Gin!

[ejellest]

There is at least one store selling BlueCoat here in San Francisco, and I've seen it in a few bars.

 

It is pretty far from a traditional gin, so I'm still trying to wrap my head around what he is going for.

 

Anyone has suggestions for drinks that show it a particularly good light, let me know.

 

Beyond that, it is a lovely package.

 

~Erik

[Alfred E. Neuman]

Gin!, What's your favorite?

 

Rummy! That's a gin right? No?

 

Cotton!!

[MTgrayling]

I see it is available at HighTimeWine.Net now.

 

Bluecoat Gin

 

As well as the mysterious Blackwoods Gin, and the Aviation Gin T73 was looking for, and the Millers Gin I just paid too much for elsewhere.

 

I don't think I shall need to look any further for my future gin orders.

 

Ejellest:

 

The Bluecoat is smooth and fickle to mix. I have found that it works very well in pink gins: 2oz Bluecoat 3-5 dahses of Angustora bitters over ice with a shot of spring water. Bluecoat and Tonic works well too but with orange instead of the traditional lime. I'm still trying to work out the logistics of the Bluecoat Martini.

[Joe Legate]

Does Hi-Times ship to Montana, now? That'd be very cool.

[MTgrayling]

Oh crap, nevermind then.

[ejellest]

Sadly, no.

 

Hi-Times used to ship liquor out of CA.

 

But, then a year or so ago they stopped shipping liquor altogether.

 

After a while, they resumed shipping liquor to California addresses.

 

I don't know exactly what happened.

 

Anyway, they are a good company, though they sometimes use a semi-incompetent courier service.

 

Their courier kept claiming they were trying to deliver to my house and weren't showing up.

 

After having my order sent back to Hi-Times once, I eventually got Hi-Times to resend it and the courier to hold it at their delivery center. Unfortunately, that was a couple San Francisco suburbs away. A lot of struggle; but, at least I finally got my Byrrh wine and Canton ginger liqueur.

 

Of course, about a month later, I walked into a liquor store in SF, and saw both sitting on the shelf...

[Mr.Defo]

I recently discovered Hendrick's and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It has so much flavor, and all those tastes mingle so well together; it's unique and very interesting.

[Joe Legate]

Agreed.

Plymouth is still my personal favorite for a martini, though. Anyone with a better choice?

[Fixedspiral]

My friend really likes Bombay, and Mr. Defo and Peridot suggested we try Tanqueray, so we got a small bottle earlier- I have yet to try it, seeing as we don't have many mixers to choose from, but I've got a feeling I just don't have a palate cut out for gin.

[LeRoy]

I never really cared for Gin until recently.

A friend of mine bought me a Tanqueray and Tonic at a bar and I loved it.

Seriously, give it a try!

[Fixedspiral]

I LOVE me some vodka tonics, but I have yet to try gin... I'm thinking about making a trip down to the convenience store around the corner for some tonic water.

[Brian Robinson]

T, you're right on the money with me. Plymouth is the way to go. I like a lot of gins, but I've never found one that fits so well in a martini.

 

Also, anyone who likes Gin and Tonics, should try a Gin with Schweppes Bitter Lemon Soda. It's a nice twist on the flavor, and damned refreshing.

[ShaiHulud]

That sounds good.

 

I am late to this thread but a huge gin fan. In fact, after Absinthe I think it is my favourite spirit. I would have said hands down that my top two are Plymouth and Hendricks with Plymouth being the most versatile. I have tried and disliked Tangurey 10 and Bombay Sapphire. they taste heavy on the "windex" scale that turns so many people off of gin. I will admit that I never tried Beefeater as I (apparently mistakenly) assumed it was a low quality brand. I shall pick up a bottle. I like the Rangpour especially in a G&T and I guess I should try the Straight Tangurey and Bombay. I figured if I didn't like the specialty versions I wouldn't like the standard.

[Boggy]

Also, anyone who likes Gin and Tonics, should try a Gin with Schweppes Bitter Lemon Soda. It's a nice twist on the flavor, and damned refreshing.

 

Totally agreed . It is not that often available here, but whenever it hits the shelves, I buy it for that particular reason. Quite nice is also Schweppes Citrus Mix with a more a sweetish egde, though.

[TrainerAZ]

I went to PF Chang's not long ago with friends (yep, I have some of those). They have a cocktail they call a Zen Press.

 

Hendrick's, cucumber, lemongrass, and a little tonic or soda water.

 

Apparently the cucumber and lemongrass are "pressed", cuz there were no veggie bits in the drink.

 

Very tasty. And we're pretty sure they also added ginger.

 

Edit: here's a blurb or two I found on it.

 

P.F. Chang’s, which has nearly 100 U.S. outlets, introduced a specialty drink list last September that featured a popular cucumber-inspired cocktail called Zen Press. It includes cucumber-and-rose-petal-infused gin flavored with lemon grass syrup and muddled cucumber slices.

 

It is served on the rocks and garnished with mint and lime and sells for about $6.50 depending on the location. “The Press is a classic drink, but we serve it with a modern twist,” Cherry says. “The cleanness of the cuke together with the lemon grass is a perfect match.”

 

I liked – loved – this drink so much, I had my friend, who steered up through the night with great recommendations (drink included), ask the bartender how the drink was made: two slices of cucumber muddled in a glass, a shot of lemongrass syrup, and a shot of gin topped off with Sprite and seltzer. I started off with this formula, and after three drinks had the drink down to a science of me. Of course, size of glass, your taste preferences, and how fast or slow you want to get to par-tay will influence your hand.

 

Lemongrass Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 stalk lemongrass (readily found at Asian Markets)

 

Place sugar and water into a small pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar crystals have dissolved.

Slice the pale, fleshy base of lemon grass into small rounds and add to the sugar and water mixture.

Let the syrup cool for at least 30 minutes, or longer for stronger flavoring.

Strain.

Zen Press

Makes 1 drink

 

1 inch of cucumber, peeled and cut into ¼ inch rounds

3/4 shot lemongrass syrup

1 shot Hendrick's Gin

ice

Sprite

Seltzer

 

Muddle cucumber slices in the bottom of a glass.

Add lemongrass syrup and gin.

Stir, and strain into a glass.

Add ice, and top with a splash of Sprite and Seltzer.

[AlyssaDyane]

I'm not a big gin drinker, but we have been drinking a lot more gin since I discovered this gin. I love it.

[Joe Legate]

Now, dammit, AD! I've been trying to get a little advice on this gin but no one has ponied-up, yet. It doesn't compare to Plymouth, Hendricks, Miller's or Bombay in a martini, to me. How are you drinking the Citadelle?

[AlyssaDyane]

I agree, I didn't much care for it in a martini, either - too many flavours going on. I do, however, love it in a Gin and tonic. In my Citadelle G&T's I add just a splash of orange blossom water, instead of lime. Man, that is some good stuff.

[Attack Accountant]

I liked it in martinis. Haven't tried it in a G&T, though.

[Helfrich]

18th Century edition of La Distillation Reduite en Principes. that discusses Geniévre.

So here it is: http://books.google.com/books?id=cn0EAAAAYAAJ What Déjean describes is rather quaint. The juniper berries are fermented (some traditional German or Austrian Wacholder is produced that way). The dregs ("marc") are distilled and a liqueur is assembled from distilled and undistilled liquids, and syrup. That's interesting but I don't think it comes close to what was known as genever in the Low Countries (including the north of France).

[dakini_painter]

This text is also available here at Gallica, the online French National Library.

 

Click the Télécharger link, then click "OK", and you'll be able to download a copy for free to your very own hard drive.

 

Considering this was written in 1778, it's always possible that the beverage changed over time, or that French tastes were very different from those of the Low Countries. As always, it is possible that M. Déjean got it wrong.

[Helfrich]

He didn't get it wrong. He focuses on juniper (genièvre) as an ingredient and describes a technique to extract a spirit from it and to make a liqueur. He's not discussing the traditional drink of the Low Countries (also called genièvre) at all, which has been a herb flavoured grain spirit since about 1600.

 

PS The copy that I linked to is from 1753.

[Dangermonkey]

If you want to really open up the competitition if you ever get anywhere near Belgium go to Hasselt to the National Gin Museum http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiritsreview/sets/72157600344111440/ ://http://www.flickr.com/photos/spirit...7600344111440/ ://http://www.flickr.com/photos/spirit...7600344111440/ ://http://www.flickr.com/photos/spirit...7600344111440/

When I was planning to go there I wrote to them in advance trying to find out what kind of souviners they had (to bring back for my friends - they were verry apologetic- no T0-shirts, keychains, etc., only 400 varieties of gin

 

The first picture is one of the curators and I at the bar of the gift shop with the over 400 varieties of gins - samples (some that is) included in the price of admission.

I seriously thought about trying to apply for political asylum- at least they let me stay for while.

[Rev. Joel+]

Make mine Bombay Sapphire! Failing that, I'll take Gordons.

[Brian Robinson]

Failing that, I'll take Gordons.

You need to branch out more.

[baubel]

Mmm, plastic bottles, that's something to stick with.

 

If anything they make it possible.

[Amber von Doom]

We have a new gin coming out at the end of this month. It's called New Amsterdam.

 

http://www.newamsterdamgin.com/home.asp

 

I haven't tasted it yet but I'm really looking forward to it. All I can say about it now is that the bottle is pretty.

[peridot]

I'd definitely try it if I could get my hands on it.

 

But I think the tag line is funny. I expect all quality gin to be good enough to drink straight.

[jonathan_carfax]

My favourite Gin, which I would regularly pick up at the duty free during business travels across the ditch between Australia and New Zealand, is South Gin. It has a really funky bottle, and is very fresh and clean in the taste.

 

Another I have tried a couple of times and quite enjoyed is Juniper Green Organic Gin, although it is a little harder to track down in Australia.

[Amber von Doom]

The New Amsterdam Gin premiere was yesterday so it'll start showing up in stores in Califiornia in the next weeks. It's already been in about 10 test states for a year, I think.

 

I got to try it and I like it. It's light on the juniper with some citrus-y flavour.