Help me pick a new gin

[bcc]

@Dean

Xoriguer Mahon

I recently tried Xoriguer Mahon with a bit of Dolin vermouth. Not a successful combination.

[Vecchiouomo (Tim Irvine)]

I checked it out on The Gin is In. It sounds like an intense juniper drink that needs some significant herbal components to tame it. Dolin is very delicate. Try Vya…or make Army Navys with it.

[Dean]

@damiano

For a basic negroni I love Tanqueray gin, from the basic one to some of their mildly flavoured ones (Indian lime or something is nice). And then of course the uncrowned king of gin imho the Tanqueray no 10, which is also fabulous in a martini.

As for G&Ts, personally I wouldn’t bother using expensive gin. Again, the Tanquerays really shine here.

Tanqueray was my late father’s gin and I my relationship to both he and Tanq is complicated. But do try a good tonic like Fever Tree, Q, or any of the other well made tonics around with Xoriger Mahon. I just got my shipment of fresh Yuzu so some G & T research is in order. I am an experimentalist by nature. To me the journey to a tried and true cocktail is loads of fun.

[linguafood (Natascha)]

I wish they came up with a tonic that is dry AF and not too sweet. I probably like Thomas Henry the most, but I still usually end up adding half seltzer to mine.

[Vecchiouomo (Tim Irvine)]

Best I have found is Fever Tree Light. Their regular tonic is just too much for me.

[Claus]

Back in 2018 where I started really enjoying G&T I also found the Tanqueray 10 awesome.

Now 5 years later and I truly hate it.

It’s the synthetic lime in it that causes my dislike for it.

[damiano]

Hi Claus. So, do you have a suggestion for an alternative? Maybe I should try out a few new ones. I remember Martin Miller Westbourne Strength also being a very versatile, and clean gin. I mostly drink gin in a negroni or a martini, not really a G&T drinker.

[Vecchiouomo (Tim Irvine)]

I know you asked @Claus, but the Isle of Harris is amazingly good in most everything. Sadly, it is a bit pricy.

[linguafood (Natascha)]

I wholeheartedly concur. And yeah, the price is … up there.

[Claus]

Caorunn gin - very straight forward

Monkey 47 - herbaceous

These two are my favourite gins.

[Vecchiouomo (Tim Irvine)]

Caorunn is good in everything, too. Thanks for the reminder!

[damiano]

That’s the thing with gin (and other drinks): it can be such a personal preference what someone likes. There is no right or wrong, just what you like to drink and spend your money on.

As an example, I really did not like Monkey 47. Imho there is just so much going on that it will overpower any other flavour in a cocktail, plus for a G&T it’s overpriced. But many people like it.

For me picking a gin firstly means I need to use it either in a martini or in a negroni. And then secondly in a G&T, but these days I’d rather drink gin with a small dose of sparkling mineral (seltzer) water instead of tonic. Learned this from a NYC friend, who likes to drink high quality tequila and vodka with seltzer.

Maybe I’m just getting old and just want to enjoy the alcohol without any distraction lol…

[linguafood (Natascha)]

I love a good gin on the rocks.

[Claus]

I actually agree abort Monkey 47.

It’s very herbal and I drink it mostly straight.

Caorunn is a great mixer gin in G&T, Gin & Lemon and in a negroni as well in my experience.

If you want a safe gin, that’ll work in most drinks - Tanqueray regular and Bombay Sapphire are my go to gin’s.

[Claus]

@linguafood

I love a good gin on the rocks.

Me too.

My favourite Gin on the rocks is Monkey 47.

As Damiano states M47 is so full of botanicals that it’s actually hard to use in cocktails. But neat or on the rocks it’s awesome. In my opinion of course.

[Vecchiouomo (Tim Irvine)]

My go to gins are similar: Tanq, Bombay White, and Beefeater, in that order. All three are excellent in martinis, gin and tonics, Negronis, gin fizzes, and Army and Navys. If you take martinis out of the equation, Gordon’s is pretty good, too.

[Claus]

I agree. Almost. However I really don’t like the white Bombay gin.

[linguafood (Natascha)]

Well, well. I may have just converted a strict vodka martini drinker to giving gins another shot, which she deemed “too heavy on the juniper” (obviously, not a gin aficionado by any means ).

I let her have a sip of my Nolet’s martini, and she loved it. Next up: introducing her to my favorite martinez with bloedlemoen gin. She had 3 (!).

[BeefeaterRocks]

I converted my sister but she has relapsed. I just made my first ever Martinez, interesting but I think it tastes too much like a Manhattan.

[linguafood (Natascha)]

It’s kind of an end of the night drink for me, after (usually) an evening of martinis.You can also go easy on the maraschino, add a dash of orange bitters, and a twist of orange or lemon. Gin to vermouth is 4:1.

I think of it as a dessert to my main course of martinis.