Spec me - A Bottle of Gin

Shadowness · 16 Mar 2017 at 08:28

Rob - sorry but you are wrong.

Buy a bottle of Gordons or any other common gin from the supermarket, try it neat. It tastes like flavoured vodka, as in you can really feel the alcohol.

Buy a 'nice' bottle of gin, and it should taste a feel much nicer even neat, let alone in a G&T.

Don't get me wrong, Gordons and co are nice gins, but you can get FAR nicer for not much more $$.

The reason I have so many is I travel the world as part of my job, so I like collecting them from various countries, if I cant buy them back here.

thewanted · 16 Mar 2017 at 08:56

My drink of choice at the moment is Silent Pool gin with Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic and a hefty slice of orange.

Shadowness · 16 Mar 2017 at 09:02

Yep Silent Pool is very nice, and the bottle is a work of art too!

robj20 · 16 Mar 2017 at 09:03

Shadowness said:
Rob - sorry but you are wrong.

Buy a bottle of Gordons or any other common gin from the supermarket, try it neat. It tastes like flavoured vodka, as in you can really feel the alcohol.

Buy a 'nice' bottle of gin, and it should taste a feel much nicer even neat, let alone in a G&T.

Don't get me wrong, Gordons and co are nice gins, but you can get FAR nicer for not much more $$.

The reason I have so many is I travel the world as part of my job, so I like collecting them from various countries, if I cant buy them back here.

I'm sorry I can't be wrong. It's an opinion. If it costs more than £25 I would rather spend it on a scotch how can that be wrong.

I'm not saying you can't taste the difference, I'm saying I'm not willing to spend that much on gin.

thewanted · 16 Mar 2017 at 09:58

Shadowness said:
Yep Silent Pool is very nice, and the bottle is a work of art too!

Absolutely!

randomshenans · 16 Mar 2017 at 11:57

thewanted said:
Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic

Love this one, too. Really nice with any citrusy gin.

randomshenans · 16 Mar 2017 at 11:58

Thomas Deakin Manchester gin is nice as well, if youve had it.

Terminal_Boy · 16 Mar 2017 at 12:06

If you're a big fan of juniper, try Sipsmith's VJOP.

glitch · 17 Mar 2017 at 11:04

Shadowness said:
Rob - sorry but you are wrong.

Buy a bottle of Gordons or any other common gin from the supermarket, try it neat. It tastes like flavoured vodka, as in you can really feel the alcohol.

Gordons is perfectly fine and will generally fool most G&T snobs if you present it well and don't tell them what it is.

Most people have an aversion to gin from experiencing it served with a lukewarm slimline tonic and a manky piece of lemon. In the right glass, with an appropriate tonic and garnish and served at the right temperature, a Gordons can be a lovely thing.

Shadowness · 17 Mar 2017 at 11:13

I didn't say Gordons isn't nice, I'm just saying you can get a lot nicer for not that much more $$

robj20 · 17 Mar 2017 at 12:17

Shadowness said:
I didn't say Gordons isn't nice, I'm just saying you can get a lot nicer for not that much more $$

Go on then what can you get for not much more? I'm genuinely curious.

glitch · 17 Mar 2017 at 13:36

Shadowness said:
I didn't say Gordons isn't nice, I'm just saying you can get a lot nicer for not that much more $$

I didn't say you did. I just wanted to weigh in on the Gordons debate with an opinion.

robj20 said:
Go on then what can you get for not much more? I'm genuinely curious.

Assuming 70cl of Gordons is £16 and we are limiting ourselves to supermarkets, there's not much to pick from. I'd say that Tesco Finest Aromatic Gin and Sainsburys Blackfriars, both for £16, are the most exciting gins at that price point.

But allowing ourselves a little wiggle room on price, and taking your aforementioned £25 as the target, we open ourselves to some really interesting brands. Boodles, Adnams Copper House, Blackwood's Vintage, Caorunn and Bloom all show you a different side of gin and should give your palate some excitement. Just pick a good tonic to go with them, if you are planning on a G&T.

robj20 · 17 Mar 2017 at 13:54

Gordon's I get for £10 for 70cl, £15 gets me Bombay Sapphire. If there is something noticeably better for say £25 I would try it. Once you get to £30 it's always going to be scotch for me.

Bloom gin can be had for £20 is it worth a try.

Shadowness · 17 Mar 2017 at 13:58

Plymouth Gin is a nice one, not sure how much that goes for, I never buy from supermarkets anyway.

glitch · 17 Mar 2017 at 13:58

Are you drinking this neat or with tonic? And if with tonic, what brand(s) are you using?

Shadowness · 17 Mar 2017 at 14:03

Mostly with tonic. Fever tree normal, light or mediterranean.

Garnish depends on the gin, could be grapefruit, basil, orange.....

robj20 · 17 Mar 2017 at 14:03

Currently the Aldi tonic water. Usually a good splash of bin, to up the glass with tonic water then a wedge of lime and some ice.

Also quite like gin with fresh orange juice.

glitch · 17 Mar 2017 at 14:15

Ditch the Aldi tonic - even the normal stuff is full of artificial sweeteners, which ruins the taste of gin. Grab a bottle of Waitrose or M&S tonic (50p each, IIRC) or splash out on some Fever Tree or Tesco Finest.

Bloom is an excellent gin and a world away from something like Gordons, but it is quite floral and has a touch of citrus to it so it needs to be handled gently. Pairs perfectly with cut strawberries or other red fruit, does not go very well with citrus.

If your location is correct, get yourself down to Atlas Bar and challenge them to find you a gin you'll like. They'll sort you out with something, but it might blow the budget a little...

Shadowness · 17 Mar 2017 at 14:18

I didn't get on with Bloom the last time I had it, I must try it again.

Brockmans as another unusual one, manly people say it isn't really a true gin. You'll see why when you try it.....

glitch · 17 Mar 2017 at 14:21

I find Bloom to be a 'one and done' type of gin, but it always has a place in my collection and it makes for a nice change every once in a while. It really does need the appropriate garnish though - citrus absolutely kills it dead, as does any tonic with artificial sweetener in it or even something like Fever Tree Mediterranean or Fentimans, which are both too strong for it.

A nice big coupe glass, lots of ice, some freshly-cut strawberries and a neutral tonic = heaven.