The gin lovers thread...

Couldn’t agree more, nothing special. As disappointing as the over hyped Roku Gin.

I still regularly order Brecon Special Reserve which is usually £18/70Cl on Amazon as my go to.
Will look at that one👍
 
Couldn’t agree more, nothing special. As disappointing as the over hyped Roku Gin.

I still regularly order Brecon Special Reserve which is usually £18/70Cl on Amazon as my go to.
So I got some Brecon and your are right👍 apart from the bottle being too tall it’s fab, especially for the price😀
 
So I got some Brecon and your are right👍 apart from the bottle being too tall it’s fab, especially for the price😀

What spoils the magic slightly is that it is not made from that excellent Welsh Brecon water. It is made in England and the Brecon people just put a badge on it, they are Whisky makers primarily.

Still a nice and good value gin, though I prefer the cheaper reserve Reserve to the more florid Botanicals version.
 
What spoils the magic slightly is that it is not made from that excellent Welsh Brecon water. It is made in England and the Brecon people just put a badge on it, they are Whisky makers primarily.

Still a nice and good value gin, though I prefer the cheaper reserve Reserve to the more florid Botanicals version.
Horses for courses, but I (and Mrs No1) found it quite harsh when we had it a few years ago - it's on the list of "Wouldn't buy again"
 
Horses for courses, but I (and Mrs No1) found it quite harsh when we had it a few years ago - it's on the list of "Wouldn't buy again"
As a gin drinker what is your go to gin would you say then?
 
Not sure if I should post this here or in the Coffee Fanatics thread?
Sounds like it will be worth a spin.
We chose Pact Coffee's Fruit and Nut Espresso for its sensational blend of the finest Brazilian and Rwandan coffee beans, along with their ethos to bring amazing coffee to the UK, while making life better at source for coffee farmers. We then distilled it with cinnamon and fresh vanilla for a true, full-bodied flavour.
 
Talk to me about negroni please? I've looked through this thread, and see that a few people like them, we're just trying to perfect ours.

My current go to is :-

50ml Aldi Greyson's London Dry Gin
50ml Aldi Aperini (surprisingly good compared to Aperol or Campari and half the price!)
50ml Punt E Mes
Served well stirred in a whisky tumbler with the largest ice cube that will fit in there, keeps it cool without too much dilution.

We've tried it with various vermouths, my least favourite being Martini Rosso, Cinzano Rosso is OK, Punt E Mes is excellent, and we've just bought a bottle of Antica Formula to try tonight, I will report back with my findings later on. 🥂😁

We've also tried it with lots of different dry gins, Campari and Aperol, and the vermouth always seems to be the biggest influence on flavour.

Any favourite combinations here? Cheers. 🥃
 
My current go to is :-

50ml Aldi Greyson's London Dry Gin
50ml Aldi Aperini (surprisingly good compared to Aperol or Campari and half the price!)
50ml Punt E Mes
Served well stirred in a whisky tumbler with the largest ice cube that will fit in there, keeps it cool without too much dilution.

That all sounds spot on - though I've never used any of those specific ingredients.

You can get it colder if you gently stir in a shaker/long glass of ice for a minute or two then strain into your tumbler with a fresh block of ice. So the drink arrives prechilled and won't dilute as quickly. Depends how fast you drink of course!

According to my instagram my last negroni was Adnams Quince Gin, Martini Fiero & Aperol.
Bombay Saphire, Campari and Martini Rosso are also a go to.

Technically if you substitute Aperol for Campari you're closer to a Contessa which uses a dry vermouth but the same 1/3rd quantities.
If you're finding the vermouth is the defining feature then that might suit you better or at least make a change?
 
That all sounds spot on - though I've never used any of those specific ingredients.

You can get it colder if you gently stir in a shaker/long glass of ice for a minute or two then strain into your tumbler with a fresh block of ice. So the drink arrives prechilled and won't dilute as quickly. Depends how fast you drink of course!

According to my instagram my last negroni was Adnams Quince Gin, Martini Fiero & Aperol.
Bombay Saphire, Campari and Martini Rosso are also a go to.

Technically if you substitute Aperol for Campari you're closer to a Contessa which uses a dry vermouth but the same 1/3rd quantities.
If you're finding the vermouth is the defining feature then that might suit you better or at least make a change?

Thank you. I hadn't thought of using a flavoured gin, and Whitley Neill Quince is one of my favourites, so that's definitely worth a shout.

I've also being looking for an excuse to try some supposedly excellent Nolly Prat Vermouth, so a Contessa is a great idea, and it should make a great Martini too. 🥂
 
The Antica Formula is a step up again from the Punt E Mes, hard to explain, but the whole thing just tastes a little more 'rounded', definitely my favourite combinations so far.
 
I've also being looking for an excuse to try some supposedly excellent Nolly Prat Vermouth, so a Contessa is a great idea, and it should make a great Martini too.

Noilly Prat is my go to dry vermouth for a Martini. It's £12 at Waitrose according to Google so 50% more than Martini Extra Dry but you only use a thimble so it's not worth skimping :)
Lillet Blanc or Rose is also worth checking out for a lighter Martini style drink :)
 
My first attempt at a Martini, 150ml (3 measured doubles) of Aldi Gin, 25ml (1 measured single) of Noilly Prat, an olive on a cocktail stick, and a slither of orange peel, stirred, not shaken!

How on earth does Bond drive or shoot or even think straight after one of them? Wow! 🥴🥂😂
 

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On the business between shaken and stirred, Wiki says this…”Biochemists and martini connoisseurs have investigated the difference between a martini shaken and a martini stirred. The Department of Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada studied whether preparation of a martini affects its antioxidant capacity; the study found that the shaken gin martinis were able to break down hydrogen peroxide and leave only 0.072% of the peroxide, while the stirred gin martini left 0.157%. Thus a shaken martini has more antioxidants than a stirred one.”


If you shake a Martini it becomes a Bradford. I rarely shake.
 
My first attempt at a Martini,

Looks alright to me - personal preference is a bit drier so less than 25ml of vermouth.
I'd have chosen either an olive or the twist but if that's what you like then all power to you.

The biggest improvement I made to my martinis was stirring for a lot longer than I thought was necessary. 2 min slowly stirring makes the shaker condense all the way up the sides and improves the drink a lot.

Honestly a dry martini that's 3 single measures of gin + vermouth is always going to hit you any which way :)
I read recently that if the mixer in a G+T contains sugar that slows down the metabolisation of the alcohol where as a slimline mixer means it goes straight into you. I guess a drink with no mixer, just two types of booze does the same.

May be we need a cocktail thread?
 
Looks alright to me - personal preference is a bit drier so less than 25ml of vermouth.
I'd have chosen either an olive or the twist but if that's what you like then all power to you.

The biggest improvement I made to my martinis was stirring for a lot longer than I thought was necessary. 2 min slowly stirring makes the shaker condense all the way up the sides and improves the drink a lot.

Honestly a dry martini that's 3 single measures of gin + vermouth is always going to hit you any which way :)
I read recently that if the mixer in a G+T contains sugar that slows down the metabolisation of the alcohol where as a slimline mixer means it goes straight into you. I guess a drink with no mixer, just two types of booze does the same.

May be we need a cocktail thread?

We appear to have one from 3yrs ago - The Cocktail Lovers Thread

I asked the Mrs to buy some oranges, lemons, and olives, plus some cocktail sticks, so I just thought we'd try a bit of everything! 😂

We tried it with just the olive first, but adding the orange just zinged it up a little, might try it with just the orange and no olive next time.
 
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I was about to raise my eyebrows at 3 doubles of gin then spotted that was for two :)
 
I was about to raise my eyebrows at 3 doubles of gin then spotted that was for two :)

It definitely was, honest guv! 🥴😂

I've invented a new gin drink though, a twist on a negroni and a contessa, a negessa or a controni?

1 measure of gin
1 measure of Aperol or Campari
1 measure of red vermouth
1 measure of white vermouth

Very tasty. 🥂
 
Bringing out the Monkey for a try on this damp and dark Saturday night
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🙊
 
How does it fair?
Very smooth to be honest, is recommended to be served with orange peel and a wedge of lime, neither of which I have so just some ice.

It’s not cheap especially for a 50cl bottle but I think it’s a case of paying for quality ingredients, bottling and packaging here. Even the cork is cool!
 
Girlfirend loves monkey 47 but I think her favourite is bathtub or brookman which is my favourite or the Liverpool gin. There is a japenease gin £50 forget the bottle sounds like star wars obi something that's also good.
I'm more of a whisky drinker but like some rum
 

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