Gin
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Going to sound a bit wanky here but I'm a massive Gin fan/drinker. Got a pretty decent collection sitting on the shelves at the moment (30+) and I keep going through them as they are such an easy drink.
My Gin journey started off like most with the usual suspects, Bombay, Tanqueray and then Hendricks. Always with tonic and usually a slice of lime (as an aside, I absolutely hate cucumber so even Hendricks had to have a slice of lime rather than the traditional cucumber). From there went to picking up a bottle (or 2) every time we (or would ask family if they weren't buying their full Duty Free allocation) went through duty free so was then introduced to the likes of Plymouth and London No. 1. Both of which are still high up in my favourites.
But these days I love trying gins from all over Aus, NZ and elsewhere. Especially Japan which does some amazing Gins as @Stockcar86 mentioned before, the Ki No Bi gins ae just bloody awesome.
My favouite Kiwi is from Great Barrier Island, Island Gin (https://islandgin.com/collections/2019-range). Love their Navy Strength but really difficult to find in Aus. Fortunately my Cousin who first introduced me to it always makes sure he has some on hand when I visit. Last time I visited NZ was just before COVID killed international travel, Feb 2020. Took my son with me and between 5 of boys on a fishing weekend at Kūaotunu we polished off 3 bottles of Gin and 2 bottles of whisky plus countless beers. But I digress...
Now I dink my gin only straight, no tonic, water, ice or garnish. Tonic is too sweet and really detracts from the flavour of the gin and with Fever Tree and other trendy tonics, all you end up tasting is the flavour of the tonic or flavour so adulterated as to not really taste the gin.
To take it one step further, these days my preferred gin is anything (within expected taste and quality) Navy Strength. That is anything above the standard 40-43% ABV, usually in the high 40's to 50's. The higher ABV really adds to the depth of flavour and enjoyment.
The Ki No Bi in the link above is a great Navy strength (54.5% ABV) as is the one done by Four Pillars and many others. I can really recommend trying a few Navy Strength and see what you think.
The big problem living in Aus and loving Navy Strength Gin or Cask Strength Whisky is that these utterly retarded tax laws meaning most Aussie distillers have resorted to selling their higher ABV brands in 500ml size to make them more affordable.
Australia = Shitarsed tax system, one of the worst in the world!!!
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Totally agree re the Fever Tree. When it becomes all about the mixer, you’ve gone too far. Very successful marketing but I much prefer plain old Schweppes. I can drink some gins neat, but not my favoured option.
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@catogrande Couldn't agree more about the hype around mixers.
Also another fad that has annoyed me about drinking gin is the gin bars (which I generally love) doing things like giving you a "tasting" experience by adding additional botanicals to the various gins. I mean really, WTF?
You are basically adding shit to something the distiller has taken a long time to master and get just right and then along comes Joe Public-Moron and adding more juniper berries or bay leaf or what-the-fuck-ever and just completely ruins your lovely gin.
Grrrrrrrr!!!
In terms of drinking neat, it is something that took a while to develop but now, can't do it any other way.
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Has anyone tried Malfy or Sipsmith?
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@billy-tell
Yes to Sipsmith which I liked but not enough “difference “ to justify the cost imo. Not tried the other. What’s it like? -
@catogrande said in Gin:
@billy-tell
Yes to Sipsmith which I liked but not enough “difference “ to justify the cost imo. Not tried the other. What’s it like?Haven’t tried either yet but they’ll go onto my wish list.
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@billy-tell said in Gin:
Has anyone tried Malfy or Sipsmith?
Mrs Hooroo drinks Malfy. We even named a horse after that gin.
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Two Birds - Watermelon
God this is my favourite....
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J.J Whitley Pink Cherry Gin tonight
Cherry flavour of anything is always a winner for me.
Planning on getting absolutely smashed so chin chin chaps -
@billy-tell said in Gin:
Has anyone tried Malfy or Sipsmith?
Sipsmith deserve credit for being the folk that opened the gate to small gin manufacturers throughout the UK.
They took HMRC to court because they wouldn't send out exise officers to anyone distilling amounts under the big players. Without the exise 'inspections' you couldn't sell your product. The little guy won out and small distilleries started up everywhere.
If you want a classic 'London Gin' there's is as good as any.
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@r-l said in Gin:
J.J Whitley Pink Cherry Gin tonight
Cherry flavour of anything is always a winner for me.
Planning on getting absolutely smashed so chin chin chapsUpvote and downvote.
Upvote for forward planning on getting smashed.
Downvote because gin should taste of gin not ribena or cherry coke.
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@catogrande gin should take like whatever flavour I want it to taste like. Cherry tonight, banana next week, apple crumble the next. Live a little
But thanks for the getting smashed support
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@catogrande also... Good shout on the coke might try that in my next gin
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@r-l said in Gin:
@catogrande gin should take like whatever flavour I want it to taste like. Cherry tonight, banana next week, apple crumble the next. Live a little
But thanks for the getting smashed support
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You’re wrong.
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My pleasure.
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I’m ok with you liking fruit cocktails but don’t tell me it’s gin!
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You go girl!
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@catogrande I don't like fruit cocktails in general... We don't have a cocktail thread do we!?
My cocktail is a mojito, just plain and simple.Do we class a flavoured gin as a cocktail???
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@r-l said in Gin:
@catogrande I don't like fruit cocktails in general... We don't have a cocktail thread do we!?
My cocktail is a mojito, just plain and simple.Do we class a flavoured gin as a cocktail???
Yes. In the same way that a shandy is.
If there were a cocktail thread it should be quite short. Listing the 3 or 4 ways of making a dry martini and that’s it.
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@catogrande now sit down here with me and I'll tell you a story... Once upon a time long long underage ago I drank a lot of martini "getting ready to go out out" and walked into my local with my friend rather tipsy and asked for martini. Now the barman, a good friend of mine, said no martini but I'll give you something along the lines of it. I got a pint glass 3/4 gin 1/4 lemonade. Can't remember the rest of the story. Was a good night
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Gin and coke wasnt your best idea @Catogrande but I won't waste it
Ki No Bi Sei Kyoto Dry Gin (700ml) - Blue Box
