It’s a crime to mix good gin with quinine. It’s like using single malt to make a whiskey sour. If you;'re going to mask the gin with tonic, use cheapass gin; save the good stuff for martinis.
My favourite: add a dash of Green Chartreuse.
I hate to be the sort of bloke that recommends obscure products so that there’s little chance for you to contradict me, but Dambachler Mühlviertler Long Gin and Fentimans tonic (with lime and a twist) is one of the best G&T’s that I’ve made. Slightly soft and flowery but with a pleasant edge, if you are in Austria look out for it.
I, also, recently had a gin, Boe, that didn’t seem to go with anything. It’s quite an oily heavy gin. It turned out that it was best drunk neat as it has a very good after taste.
What’s wrong with an old fashioned Genever? Makes a great G&T, but can also be neat at tissue-preservation temperatures straight from the freezer (like akvavit. I’ll take mine aged in oak, thanks.)
One problem is that it’s freaking hard to find in the U.S., even here in old New Amsterdam. The “Old Tom” gin mentioned above is in between gin and jenever, though it’s also harder to find than the usual dry gin.
The most important thing about a good G&T is a good tonic since you’re going to drown the gin in it. The best I’ve found is 1724 although Fevertree is OK. I can’t get on with Fentiman’s.
For a slightly sweeter variation, try 50ml Gin, 25ml St Germain, 100ml tonic.
Dambachler all the way! His whisky is also excellent. Another Austrian gin I really like is the one by Siggi Donabaum.
I’m glad they’re trying - but it’s hard to improve on perfection…
I’m not much of a cocktail nerd. I mostly just drink a few budget single-malts that I like, either neat or with varying amounts of water.
but in the hot months, I do so love a G&T. but as said, I’m not into nerding out about special ingredients. my objectives are more in the “I need a cold, tall drink that’ll take the edge off a long, hot day” than any artesian artisanal concerns. Tanqueray is what I’ve settled on, the cheaper gins seem to be tinged with a kerosene flavor. whatever tonic is handy (unfortunately, the local supermarket brand–Kroger–is seemingly bottled already half flat, so I pay the mark-up from the corner store) and lime, but usually the plastic ReaLime thingy.
so, OK, I’m a plebian. but my one good “fancy” improvement comes courtesy of my former bartender, Jen. skip the lime altogether. cut the tip off a cucumber and thick-cut the rest lengthwise, then cut a slit in the slices up to near the tip that you didn’t remove. give a little squeeze over the ice and hang it into the glass by the slit. drip any cucumber juice from the cutting board in there, too. after you pour the tonic, the cuc makes a decent stirrer, too.
Jen said she learned it visiting England, so maybe this is old news to many of you, but if you haven’t tried it, I really recommend it, very sublime.
May I suggest Russell Henry Hawaiian Ginger, or Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin. Enjoy summer, drink Gin.
I’ve not tried that one. I’ll keep an eye out for it. I have had the Reisetbauer Blue Gin, I found it a little too sweet for my taste. As for Austrian Whisky, I’ve had some bad experiences in the past but I’ve tasted a couple of decent ones (Wieser, I think, stored in Riesling casks) recently.
G&t s are among my favorite, but alas I am a low brow g&t enthusiast. The Hendricks gets saved for the martinis.
If you ever have time on your hands though, making tonic water can be fun. Did I say fun? I mean fun-strating. The real trick to making a fabulous home made tonic water is… To get someone else to do it for you.
sudo make me a gin_and_tonic
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