Original Gin

[beans]

I enjoy reading Nick Passmore's articles.

Mention gin to most people these days and they look at you like health care fanatics staring at a stick of butter. "Gin?" they splutter. "Don't tell me you drink that stuff?" This would not bother me so much if they didn't then immediately proceed to order vodka.

Gin has been the whipping boy of the alcohol world for the past several years and it's a shame. I'm convinced this is all part of a secret conspiracy organized by the government and several vodka importers. Somehow people have gotten it into their heads that gin is worse for you than its Russian cousin. Well, that's rubbish. They're both grain-based spirits and neither is especially salubrious. It is not as though the alcoholism rates in Russia are lower than in Great Britain.

This recent, lovely article from Forbes can be read in full here.

Cheers!

[slkinsey]

You mean there are actually people out there who think gin is "bad for you" compared to vodka?! The author summs up my take on vodka in his next sentence:

the real reason why people these days prefer vodka is that, except for the flavored varieties, it has almost no discernible taste. Like a chameleon it can blend with anything.

I have always thought that most (although not all, obviously) people who take vodka as their liquor of choice, do so because fundamentally they don't like the taste of alcohol.

[phaelon56]

Misconceptions will always exist.... even among the serving trade. Back in the days when I was slamming down gin on a daily basis at an alarming rate, my neighborhood barmaid insisted that clear liquors, gin in particular, were known to be "bad for you" to a much greater etxent than brown liquors such as bourbon. despite having a snowball's chance in hell of scoring with said barmaid, I switched to bourbon (only when drinking in her establishment). A month later she advised me that she was all wrong.... it was the other way around.... the clear liquors were much better for you than the colored ones. Apparently it did not occur to her that my excessive alcohol consumption was the factor that completely overshadowed the trivial detail of what type I was drinking

[bleachboy]

Hooray for gin!

On that note, I think I'll have a mid-afternoon Beefeater gimlet.

[Splificator]

I have always thought that most (although not all, obviously) people who take vodka as their liquor of choice, do so because fundamentally they don't like the taste of alcohol.

I'd say rather that they don't like the taste of liquor, since alcohol is the one thing you can taste in vodka.

[slkinsey]

I have always thought that most (although not all, obviously) people who take vodka as their liquor of choice, do so because fundamentally they don't like the taste of alcohol.

I'd say rather that they don't like the taste of liquor, since alcohol is the one thing you can taste in vodka.

Well... straight, I'd agree. But, mix it with just about anything and it doesn't really taste of alcohol. A Cosmopolitan or a vodka Gimlet, for example, doesn't really taste of alcohol the way, say, an Aviation or a gin Gimlet does -- nevermind a Manhattan.

[slbunge]

Hooray for gin!

On that note, I think I'll have a mid-afternoon Beefeater gimlet.

I'm with you...sorta.

When it stops raining and the sun breaks before dinner (fingers crossed) I'll have a Hendrick's and tonic.

[Splificator]

But, mix it with just about anything and it doesn't really taste of alcohol.  A Cosmopolitan or a vodka Gimlet, for example, doesn't really taste of alcohol the way, say, an Aviation or a gin Gimlet does -- nevermind a Manhattan.

I think it depends on how much you mix in--I've had plenty of weak, watery Manhattans (all too many), which don't taste that much of alcohol although they do taste of whiskey, while I've had strong Vodka Gimlets with a pretty severe alcoholic edge.

But in general I think you're right, in that Cosmos and whatnot--the things they so laughingly call "Martinis" these days--are generally mixed with a lot of juice and sugar, so that you can't taste the alcohol. It's much harder to do acheive that effect with straight rye or London dry gin.

Speaking of Aviations--I must have one now.

[bleachboy]

But in general I think you're right, in that Cosmos and whatnot--the things they so laughingly call "Martinis" these days--are generally mixed with a lot of juice and sugar, so that you can't taste the alcohol. It's much harder to do acheive that effect with straight rye or London dry gin.

You ain't kidding. Don't get me started on "chocolatinis".

I have never heard of an Aviation until now. I just looked it up in my drink book, though, and I'm going to go to a good bar tonight and order one!

One of my favorite gin drinks is the gin fizz "ramus" (sp?) which I have only heard of in New Orleans. It's got gin, egg white, heavy cream, orange flower water, and soda, I suppose. I can't find it listed in any of my drink books. It's like an alcoholic milkshake. Anybody?

EDIT: Never mind. Google does it again! Here's the recipe: Ramos Gin Fizz

Edited May 10, 2004 by bleachboy (log)

[DrinkBoy]

Ramos Gin Fizz

1 1/2 ounces Dry Gin

1/2 ounce Lemon Juice

1/2 ounce Lime Juice

2 Tbs. Cream

1 Egg White (fresh)

1/4 ounce Seltzer Water

1 Tbs. Powdered Sugar

3 to 4 dashes Orange Flower Water

Shake all ingredients -well- with ice for at least one minute (or in a blender). This should result in a fairly foamy consistancy. Strain into a wine glass and top with club soda.

As for the Aviation... it might be difficult finding a bar that can serve this. It relies upon "Maraschino Liqueur", which is -not- the juice from a jar of Maraschino's but instead is a clear liqueur made from Marasca cherries. It can be very hard to find sometimes, and even harder to find a bar that stocks it.

-Robert

[Splificator]

One of my favorite gin drinks is the gin fizz "ramus" (sp?) which I have only heard of in New Orleans. It's got gin, egg white, heavy cream, orange flower water, and soda, I suppose. I can't find it listed in any of my drink books. It's like an alcoholic milkshake. Anybody?

The Ramos Gin Fizz

Here's the recipe I printed in Esquire Drinks; It's been through numerous rounds of destructive testing and can, I think, be relied on:

Combine in shaker:

2 oz London dry gin

1 oz heavy cream (not half & half or milk)

white of 1 egg (you can stretch this to 1 egg white per 2 drinks)

juice of 1/2 lemon

juice of 1/2 lime

2 teaspoons superfine sugar

2 or 3 drops orange flower water

Shake the bejeezus out of this until every muscle is straining to breathe and you see spots before your eyes and strain it into a chilled Tom Collins glass. Add chilled seltzer to fill the glass and a straw.

This recipe was created by Henry C Ramos at his Stag Cafe in New Orleans some time before 1900.

Enjoy.

[HungryChris]

I guess this might be the right forum to post this question in, so here goes. Remember that book and subsequent TV series about the vet in Britain, "All things Bright and Beautiful" or something like that? They were always making something called a "Pink Gin". Nobody has ever been able to tell me what the hell that is and I have wondered for years.

[LadyOscar]

A pink gin is gin and bitters, apparently preferably Plymouth gin.

Here's the recipe from Wired's Cocktail page:

http://hotwired.wired.com/cocktail/97/13/index4a.html

Edited to add:

The vet in question is James Herriot, btw.

Edited May 11, 2004 by LadyOscar (log)

[HungryChris]

Many thanks, and please allow me to be the first to extend a warm welcome to EG, LadyOscar!

[Blondie]

Thanks for starting this thread, beans. After years of not being able to stomach gin due to one unfortunate night of overindulgence and subsequent paralyzing hangover, I picked up a bottle of Juniper Green Organic Gin. It makes a nice gin and tonic, but I had planned to branch out.

Can someone name a bar in Manhattan where I can try a proper Aviation before I go off searching for maraschino liqueur?

[tgfny]

I guess this might be the right forum to post this question in, so here goes. Remember that book and subsequent TV series about the vet in Britain, "All things Bright and Beautiful" or something like that? They were always making something called a "Pink Gin". Nobody has ever been able to tell me what the hell that is and I have wondered for years.

Still have these all the time fishing in Scotland or in Kenya. Quite a great drink. I also go for a modification with Gin, Soda and bitters that is quite nice.

Edited May 12, 2004 by tgfny (log)

[Roger Troutman]

A pink gin is gin and bitters, apparently preferably Plymouth gin.

Plymouth Gin makes an excellent martini.

I don't know too many people who actually enjoy gin, or who can appreciate a good gin. It's one of my favorite spirits. I like my Bloody Marys made with gin rather than vodka, as well.

Edited May 21, 2004 by Roger Troutman (log)

[Lan4Dawg]

A pink gin is gin and bitters, apparently preferably Plymouth gin.

Plymouth Gin makes an excellent martini.

I don't know too many people who actually enjoy gin, or who can appreciate a good gin. It's one of my favorite spirits. I like my Bloody Marys made with gin rather than vodka, as well.

that makes two of us. Bartenders and wait types look at me funny--more so than usual--when I order bloody marys made w/ gin and lemon instead of vodka & lime. The gin adds flavor and a bit of a bite. Although I actually have had a couple of bartenders admit that it does sound better than the standard vodka bl mary.

[fatdeko]

Hungry Chris: If the author is indeed James Heriot, then the book series is "All Creatures Great and Small" about a family of English Country Veterinarians. BBC made it into a TV series that was on PBS a number of years ago and the thing that struck me was how many episodes called for one of the family to insert his arm up the South end of a North moving bovine.

Roger and Lan4: As cocktail legend, lore and mythology has it, the Bloody Mary was made with Gin when Pete Petiot brought it to the States after leaving Harry's in Paris--since Vodka was not yet available here. Apparently his new bosses were a bit squeamish about the name and he changed it to the more genteel "Red Snapper". (Which begs the question: with such delicate constitutions, would they prefer we order Virgin Marys or Virgin Snappers?) It took Smirnoff's marketing team to return vodka--and the original name-- to the Bloody Mary.

For me, the simpler the Bloody Mary recipe, the more inclined I am to make it a Red Snapper, --the gin adds another layer of complexity But the way I tend to make my Bloody base--with lots of stuff, making it almost a loose "salsa"--I prefer vodka, and usually a pepper or citrus flavored one.