Maturity? I guess

[demiurgent]

There must be something to the whole "mature palate" thing.

I used to hate sushi with a passion. And then one year, I tried some with Eagle and loved it. I've loved it ever since.

And, like all sane (well, young sane) people, I hated gin. Tasted like expensive paint thinner.

And now, I'm totally all about the gin.

My favorite is the well made gimlet. A well made gimlet is refreshing and good tasting and makes you feel ready to be beaten down by gangsters before you give them the business. I should mention Philip Marlow drank gimlets so you understand why.

Tonight, I gave the gin and tonic a try. The gin is Bombay Sapphire. I'm a big fan of Bombay Sapphire. That it has water from "Lake Vyrnwy" in Wales is just a bonus. And the tonic's supposedly one of the best in the world -- Q tonic, which has the tang that one expects from a tonic water made in Brooklyn.

Q Tonic also has the advantage of being sweetened with agave nectar instead of high fructose corn syrup. Agave nectar's got a much lower glycemic index than sugar (and way lower than high fructose corn syrup, which is a glycemic bomb) and so it's way less likely this refreshing drink will cause a dumping reaction.

Okay. I realize I'm using quality ingredients, but I now officially get it. The gin and tonic is a goodness. It won't displace the gimlet (and I have the makings for that too), but two parts gin to five parts tonic? Improves both.

Man, what happens next, I wonder?

Comments

[ryuko-midori.livejournal.com]

Life is a beautiful mystery sometimes. Now I want gin. It tastes like Christmas, it really does.

[miyaa99.livejournal.com]

Question: What does Christmas taste like?

[ryuko-midori.livejournal.com]

I guess it was a bit nonspecific to say it tastes like Christmas, when what it really tastes like is a Christmas tree.

[masonk.livejournal.com]

It goes the other way, too, particularly with candies and other sweets that we clamor for as children but never live up to the memories as adults...

[5eh.livejournal.com]

I heart the gin and tonics, been drinking them since day one...sadly with the meds I'm on I haven't had one in a while.

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

Historically, what happens next after G&T is the conquest of India.

[mephron]

I thought that G&T comes after the conquest, because the entire point of the G&T was to get the tonic in to deal with possible malaria, and only gin made the tonic vaguely palatable.

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

No, no; first you take the East Indies from the Dutch, then you get malaria, then you develop G&T, and then you conquer India.

[5eh.livejournal.com]

I thought you conquered India because your food sucked AND you got malaria?

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

Then you get Pimm's Cup and win!

[aquamarcia.livejournal.com]

Next? The martini, of course.

[fadethecat.livejournal.com]

I'm still waiting to be old enough to appreciate the taste of beer.

The 'America's Original Pumpkin Ale - Buffalo Bill's Brewery' in the bottle next to me tastes very much of pumpkin. Unfortunately, it also tastes like beer. I keep hoping that if I try this stuff at regular intervals, it will eventually become a taste that I wish to seek out, as opposed to something I have to sort of grimly force down.

Next up, gin!

[liana]

I started being able to appreciate beer after I figured out that what I really didn't like about it was the hops. I'm still no beer fan, but I can enjoy one from time to time.

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

I recommend trying maltier types like nut brown ale, hefeweizen, bock, and Trappist ale. Also, try fruit lambics, which have no hops at all (and are sort of a beer/cider hybrid).

[perfessorevil.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, I know I'm within a year or two of your own exalted age, but gin = chewing on a nasty juniper bush to me.

Crystal Head Vodka (http://www.crystalheadvodka.com/) on the other hand... I'm all about that, despite Ackroyd's new age-y ranting.

[wickedgoodgrrrl.livejournal.com]

Better Dan Ackroyd doing the shilling than Harrison Ford stooping to same. (Shudder)

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

I, on the other hand, like gin drinks, but think that vodka is flavorless and boring.

[blackbyrd2.livejournal.com]

The Gibson. Basically a gin martini made with onions rather than olives. One of my all time faves.

[onalark.livejournal.com]

Next? Next is scotch, baby.

Mmm.

Smoky.

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

Scotch and I are old, old friends.

[onalark.livejournal.com]

Then truly, your training is complete.

Ummmm...let's see -- I have really gotten into good muscats and ports lately. They aren't nearly as challenging as a scotch or gin...for one, they're super sweet. Which is why I drink 'em: as an alternative to dessert. Also, they compliment cheese well.

I've heard they're also great with chocolate, but have yet to try.

As with all things, they must be consumed in moderation, and I truly consider them an indulgence of time as well as enjoyment. It takes about 45 minutes for me to drain one (smallish) glass, and usually only when the guy and I are at a particular cheese-and-chocolate bar (http://www.baileyschocolatebar.com/) we love to kill time at.

Yes, St. Louis is a bit of a Sarlacc pit when it comes to good food, but we have a cheese-and-chocolate bar, and that can't be all bad.

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

Dessert wines can be great. If you're ever in Berkeley, get a reservation at Rivoli. They always have a great selection of dessert wines (and the food is fantastic).

If you're willing to drop the dough, try a Tokaji sometime. SO GOOD.

[fmphoenixhawk.livejournal.com]

I've always been about scotch. Single or double malt.

[wedgex.livejournal.com]

Ahhh! Welcome to the ranks my friend! I had two tonight myself.

I started drinking G&T's back in the wee 90's because a friend and I thought it was fun emulating John Constantine, thus proving comics are a bad, terrible influence. After a lot of trial and error and my continuing tempestuous affair with whiskey- which may or may not be the devil, I'm still working on that- a good gin and tonic is now my faithful go-to drink when I can't be arsed to think too hard.

I might suggest, should you get a chance, to try one made with some Tanqueray Ten (http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDetail.aspx?productid=9530). The bartenders at the Henson wrap party ardaniel took me to this summer were serving with that, and it was hands-down the best I've ever had.

Plus, your drink will, if needed, flouresce under UV light! I don't see how it could possibly get any better. :D

[ohnefuehlen.livejournal.com]

The thing about Bombay Sapphire is that it doesn't taste like gin, really. It's full of other things: almond, lemon peel, coriander... a more traditional (and high quality) gin is Tanqueray. Then there is Hendricks, which is made with cucumber and rose petals and is perhaps the finest gin there is.

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

I guess that, next, Cognac goes from tasting like gasoline to something wonderful.

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

No, brandy pretty much always tastes rotten.

It smells great, though. I don't know how that works.

[ursulav.livejournal.com]

Been there! Never used to even want to contemplate sushi--the fishiness! The horror! In the last year, I've branched out, and I just had a fabulous sushi dinner last night (of course, it helps that my boyfriend has singlehandedly put the kids of several local sushi chefs through college with his sushi habit, and has systematically introduced me to the spider roll and that thing with the roe and the little raw quail egg on top.

I've never come around to the gin and tonic, but I do occasionally get in the mood for a martini. The selfsame boyfriend, much like you, never really got gin and then suddenly found himself going "Where have you BEEN all my life!?"

[mrbankies.livejournal.com]

Curse your eyes. I'm going to have to mail order some of that stupid tonic water now.

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

It's got a ready source in the town in which I live. Clearly, I have to bring some to you.

[roniliquidity.livejournal.com]

I read somewhere that your bitter tasting taste buds die off with age or something, thus as you get older everything gets sweeter. Or something. When I was in my early 20's I'd drink amaretto sours, now they just taste like syrup. I've been a gin and tonic fan for a few years now and yeah, Bombay is the way to go. I figure in another decade I might like scotch.

[interlocutron.livejournal.com]

Next you start wearing a tweed jacket with leather patches and smoking a pipe.

Then the cute young guys who are barely out of college start taking an interest in you and asking if you want to play golf.

It's all downhill from there.

[prodigal.livejournal.com]

Yelling at those damn kids to get out of your yard? ;)

[lemagia.livejournal.com]

Gin's been one of my favorites since I could legally drink, though it still doesn't compare to (unfortunately rarer and more expensive) Chartreuse and it's just not as versatile as bourbon. Hendrick's with cucumber is the best that I've tried, though I have to admit that this fancy tonic you mention is intriguing.

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

Never disliked sushi, but then, I've always been a fan of seafood, cooked or otherwise.

Coming up on 40, however, my tastes in alcohol are still a twelve-year-old's. Beer is blegh and wine (even "dessert" wines) is too vinegary; just give me plain unaged grape juice, thanks. I like sugary girly mixed drinks where the booze is nearly an afterthought. But then, I've never drunk to get drunk - only at social occasions, and only because other people are.

Pegu

[sben.livejournal.com]

I'm late to this party, but next up is the pegu cocktail:

1½ oz. gin
½ oz. Cointreau
½ oz. fresh lime juice
2–3 dashes Angostura bitters

You may substitute a generic triple sec for the Cointreau. If you must. (Though cut back on the amount slightly, as Cointreau is a little less sweet than others.)

Do not, under any circumstances, use anything but freshly-squeezed lime juice, from a lime that you sliced open yourself. Rose's is exactly what you want for a gimlet, and exactly what you don't want for a pegu.

See a copy of Hotwired's Cocktail article on the pegu (http://web.archive.org/web/20000523021620/hotwired.lycos.com/cocktail/99/15/index3a.html), courtesy of the Wayback Machine.

Re: Pegu

[cdave]

Later still, but with a British twist:

"Sir Winston Churchill made martinis by pouring gin into a pitcher while glancing briefly at a bottle of vermouth across the room"

Re: Pegu

[(Anonymous)]

There's also a story of a Los Alamos group that decided to make martinis by pouring gin into glasses and standing downwind of a vermouth bottle carefully placed on a thermonuclear bomb...