To all gin lovers

Bombay and Plymouth fan here, lime or cucumber and tonic is lovely, but in the summer I like elderflower cordial, or for a Gin Fizz a splash of real ginger beer, for an apero Dry Martini with Noilly Prat is hard to beat.
Cheers!
Aurelia

ooh yes, lime and cucumber. Bombay will do me i think.

If any gin lovers go on holiday to Cornwall, there is a tiny village called Constantine which has the most amazing village shop. At the back is the biggest off licence you have ever seen - stocks 70+ (yes, really) gins, similar numbers of whiskies, rums etc etc.

Do visit it if you get the chance.

Fever Tree is definitely the best tonic.

I too love a large G&T with cucumber or lime, or both.

I haven't tried Fevertree but it's going on the top of my shopping list - pity I'm not near a Morrison's!

I hadn't expected such a response. Certainly will try the cucumber and get me to Morrisons for the free gin with a loaf of bread! I was really wondering about the new specialist gins like Blackwoods etc and if anyone had tried these.

I have tried the Waitrose tonic but overall I think the Fevertree is probably the nicest but sadly pricey. Ah life is a challenge every time I see a selection of anything in a magazine the one I pick out is always the dearest - lots of taste but no money!

artygran I did the same with Bicardi and Coke in the 70s. Haven't been able to touch it since. I can drink Barcardi in cocktails. I think it the mix with coke that turns me off. I drink gin in the summer and scotch in the winter! Love sloe gin. This all makes me sound like an alcoholic, but I'm a very light drinker - go for weeks without touching anything. More of social drinker really.

My Dad won a bottle of Gordon's Gin once, we kept it for about 20 years. It turned dark brown!

I'm with you, numberplease - just the thought of it, never mind the smell, makes me feel ill....it must be like drinking eau de cologne!

Yes bags in the freezer. This would be a pain if it means having to go in your chest freezer, usually kept in garage or other "outhouse".
I meant the freezer compartment of the fridge.

As Nannachrissy said: pour gin over ice cubes before adding tonic. That is the idea. Not to pour gin, then add tonic and then a few ice cubes on top. That would be a dismal drink.

The gin will take on a viscous quality, it cannot freeze, same for vodka ,and that poured on the ice cubes is a very good combo, before tonic is added.

Don't know why I am singing the praises of this method, cannot drink it myself anymore because of health reasons.

Greenmossgiel, I hope you won`t mind if I tell you to stick your gin somewhere, I hate the stuff, even the smell makes me feel sick. Port`s my drink, with lemonade.

I'll keep some in especially then, B!
This evening is turning out to be full of great ticks tips!

No, no, butty, don't waste the sloe gin on ticks!!!! Cheapo plain gin will do!

ga - I didn't discover alcohol until my forties, either. We were late starters clearly!

If only I'd known about sloe gin and ticks earlier I could have saved myself a lot of worry. I discovered a tick attached to my 'venus mount' and have no idea how it got there! It was ..ing ! Ended up at the doc's having it excised. Not nice. .

Ha, thats so funny arty to know that other women do that. It seems such a big, clever, fingers up to the world thing to do at the time...but later,,sob,sob,sob..and the rest!

I love Bombay Sapphire gin (lovely aromatics), with Plymouth a close second. I stopped drinking gin for a long time, having once gone on a tremendous one woman bender brought on by a world class sulk! Having drunk myself senseless, it was three years before I could look a gin and tonic in the face again. I drink very little spirits these days, but, like grannyactivist, I make sloe gin and enjoy the fruits of my labours throughout the year! I haven't come across Fever Tree tonic - will look out for it.

Freezer!?

I am known for my love of G and T. I dont drink to excess but I do have G and T every evening. Some supermarket own brands of gin arent bad i.e. Sainsburys. Some of us have to watch our budgets. Yes Blue Sapphire is v.good and so is fever tree tonic - but not on my budget.

Forgot to mention that of course, your gin must be kept in the freezer.
Makes a world of difference to your G & T.

I drink Bicardi but everytime my husband goes shopping he swears blind the check-out girl at Morrisons gives him a free bottle of gin for buying a loaf of bread, hmmmmm?

Mmmm. Sloe gin! Save me some, ga! I still have some cheapo gin from when I last made sloe gin several years ago (they don't grow so well near here). I use it for tick bites now — fumigate the blighters with a gin-soaked blob of cotton wool and they let go more easily . Disinfects the area too.

Never been a one for drinking spirits (was actually teetotal until in my forties) and gin especially tastes horrible to me, but I love my home-made sloe gin and I'm going to try the same recipe with damsons this year, made with bog-standard gin from Lidl.

I love Plymouth Gin but have it in a large tall glass with lots and lots of tonic and ice so that I don't fall over!

DH goes for Blue Sapphire as well. He bought a bottle recently during the warm spell we had but then it turned cold normal again so he's drinking whiskey macs at the mo. I'm off alcohol just now. Don't seem to want it. More a wino when I do.

Think I'm going to try that nanac!

Perfect G&T (for me anyway )

Large measure of preferred gin poured over ice
1/4 lime, juice squeezed in
chunk of lime
2 slices cucumber
Baby tin tonic all in (just enough)

Swizzle and drink.