Gin and Tonic fans? What's up with tonic water these days?

[WinterDeere]

I've also had mixed luck with the little 10 oz. bottles in recent years. I prefer the 6 oz. cans, they seem to stay good forever.

I buy Schweppes first, and Canada Dry when the store is out of Schweppes. I've never tried Polar tonic, and am surprised to hear it's good, but will have to try it!

I've pretty much given up on getting G&T's in restaurants, anymore. Between the crappy tonic water most squirt out of their fountain wand, and the inability of most bartenders to get a consistent pour ratio, I'd rather just have one made right at home.

 

[jyoutz]

Huh, I thought they just boiled down pine trees to get that flavor

Juniper berries are the primary flavor element in gin.

 

[jyoutz]

I wouldn't say I drink, but I don't 'not drink'. It can aggravate the gout, so it's occasional only. My wife has 1 or 2 almost nightly. She prefers bourbon (Manhattans).

Manhattans and old fashions are my favorite cocktails. But a good G&T is a great summer drink. Another refreshing summer drink is half and half wheat beer and pink grapefruit juice. Blue Moon mixes well with the juice.

 

[mikester]

Fill the glass with ice, pour 3-4 fingers of good quality gin, now top up with tonic water. No fiz to worry about.

 

[D&D]

Juniper! Which is some kind of conifer I think. So pretty much boiled down pine tree. Which is the main thing you get with Gilby's and Gordon's. If you don't like it you can always clean the floors with it.

 

[WinterDeere]

Manhattans and old fashions are my favorite cocktails. But a good G&T is a great summer drink. Another refreshing summer drink is half and half wheat beer and pink grapefruit juice. Blue Moon mixes well with the juice.

Wow… we have very similar taste. More of the old fashioneds and manhattans in winter, vs G&T’s and Martini's in summer. I also enjoy a Hefeweizen with lemonade on a hot day, but mostly stick to the Belgian beers the last ten years.

Another summer treat is a tequila martini. Let me know if you want the recipe.

 

[bigtiller]

Another summer treat is a tequila martini. Let me know if you want the recipe.

I do, but I don't have any martini glasses or a shaker.

 

[Oaktree]

Growing up in the 60’s the adults were very sociable when it came to impromptu cocktail parties… and beer/wine wasn’t really on the menu…

Now that you mentioned it, ISTR my parents' friends tended towards mixed drinks at get-togethers too. Father would drink beer at home, but not generally at gatherings or with company.
Don't recall either of them drinking wine, or at least not until much later in life.

I tried Gin when I was 16 and thought it tasted awful. An out of state visitor likes martinis so I bought some Gin several years ago. I tried it again and still don't like it....and green olives are awful too.

I've never been able to tolerate any sort of mixed drink. Don't really like the taste, and something you have to sip isn't for me. At least with beer I kind of lose my taste for it when I've had enough, hard liquor I don't feel anything, don't feel anything, don't feel anything, I'm drunk. Not a pleasant feeling.
I do like green olives, can sit and polish off a jar of them at one sitting.

 

[ultrarunner]

I think wine got a big boost when health benefits were in the news…

I know older women that never drank starting to have a glass with dinner saying it was for health.

Wine consumption must be down because I keep hearing it’s not all wine and roses in the Napa valley these days…

When I worked the shop floor having alcohol on lunch could get you fired but not if you were management because they were always taking clients out and alcohol was expected.

 

[WinterDeere]

I do, but I don't have any martini glasses or a shaker.

Lack of shaker is fine, in fact Martini's should be stirred, James Bond was just trying to be different. But you do need a way to strain the ice from the drink. I use a shaker, but just swirl it to mix rather than shaking, because it has a convenient strainer top. But pro bartenders generaly stir with a long spoon in a pint glass, and then use one of these strainers on top of the glass for pouring:



Martini glasses can be Amazon'd. They even have reasonably nice looking plastic ones now, if your drinking tends to be poolside and you want to avoid broken glass around the pool due to kids throwing balls around. DAMHIKIT

The rule on Martini glasses is bigger is better, those little old 2 oz. jobbies grandma bought in 1940 don't really work. You want a 4 oz. or larger glass.

Tequilla Martini (it's simple, but it's big!):

2.5 oz. of your favorite top-shelf Tequilla
1.5 oz. Carpano Dry Vermouth (no point ruining good tequilla with cheap vermouth)
2 large crisp Mezzeta martini olives (pre-soaked in vermouth)

So, obviously a 4 oz. drink, which is about twice the size of the original Martinis served 80+ years ago. I actually like 1800 Resposado tequilla, but most will say it should be made with Blanco. Hey... whatever floats your boat.

Gotta help mom move in 95F heat this afternoon, with our usual mid-Atlantic humidity in spades. Sister is there supervising the movers who are doing the heavy lifting this morning, I'm second shift to help them set up the new place this afternoon into evening. Maybe I'll recover with a Tequilla martini, when it's all done.