a little gin review

every time i go down to germany, i pick up a few bottles of gin. i try to get old favorites (geranium, hendrick's) and a couple of new ones that we've never tried before. they have an awesome selection at the big grocery store, citti, and even a good selection in the various border shops, so there's always something exciting. to try. this time, i got blackwoods and tann's. with various guests, these two bottles are already gone! we definitely liked the blackwoods best of the two and i would even buy it again. we've been on a schweppes bitter lemon kick and used that with these gins instead of tonic, just for a change of pace. the blackwoods stood up to it better than the tann's, with just the right amount of juniper able to cut through the bitter lemon.

tann's is a much milder, less ginny gin. and by that i mean that there's hardly any juniper taste to it. in fact, if we'd had it with tonic, we'd have been sorely disappointed. it's a good gin to mix with bitter lemon. it's also a good gin to serve to people who say they don't really like gin, as what they likely don't like is that piney juniper flavor and tann's definitely lacks that. as a result it also lacks the crispness that i think that gin should have. i don't believe we'll be putting it in the cart again, despite the pretty purple bottle.

this is very interesting - it's a gin liqueur, not a regular gin. i'd bought hayman's before and we liked it and i'll admit i thought i was buying the normal hayman's again, expecting its crisp, clean finish. it was only after i got it home that i discovered that it was a liqueur. it's part of a trend i just read about in the new york times - liquor with split personalities. the article doesn't mention gin, but instead oak-barrel aged tequila and bourbon that's been sent to sea. but a gin liqueur is a similar hybrid. and it's just up husband's alley, as he's much more partial to sweet drinks than i am. we have used it like normal gin, mixing with the bitter lemon and he really likes it. me, less so, as i'm not keen on sweet. but it's good to have something on the shelf that's good for husband's evening drinkie poo and this is definitely perfect for that.

what are you drinking these days?

wherein she invents gin & tonic sorbet

i normally only post recipes only over on just know where you are, but i'm going to make an exception, since i mentioned the whole notion of a gin & tonic sorbet here on MPC. i did a little experiment and i am pleased to announce that it is a BIG SUCCESS!

gin & tonic sorbet

first, make a sugar syrup by bringing 3C water and 1C sugar to a boil.

allow the syrup to cool.

then stir together the following in small, flat dish that will fit in your freezer. i used a flat 1.5 inch tall by A4-sized tupperware container with a lid:

1 C of the sugar syrup

1 half liter bottle of schweppes indian tonic (do not be cheap about your tonic, only schweppes will do)

the juice of 2 limes

1/2 C of gin (i used g'vine, a posh french small batch gin)

i let mine freeze overnight, but it likely would have been ready sooner--the gin keeps it from freezing into ice cube-like consistency. then, you take a fork and rake it across until it's a lovely slushy consistency, put it in a glass with a slice of lime and serve in the sun.

it's heavenly. i promise.

and it's also #40

singapore sling

this is a singapore sling:

it only looks good in this tiny version, but i thought this poster version of it, which i found on google images, fit tangobaby's romantic notion of it as a retro drink, which it surely is. i've had one at the long bar (on my first trip to singapore lo so many moons ago), but didn't want to order one just in order to photograph it, as it's a bit sweet for me. tho' it contains gin and is sometimes called a singapore gin sling and we do know that i adore gin. however, it's just a bit too fruity.

it was invented sometime between 1910 and 1915 by a guy named Ngiam Tong Boon at the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel. it contains gin, cherry brandy and benedictine. it's a tad fizzy, so i think it also must contain some club soda or perhaps even 7-Up, but the recipe i read in some visitor's guide didn't really say that. it's always got a big bunch of fruit slices on the side and is served in a glass much like the one in the picture above. unless you get it on singapore airlines, in which case it's in a smaller more airline-y glass.

don't say i never teach you anything here on moments of perfect clarity. :-)