Gin Lovers Unite!

[Mojito]

Bombay Sapphire and Tanqueray No. Ten.

If I'm drinking with someone who doesn't want to pfaff around, then it's a G&T. My favourite drink, however, is a White Lady. And on the rare occasions when I feel like something sweet and fruity, a Singapore Sling (have to cut down on all the sweet juice that most modern recipes call for, though).

I like rum, vodka and tequila on the rocks, but when I tried to drink gin straight up in honour of Louise Brooks' Hundredth Birthday (after all, that's how she drank it) I found it was a taste I had yet to acquire.

 

[Lola Getz]

I've never met a gin I didn't really like, but I do like Hendricks with a cucumber spear. Very smooth. Almost anything will do in a gin & tonic, as I'm a lime fanatic.

I briefly dabbled into martinis with sweet vermouth and thought they were *very* good...until it felt as though my stomach lining was a'flame. That was the end of the affair, I'm afraid.

 

[FedoraGent]

I've never met a gin I didn't really like...

I love it, neither did I. Tonight, it's a Plymouth night.

FG.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I've never met a gin I didn't really like, but I do like Hendricks with a cucumber spear. Very smooth. Almost anything will do in a gin & tonic, as I'm a lime fanatic.

If you like lime, you might try some Tangueray Rangpur. It REALLY has a lime taste to it. Here in Washington, the liquor stores are state-owned & operated, and you can also buy the little airplane-sized bottles to try something new before buying a larger bottle. A friend & I make a run up the road one evening, saw those and bought a couple sampler size. She really liked it, I thought it was too much lime, especially in a Martini but for a G&T in the summer, if that's your thing, it might be something to try out. But it was a real lime taste - not like a chemically-created reconstituted lime flavor.

 

[Lola Getz]

I'll have to look for that, Mike. Sounds like it's right up my alley!

I hate when I order my drink and they put this tiny little anorexic lime in--come on, I can take it.
I'll have to look for Plymouth as well. I don't think I've ever seen it at my local BevMo! store. Actually, their selection is skinny on the gin, heavy on the vodkas and tequilas. I should complain.

 

[SuffragetteCity]

I like Gordon's, often with Sprite. Even cheap gin is better than expensive vodka, in my opinion.

 

[Curt Dawson]

Gin mmmmmmmmmmm

I love it, neither did I. Tonight, it's a Plymouth night.

FG.

I am to poor to be pickey about my gin.Love a good 10 t0 1 gin to dry vermoth martii.

 

[MissHuff]

My drink of choice on most occasions is a Bombay Sapphire Gimlet. Sometimes rocks.

 

[Alex Oviatt]

Sidecars leave you cold? Manhattans too much? Try a Pegu Club!

Stir with ice and strain
1 dash Angostura bitters.
1 dash orange bitters.
1 teaspoonful lime juice. (4 dashes)
1/3 curacao. (1 oz, 3 cl, 1/4 gills)
2/3 dry gin. (2 oz, 6 cl, 1/2 gills)
Mix and strain into cocktail glass.

NB This is even better when made with the previously mentioned Tanqueray Rangpur gin. Fee Brothers does a nice orange bitters and I tend to use Peychaud's instead of Angastura. Enjoy! No offense to Sidecars and Manhattans, by the way......

 

[Bill Taylor]

Tanqueray for Martinis or gin on the rocks. Olives only. If onions are used it is a Gibson, not a Martini.
Dry Bombay if mixing with tonic or such.
Cheap gin is fine if nothing else is available. It's better than no gin at all.

Used to drink a gin called Booards, but it is mostly not available in the US anymore. Has a very pronounced juniper berry flavor and is wonderful for martinis.

I like a classic martini (a dry martini 3 to 1 DRY Vermouth). If I want a glass of gin, then I will specify a glass of gin, (rather than specify a very very dry martini. (which is a glass of gin).

Also, should be stirred, minimum ice cubes, never crushed ice and stirred carelully, Shaking bruises the gin. An old pro bartender from the old SF Union Square Plaza Bar (hotel long gone now) once said shaking martinis was introduced by lazy harried bartenders who didn't want to take the time to stir. It's faster to shake it.

Bill

 

[rumblefish]

Also, should be stirred, minimum ice cubes, never crushed ice and stirred carelully, Shaking bruises the gin. An old pro bartender from the old SF Union Square Plaza Bar (hotel long gone now) once said shaking martinis was introduced by lazy harried bartenders who didn't want to take the time to stir. It's faster to shake it.

Bill

AMEN! I couldn't agree more.

A stirred Martini will always be thick and viscous, whereas shaking it leaves it sort of effevescent and with bits of ice. You can see when a properly stirred Martini is poured, it should look like glycerine or clear oil.

Stirring, I think, can make as much difference as what gin you use if not more.

 

[Warbaby]

I don't drink much anymore, but when I do, it's gin. I've always been a bit mystified by the Martini mistique - I don't understand why anyone would want to mess up a good gin with cheap wine and vegetables. I drink my gin straight, chilled, no ice. And for me, the only gin worth drinking is Bols Z.O. (zeer oude) Jenever from Holland. It's exquisite stuff, smooth as silk, comparable to a fine brandy.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

A stirred Martini will always be thick and viscous, whereas shaking it leaves it sort of effevescent and with bits of ice. You can see when a properly stirred Martini is poured, it should look like glycerine or clear oil.

Stirring, I think, can make as much difference as what gin you use if not more.

This is simply incorrect, I'm afraid. The only difference is in looks right after you shake it. A very short time afterwards, it clears again and you won't see a difference, let alone taste one.

Also, the amount of dissolved ice isn't to be kept at minimum at all cost - a classic martini includes the bit of ice water.

A good martini (in my personal opinion!) has 3 parts of a good Plymouth style gin, 1 or even 2 parts of a good dry vermouth, an olive with the bit of brine that comes with it, and some ice water through shaking or stirring. All of this in a 4-5 oz. martini or cocktail glass.

Shaken or stirred - the author of the script of a recent motion picture expressed it the way I've been answering for years.

A bad "martini" is made of supermarket vodka you keep in the freezer, an oversized glass you keep there as well, Albanian vermouth you had swayed in said glass and poured out again, no ice water obviously, and three olives stuffed with some paste of doubtable ingredients, best each olive with a differently coloured paste. Add a general amount of little umbrellas and the like.

 

[univibe88]

Vodka has been the bane of the cocktail for years. It seems that gin has made a comeback as of late. There are many more on the shelves than in years past. Unfortunately many of the new gins are made to be "smooth" in order to cater to the vodka market. Smooth = watered down and lacking flavor. However, I'd rather someone drink a light gin instead of vodka. Perhaps he will learn to like and move into a real, spicy, juniper driven gin.

 

[rumblefish]

This is simply incorrect, I'm afraid. The only difference is in looks right after you shake it. A very short time afterwards, it clears again and you won't see a difference, let alone taste one.

Who has a very short time to wait to drink it? By the time my martini is poured, I've waited long enough.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Who has a very short time to wait to drink it? By the time my martini is poured, I've waited long enough.

Well, the taste, as I said, is the same, and your statement doesn't suggest you care much about the mere looks.

 

[carebear]

If time is of the essence, don't have them pour it, just stick a straw in the shaker.

 

[rumblefish]

Well, the taste, as I said, is the same, and your statement doesn't suggest you care much about the mere looks.

Taste is up to the gin itself. I don't subscribe to the notion of "bests". People like what they like. There are gins you and I might turn our noses up at, but there will also be someone who would argue why that gin is their favorite. There is, however, mouth-feel or texture, if you will, to consider. I invite you to try it yourself. If I could I'd ask to allow me to mix them for you. Using your favorites for both, Stir a Martini and shake one. Then try them side by side...silky smooth....a discernable difference, at least for me.

To quote Dale Degroff, "New York's Friendliest Bartender" Forbes Magazine: "The heavy, silkier texture achieved by stirring is preferable to a frothy, aerated texture for Martinis and Manhattans."

 

[Josh B.]

Ice Cold

A new guy's $.02,

An old bartender taught me that the shaken or stirred controversy is a matter of taste, but a truly excellent martini will have all of its components chilled as cold as possible. The gin should as cold as your freezer can make it, the shaker (or glassware), and your martini glass should be right next to the gin. The vermouth should be kept chilled in a fridge-- never in the freezer. The entire drink should be combined as quickly as possible, and drank before the condensation leaves the glass. I've experimented with new ways, but I haven't found anything that beats an absurdly cold martini.

As for gins, I always keep two or three bottles of gin for the different drinks.
Hendrick's is for my martinis. IMO Hendricks is the finest gin I've ever had-- expensive, yes-- but with a subtle flavour that's absolutely unique. Follow the directions on the bottle, and try a Hendricks martini with a twist of cucumber, it's both unique and classy
Bombay Sapphire for gin & tonics, since it has a stronger flavour to stand up against the lime.

I also keep a bottle of Gordon's around for a friend who likes his martinis James-Bond-style, since the gin is just going to slop around with a lot of other strong liquors.

 

[Smithy]

I posted this on about the 1st page of this thread but I thought I'd bring it up again for gin lovers who maybe haven't tried it...

After being a Tankie fan for many years I had the pleasure of finding the best gin I have tasted last year, Cadenhead's "Old Raj". It's a beautiful drop and very dry, and with a very slight straw tinge to the colour due to a very small amount of saffron in the spirit. It's strong being 55% but it's the only gin I'll buy now.

Worth buying if you see it, comes in a white box with blue lettering and a picture of an old kohai on it.