Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Someone mentioned Nolets gin, a French product laced with Turkish roses. (And here I switch into J. Peterman mode) It used to be the top shelf offering at The Blue Bar in The Algonquin, where I occasionally rent out one of the small libraries for midtown meetings when I am in New York. I tried to like it, but it's dreadful. (End J. Peterman pretentious mode.)

I'm generally a traditionalist about booze, but once in a while some bearded bunch of mad scientists get something right.

An example of good craftsmanship in a place you wouldn't expect it: I can highly recommend Ransom, an Old Tom dark gin from Oregon. Superb straight up, or with one of the fairly new gigantic ice cubes. (Two theories about the "Old Tom" designation: One is that saloons serving the stuff had a sign out front with a fat Tomcat;the other is that it was the basis for the original Tom Collins.)

A second example is the Pinot Noir revolution that started about 25 years ago in Washington or Oregon. But perhaps this is old enough to be considered a traditional place where it is grown.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I've had Nolets. Thought it a bit sweet and fragrant. But tolerable.

If you want to get into some strange gin, yet more drinkable than stuff like Monkey 47, Barr Hill is interesting. It's made from honey. The nose is a bit off-putting, but it actually goes down nicely in a g&t. It does not, however, make a very good martini.

If you like super dry gin made with exceptionally pure ingredients, Martin Miller's is excellent. Super-crisp. The only problem I have with it, however, is it's so crisp, it suffers from the same affliction as Tito's Vodka: Purity outweighing flavor.

My favorite g&t gin of the moment is Gunpowder Gin. This stuff is fantastic. Floral, crisp, and little sweet. With Fever Tree, outstanding. Again, however, not the best martini.

I've traveled this land far and wide and keep coming back to two somewhat pedestrian choices: Sapphire and Hendrick's. Bombay Sapphire makes the best martini. Hendrick's an interesting second best. And both work nicely in a g&t.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Gin can be made anywhere given it's just infused high proof vodka.

Bourbon is like champagne. Yeah, you can get sparkling wine from California. And a lot of it is better than champagne. But it's not quite the same. Perhaps it's psychological, but I think not... Bourbon from places other than KY just doesn't taste exactly like bourbon.

It's like Japanese whiskey. There are brands that eclipse the best scotches in terms of pure flavor. But it's not quite the same thing as scotch, even if it's better.

If you want bourbon, you have to get it from the place where they make bourbon.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Silly talk. The only thing they do better than Kentucky is they do have whiskey vending machines.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Not to be politically incorrect, but saying Sapphire is drinkable means your taste buds are retarded. No offense.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Pinot* is typically my daily drink, but it's so hit or miss. Just a huge range, no matter the price point - some of it excellent, and some of it wine-like water. This is unlike most gin (for me), which I think ranges from good to excellent.

* I'd rather drink something with more body but then the wife and I would be opening two separate bottles.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I would never have it in a martini, but it makes a pretty good G&T.

Talking of gin reminds me that I need to pick up a bottle of Campari.

Laid back with my mind on my money and my money on my mind.
 

IT’S NEGRONI SEASON, MOTHERFUCKERS!

Ahem.

I agree with young Coltrane about gin - it ranges from good to excellent. I have never had a bad gin (for a G&T or a Tom Collins or Snoop’s gin and juice, that is). And I bartended at a place that used whatever swill in a plastic bottle was the cheapest at any given time as their well brand gin.

For martinis, I go with either Plymouth (my traditional go-to thanks to Travis McGee) or Hendricks.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Bourbon is from Kentucky. End of story. If y'all want to drink (and post about) this rotgut shit, have at it.

Gin is Tanqueray and maybe Hendricks. I prefer Ten but that's cause I drink like a high school freshman now.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I don't like Hendrick's for the same reason I don't like Nolets; One overpowering aroma and flavor. Cukes belong in salad, not gin.

Not a particular fan of Bombay. I bought a bottle of Barr Hill from Vermont, I think, and didn't care for it one way or the other.

I do keep a variety of gins in the Bueller Bar. With the exception of Scotches, with the wide variety of flavors, I often have more bottles of gin than any other spririt. I always have The Botanist. I always have Ransom, although I'm going to try other Old Tom gins because I like Ransom so much. I keep Plymouth on hand, generally, and then rotate through a few that I don't think have been mentioned. Leopold's Navy Strength, and Cadenhead Old Raj, (also the Navy Strength version; blue label, not the red) are currently in the house. The Old Raj is a delicate yellow; predominant botanical is saffron.

Now for the pleibean stuff. I always have a large bottle of Tanqueray on hand. My father kept Beefeaters or Gordons around, and I tend to switch to the Tank when I've been overserved by an unscrupulous bartender, (myself). It is a perfectly serviceable beverage.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I subscribe to Oscar Goodman's (ex-mayor of Las Vegas) view. When asked, in the company of schoolchildren during some public event celebrating schools, what he'd take with him if allowed one item on a deserted island, Goodman replied, "A bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin."

He later apologized for making the comment before kids, but did not change his response. I offer no apology here. I love the way it tastes, and it works like anesthesia. Friends, clients, and family could yell straight in my face while I'm on my third gulp of a Sapphire martini (and they often do), and I couldn't be less attentive.

I love the way it cleans the palate between bites of different kinds of sushi.

Re: Laid back with my mind on my money and my money on my mind.
 

Bluecoat Barrel Reserve. Bluecoat is very good gin. Their Barrel Reserve is very bad gin

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Japanese "Scotch" is on par with Scotch from Scotland. Maybe it's a thing with islands, or island water, but they can be quite similar in taste and quality. The only difference I've noted is Japanese "Scotch" lacks peat, and tends to be less sharp taste in the nose, more sweet. But it's quite good.

I would not drink any Japanese bourbon clone.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

This is like reading what Republicans write about climate change. I see words, but they make no sense.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I have lately discovered an odd little place in Spain that makes a Pedro X Sherry that beats almost every old Port out there. Usually I think of Sherry as Port's poor cousin, whose best examples can't measure up to even work-a-day low budget Ports. The thing about this place is they regularly sell 100 year old bottles of the stuff, which is held in casks all that time before being bottled - right now I'm working through a '46, and I was just looking at one from the 60s and thinking, oh, that's kind of young for the stuff. But someone somewhere once said, hey, maybe if I work on making something my great-grandchildren can bottle, it will outstrip everything else made here.

Who knows what can be done by the right lunatic, willing to do crazy things in an odd location that no sane person would ever try.