ‘spirit drink’ it’s not actually bloody gin! I choose gin because in my head it’s one of the easiest to digest, doesn’t give me a hangover and seems faintly medicinal. This all of course may be bollocks but this is clearly some fakey ultra processed chemical juice that I will probably regret. I’m drinking some now with tonic, it’s alright but tastes more vodka-y and just Isn’t Gin. I feel mid-sold. AIBU?

Isn’t all gin basically flavoured vodka though? Traditionally with juniper!

Is it?! I thought gin was fairly organic. Le sigh - nothing is. Maybe I should switch to ethanol

I googled it and it's 35% alcohol so it is gin with added flavours to make it taste of lemon meringue

@Livpool vodka is very different from gin!
Gin is horrible and vodka is nice

I agree gin is nicer than vodka but that is because its flavoured. They're both made by distilling grain or potato to a neutral spirit then gin is flavoured but vodka isn't.

It has to be called a spirit as they will have probably added some sugar or non traditional gin flavourings (juniper/citrus etc) therefore it is not “gin”, I suspect if you look at your Sicilian “gin” bottle it will say spirit ok it as will all the ones like Whitely Neill which claim to be gin but are gin based liqueurs.

Gin is also a spirit though. How is a gin based liqueur made differently? I don't understand the distinction.

Well of course it isn't! Once you mess around with it adding flavours like lemon meringue, it's not pure gin anymore. How could it be?

Gin based liqueur has more stuff added to it - mainly sugar but also other flavourings. As a result it is lower in alcohol. Gin can only be called gin if it is at least 37.5% ABV.

It's not gin at all - gin is just a grain spirit flavoured with juniper. This is a grain spirit flavoured with lemon.

It doesn't make it any more or less pure and won't make a difference to OP's health.

Ah that makes sense thank you!

Every day is a school day! I thought gin was totally different to vodka. The Sicilian Lemon one definitely says gin on it. Maybe it’s due to the lower alcohol content then.

I thought it was the latest country gone to the dogs thing now we aren’t allowed proper chocolate on Penguins, not even being allowed gin is too much. It was cheaper though so there’s that. And I don’t feel rough today despite drinking best part of 1/2 the bottle

Gin is vodka with berries in it to flavour it.

Not only must it be 37.5% it must contain juniper to be called gin. London gin is a specific recipe but does not have to be distilled in London. Any gin over 47% abv is classified in the UK as Navy Strength. The history of gin is really interesting but most of the flavoured gins are not gin at all...

They are if they're labelled as gin - it's a protected term.

I check abv, I like a ‘burn’. Depressingly, the flavoured vodkas all taste incredibly sweet ai can’t do fizz so can’t dilute them.

I thought gin (I can’t drink the ‘proper’ stuff, only flavours like pink gin, and don’t get me started on Bombay Sapphire not being blue!) was basically vodka with juniper berries added? Then the favours are just other flavours!

That is how my aunt used to make it years ago!

Gin is typically a colourless spirit distilled from grain and flavoured with juniper.
I despair of some modern 'gins' flavoured (and even sweetened!) with god knows what.
I recommend Beefeater for a 'juniper forward' gin at 40 pct abv.

I love the idea that you reconcile yourself to drinking gin by saying it’s vaguely medicinal 😂 not that you need any excuse to drink gin and I certainly drink enough of it myself. But this internal monologue of “shall I pour a gin on a Tuesday? Go on then, it is vaguely medicinal after all” tickled me

Not really. It's all ethanol. With flavourings, or not.

ALL ALCOHOL IS ETHANOL.

Maybe with some flavour. Wine, beer, vodka, gin - the alcohol part is all ethanol. There is only type of alcohol that humans can ingest relatively safely.

I thank you.

We make gin at home by steeping juniper berries in vodka and also adding various other flavors as we see fit.

Ok, but isn't plain see through spirit just known as 'vodka' when selling drinks with it in?
Spirits never say they contain ethanol do they?

Spirits are ethanol. Gin, vodka, rum - ethanal. Vodka is not the default.

Bombay Sapphire isn't blue?

It's just the plastic on the bottle.