Best gin for Martinis?

[jaybee]

Beefeaters or regular Bombay are my favs. Don't like a lot of botanicals,

just that feeling of a sharp knife drawn across my throat..gasp.

[Dave the Cook]

JAZ:  Yeah, actually I prefer Gimlets.  By a very narrow margin.

I myself am a Gimlet person. Why aren't we talking about them? Why don't bartender know how to make them? Why are they so dangerous?

[maggiethecat]

just that feeling of a sharp knife drawn across my throat..gasp.

Yes!

[maggiethecat]

JAZ:  Yeah, actually I prefer Gimlets.  By a very narrow margin.

I myself am a Gimlet person. Why aren't we talking about them? Why don't bartender know how to make them? Why are they so dangerous?

Because they are twenty-two years old and no no has ever ordered one before? Because they are afraid of pulling out a bartender's manual, because so few people order them? And they are not sure of the spelling?Because they can't stand the smell of pickled onions? Because they can't find the onions?

A mystery.

[StephenT]

Because they can't find the onions?

Erm, are we confusing Gimlets with Gibsons?

[maggiethecat]

Because they can't find the onions?

Erm, are we confusing Gimlets with Gibsons?

[nightscotsman]

Count me in as a Seagram's fan. It's my gin of choice for cocktails as I find it has a nice affinity with citrus flavors. Here are the tasting notes from F. Paul Pacult's "Kindred Sprits":

• Clear; one of the more individualistic noses in the gin category - highly pronounced, come-hither, distinct orange-peel, cinnamon, and lilac qualities hold court over other fruity compontents - I greatly admire the off-dry bouquet; unquestionably the fullest tasting of the domestic gins; the orange peel and cinnamon carry over onto the flavor, then a nifty, spicy hint of coriander develops in the stone-dry finish; best part of this handsome package, though is the fleshy, fruity, full-blown nose; little wonder to me why this is one of the most popular distilled spirits in the U.S.; perfectly good on-the-rocks or in a cocktail. RATING: *** (three stars out of five) Recommended.
  

I find Tanqueray, while perfect for gin and tonics, to be overpowering and overly junipery for more nuanced cocktails. But then I'm not really a martini man, myself.

[maggiethecat]

But then I'm not really a martini man, myself.

NSM: When, (not if ) you move to Chicago, I will endeavour to make a (Seagrams) martini man outta you!

Thanks for the tasting notes.

Edited February 3, 2003 by maggiethecat (log)

[Simon Majumdar]

Seagrams??

Why not just used bottled vomit?

S

[=Mark]

Anybody used the onions that come soaked in vermouth? Damn tasty!

[maggiethecat]

Seagrams??

Why not just used bottled vomit?

S

Because I prefer bottled bile.

[Simon Majumdar]

Seagrams??

Why not just used bottled vomit?

S

Because I prefer bottled bile.

Is that with a twist?

S

[maggiethecat]

Seagrams??

Why not just used bottled vomit?

S

Because I prefer bottled bile.

Is that with a twist?

S

You, of all people, Simon, need to ask?

Biliously yours,

Splenetic Termagent

[Simon Majumdar]

The new egullet cocktail

The shrieking Harridan.

In your very great honour my chicagoan wonder

S

[Schielke]

Snoop Dogg is a Tanquery fan

"Tanquery and Chronic, man I'm f***ed up now!"

-Snoop D-o-double-gizzle

Ben

[maggiethecat]

The new egullet cocktail

The shrieking Harridan. 

Simon, dahling:

I'll think about it.

Seagrams from the freezer,served in an old jam jar. Garnish: Slice of Hebrew National salami.

Couple of these, and even you, my honey-voiced charmer, will be reduced to a Shrieking Harridan.

[JAZ]

I fully intended to buy a bottle of Seagrams to give it a try, but the crappy little Safeway I went to was out, so I bought Gordon's instead, because a) nothing else was on sale, and b) I wanted to try a mid-range gin to compare it with the Boodles and Beefeater I'd been drinking.

So, I mixed three tiny drinks: a martini (well, once again, it was a Gibson because I still have no olives and just can't resist an opportunity to eat a pickled onion), a gimlet (the drink with lime, not the one with an onion) and a negroni to see how it fared.

The results?

Gordon's aromatics are pretty one-dimensional. Lots of juniper and not much else. Not that this is a bad thing, but it was different from the Boodles, which also has some citrus and floral aromas going on. But I actually found the hit of juniper refreshing in the martini. The gin finished a little harsh, though.

The Rose's lime in the gimlet soothed the harshness, but I wasn't crazy about all that juniper in that particular drink. Okay, but not great. I might give it another try with a little more Rose's, to see if that balances the juniper.

The Gordon's was very good in the negroni though. Maybe because the juniper held its own with the bitterness of the Campari? Not sure.

Overall, I'm not displeased with the Gordon's, even if it means no gimlets for a while. Especially since it's about 40 percent less expensive than the premiums, and about a third of the cost of Junipero, and I already blew most of my liquor budget on Hangar One vodka so I'm trying to be frugal.

[nervousnelli]

oops! never mind.

Edited February 4, 2003 by nervousnelli (log)

[Aurora]

If it's to be a gift, Tanqueray or Bombay would be good choices.

But  I am about to commit heresey here.  To my taste, the mid-priced Seagrams makes the tastiest martini.  A little edgier flavour.  (I had a fine Tanqueray martini when dining out at Opera last Monday with some Chicago eGulleteers.  I still like the more assertive Seagrams flavour.)

And the big bottle costs about fourteen bucks.

Shugga - go to Costco, buy the Mega Big Gulp of Bombay Sapphire. Your friend will be happy, and you will have paid a nice price.

Maggie - You can now count a fourth woman that enjoys gin (Bombay or Tanqueray--Sapphire or 10 if others are buying ). Gin and tonic with extra limes or gin martinis with green olives jam-packed with gorgonzola.

But wait a minute...backup. Did you say--Seagrams? Whoa!

¡Hay! ¡Dios mio! Mags? Say it ain't so. Seagrams certainly is assertive. It always comes across like lighter fluid gently stirred with a sprig of blue spruce.

If that's what we're drinking, I'll buy, but I will really need more limes.

Edited February 4, 2003 by Aurora (log)

[awbrig]

If I was single, I would hang out in this thread where all the women are drinking martinis

[maggiethecat]

Seagrams certainly is assertive.  It always comes across like lighter fluid gently stirred with a sprig of blue spruce. 

Aurora, have I mentioned that I love you? In this whole thread, you finally positioned Seagrams perfectly.

That isexactly why I like Seagrams. As Jaybee said a while ago, someting like "a gash across the throat." Bring on the lighter fluid. You want depth, buy (my actual favorite: Scotch.)

Gin is the curse of the drinking classes. I like it raw. So there, Simon!

[jaybee]

I have a totally fab green deco shaker with three silver rings. It glows when it gets all frosty. When the glasses come out of the freezer and I pour the shaken viscous gin in, the haze slowly lifts from the bottom of the glass until the beads of condensation form. That first sip, coldly sliding over the tongue and cutting across the back of your throat like an icy razor....ahhh. Then, relax by the fireplace and fold back into the soft recesses of my favorite chair, taking little cat sips, unwilling to put the glass down until I've had five or six. Fish out an olive and chew around the pit, the salty firm flesh a perfect counterpoint to the cold gin. Yesssssssssss. Slowly a slight sense of woozy, dizzy surrounds my head, and a warm glow surounds me. In the room, all the women are pretty, the men good looking and the children above average...the conversation impossibly clever.

Edited February 4, 2003 by jaybee (log)

[maggiethecat]

Slowly a slight sense of woozy, dizzy surrounds my head, and a warm glow surounds me.  In the room, all the women are pretty, the men good looking and the children above average...the conversation impossibly clever.

Jaybee: A great meditation on the martini. Brilliant.

[David De Silva]

Just happened to be reading the latest QRW (Quarterly Review of Wines) and they listed what they thought were the best gins (and vodkas) for martini's. Their picks (for what it's worth):

1st Boodles and Tanqueray Ten (36/40 pts.)

2nd Tanqueray (35/40)

3rd Beefeater (33/40)

4th Daresburt 30/40 Bestbuy at $17)

5th Bombay (29/40

6th Bombay Sapphire (23/40)

Vodkas

1st Ketel One (32/40)

2nd Three Olives (31/40 Bestbuy at $16)

3rd Finlandia (30/40)

4th Stoli (29/40)

5th Shyy (27/40)

6th Smirnoff (25/40)

7th Absolut (22/40)

[ronfland]

I am perfectly enamored of Citadelle gin for martinis - not too expensive (about $22) but BEAUTIFULLY flavored (not for the "sharp knife in the throat" types, its herbaceous). When I'm out, I use Sapphire which is always in the house.