Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I dont know if it is a marketing campaign or a fashion thing, but in many European countries I visit quite often (Spain, UK, Belgium for example) there is new a wide variety of gins available, and also of tonics, and even of condiments (like strawberries, cucumber, pepper and whatnot)
I have drunk G&T way before this fashion. I like strong gins and neutral tonics, so my drink tastes as G&T. However nowadays, with all those gins with perfumes (like hendricks for example) and condimments, a G&T tastes more of a soda or a juice than a real G&T.
Is it too much to ask to get a regular G&T with just a strong gin (beefeater or larios or gordons for example) and a neutral tonic and no extra flavors? Is it too much to ask not to wait for 10 minutes to get a G&T because the barman is half time chef half time circus artist and spends 10 min in overdressing your drink? anyone with me?
This happens with every liquor, really (whipped cream vodka, anyone?).
It's just a way of expanding the market, and dressing specific liquors up in ways that will appeal to people who don't usually drink that particular kind. If gin is the liquor du jour, it will run its course and then on to something else.
Ask for what you want instead of leaving it up to the bartender.
There is a bar by us (that makes the best mojito I have ever had, although you have to strain the green stuff out of your teeth after) that makes a coriander-infused gin the spouse likes with his G & T. His favorite gins are: Hendricks, Bombay Sapphire and some of the infused gins - as long as sugar isn't one of the things added to the infusion.
I, personally, think gin is just vile and stick to rums and tequilas.
With the advent of anti-smoking laws, a lot of bars have had to go either upmarket (the fancier drinks and bar tenders) or down scale (cheap beer, 97 sports TVs, etc). It's also hurt live music in bars rather badly, but that is a rant for a different day.
Gin & Tonic is one of my all time favorite drinks.
I just reviewed a gin in another thread I started recently about posting your liquor reviews.
Gin purists like their gin to have a very sharp, dry, "botanical" and almost medicinal taste. Sorta like aficionados of single malt scotch who adore the "burn" and the peatiness and smokiness of that type of whiskey.
I am not one of those people. As a clear spirit I like my gin to be smooth (same goes for vodka ... although I much prefer gin). I learned to appreciate gin when I served in the Royal Merchant Navy of the UK. I do like the complex flavors of the various herbs and spices: juniper berries, coriander, star anise, angelica, and all the others ... but I like my gin to have a bright citrusy vibe to moderate those flavors. That's why my two favorites are Tanqueray Rangpur and Tanqueray #10. Lately my friends have been raving about a Philadelphia-made American gin called Bluecoat Gin.
We are NOT talking about whipped cream flavored vodka or blood orange flavored vodka here. We are talking about classic gins that are "tweaked" in their traditional compositions (yes, citrus peel is a one of the basic ingredients in gin) and if the gin happens to be quadruple distilled and the botanical components are adjusted to improve the nuances of bouquet and taste that's okay in my book.
When I was in Europe I could not find much in the way at all of tonic water at all to enjoy my G&T's!!! It was most disappointing for sure. The only tonic water I could find were those very small bottles of 6 pack tonic that were about $6 ea.
Here in Texas at HEB (our grocery store locally) I can get a qt of diet tonic water for .57 cents each, and they are PERFECT!!! Believe it or not, taste much better than the plain tonic water.
LOVE my Bombay Blue Sapphire myself for gin of choice.
Is it too much to ask to get a regular G&T with just a strong gin (beefeater or larios or gordons for example) and a neutral tonic and no extra flavors?
Of course not. Have you tried asking for a Beefeater and tonic, no lime? If you tell the bartender exactly what you want, 999,999 times out of a million, you'll get it.
In Spain for example, when you ask for a "regular" gin like beefeater or larios, they will try to push you to one of the "special" gins like citadelle, bulldog or london blue n 1 because... well, they are more expensive... And they will also try to sell you that 2+ euros tonic with lemongrass and himalaya salt aroma or whatever...
of course I can get what I want when I ask for it... but it becomes tiring. 10 years ago a G&T meant a G&T.
............ Is it too much to ask not to wait for 10 minutes to get a G&T because the barman is half time chef half time circus artist and spends 10 min in overdressing your drink? .........
Yes, that is too much to ask. You get irritated if you have to wait 10 minutes to get your drink order? You can't be serious. But if you are serious, it's difficult for me to imagine being that spoiled and self-absorbed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
