Gin is something I have always been rather fond of. Not I’m happy to report in any needy way but from quite a young age it has always been my social drink of choice. Over the years I have tried many different brands, but Gordon’s London Dry Gin has always been my first love. My second choice would be Bombay Sapphire which is a really very superior gin, distilled from 100% grain and a good old 1761 recipe . I have over the years imbibed some rather odd gins ! drunk in some far flung places, when on occasions a dusty bottle with a dodgy looking label and of some throat burning liquor would appear from under the counter. Still I have always come back to my friend the very special Gordon’s. There is nothing for me quite like the clean crisp tang of juniper berries with the bitter taste of quinine from a good tonic with a slice of lime. I always prefer the bottle of gin and the tonic chilled rather than the glass filled with clinking ice yes, it has always my drink of choice. During the past year or two I have been very lucky to have received as presents some rather interesting and different gins to sample. Firstly Tanqueray which is 43.1% proof and is a real ‘hit you in the eye drink’, and I must confess rather good. Next came Pink47 at 47%, a nice clean London Dry Gin and I might add, comes in a very pretty scent shaped bottle looking like it should be on the dressing table rather the bar, but a delicious tasting gin never-the- less . THEN ! we come to HENDRICK’S at 41.4% ,this is a simply wonderfully tasting Gin! made (their words) “with a free and imaginative spirit” , it is distilled and bottled in Scotland. Could this wonderful Gin find it’s way into my heart knocking Gordon’s to second place after all these years? As they say ” It is not for everybody” that “it is a gin made oddly”. Well it uses coriander and citrus peel infused with juniper and rose petal and would you believe a hint of cucumber! I laughed when reading the label, preferred by1 out of 1000, which as they say “is fine by us, not easy making this stuff ” but this super gin quite took my breath away. It’s true, this fact that no other gin tastes quite like Hendrick’s, and this truth only enhances the experience but it truly does, it’s good, it’s really good! Try drinking with tonic and a slice of cucumber – simply divine. Now I ask myself, after all these years, could my long term love affair with Gordon’s be in jeopardy or even dare I say over?
The worlds leading gin expert!
What an astonishing yet refreshing idea…cucumber in a gin recipe! I don’t know if I can find Hendrick’s gin here, but it sounds divine with the various spices included in the formula. I’m afraid I’ve always enjoyed perhaps the more prosaic combo of gin with tonic and a goodly chunk of lime (which I squeeze into the beverage before taking my first sip). And to hear that someone else keeps the bottle of gin in the fridge gladdens my heart! Because doesn’t it make total sense? It seems to make the gin more “crisp” and refreshing to have it blend its already cold self with the also cold tonic water. Bombay and Bombay Sapphire are on the top of my list and I enjoy Gordon’s also as well as Tanqueray. Where I lived once we had a delivery service for a whole host of various “sodas” and they made the very BEST quinine water, which was due to it’s higher than usual % of quinine and made it the finest tonic water I’ve ever had. Oh this is making me feel like summer indeed!
Thank you for your lovely comments as always, I have to admit to having enjoyed a Gin and Tonic from a very young age indeed…and it’s still my social drink of choice..nothing quite so special is there…when the sun goes down ( or dare I say, even before!) the clink clink of ice in a good crystal glass and this very special drink…just one thing it should always be drunk with special friends and for me, never ever alone…Heaps of Rainbows and Buckets of Stars Karen.
Susie – This is delightful reading. I don’t drink alcohol except at special events such as weddings or banquets. I just have to tell you, I have a bottle of Gordon’s in my basement that is many, many years old! It was probably from a party in my much younger days. Maybe I should ship it to you!!
Lora – save the bottle and we will celebrate together – then that WILL be a very special event xxxx