The Advice Thread

[WolfMan]

I'll go Bombay Sapphire I think, any good mixers or is just plain tonic the best?

 

[WolfMan]

I think I'd have Tanqueray over both of the Bombay Sapphire's. Sainsbury's usually have one or the other on offer so usually go with which is the cheaper.

They had a litre of Tanqueray on Amazon for 20 quid the other day, next day delivery with Prime.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Mixers are important. Doing a standard Gordon’s then Schweppes tonic is fine. However I strongly recommend checking out Fever Tree tonics. Excellent.

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

I'll go Bombay Sapphire I think, any good mixers or is just plain tonic the best?

It does mix with grapefruit soda, but a decent tonic is a much safer option. Fever Tree is good (and probably expensive), Schweppes used to be the big brand name, I don't know if that has changed.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Also loads of ice, and drop in some blackberries and raspberries. Gin heaven.

 

[WolfMan]

It does mix with grapefruit soda, but a decent tonic is a much safer option. Fever Tree is good (and probably expensive), Schweppes used to be the big brand name, I don't know if that has changed.

Does the tonic water actually make a difference to the taste then? I've always just bought the cheapest shit I can get for pennies from the supermarket.

 

[Tredman]

I’m not a huge gin drinker but do like Tanqueray.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Does the tonic water actually make a difference to the taste then? I've always just bought the cheapest shit I can get for pennies from the supermarket.

Oh it can. It really can. Buy Schweppes and Fever Tree. Make a drink with both one after the other and you should really notice the difference. Quality of tonic enhances a good gin.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

My parents disagreed with my advice above. Probably something to do with their idea of showing the gin the mixer from pretty much the other side of a locked door. If my mother asked for a family sized gin it would knock out a horse.

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

Fever Tree marketing is based on the mixer being three-quarters of the drink. So if you are getting a good gin, then definitely you want a good mixer.
Unless you are Paddy's mother.

 

[WolfMan]

Oh it can. It really can. Buy Schweppes and Fever Tree. Make a drink with both one after the other and you should really notice the difference. Quality of tonic enhances a good gin.

Interesting. Right that's my evening tomorrow sorted. I'll report back on my findings!

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Lots of flavour choices with fever tree. If you want a fair comparison get a straight Schweppes, straight fever tree and a flavoured fever tree of your choice. Experiment. Obvs that means drinking three large gins so probably I would put the car keys away!

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Get Fever Tree Premium Indian tonic, Schweppes Indian tonic, and as the wildcard try Fever Tree Aromatic. They have a great Lemon one, the Clementine is excellent. Not tried the raspberry and rhubarb but I reckon that would seriously rock.

 

[BillyDee]

It's certainly my opinion that the gin is more important than the mixer. That said, with my home measures, I strongly disagree with the Fevertree view posted above...
Rhubarb gin (Warner Edward's for choice) with a dry ginger mixer is banging though.

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

Useless trivia. We carry Edinburgh Gin Rhubarb & Ginger. In the US they are not allowed to call it 'gin'. It is a liqueur instead.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

I assume there must be a certain level of ingredients to be legally classed as a gin as there isn’t a geographical ruling like with Scotch.

 

[BillyDee]

Gin is just vodka infused with botanicals, predominantly juniper.

 

[Tredman]

Cheap gin and cheap tonic. Still tastes ace though.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

Gin is just vodka infused with botanicals, predominantly juniper.

A bit like whiskey is vodka that's kept in old barrels.

Fever tree mixers are decent but for a plain one Schweppes is fine, I always think you need a plain mixer to show a nice flavoured gin and a flavoured mixer for a plainer one.

A liqueur and spirit differ in their brewing techniques (spirits are distilled) I could brew a vodka liqueur with home kits but not distil vodka.

Another one to throw in the mix is Brockmans gin, well worth a try.

 

[Dublin Drummer Wolf]

Mixers are important. Doing a standard Gordon’s then Schweppes tonic is fine. However I strongly recommend checking out Fever Tree tonics. Excellent.

Agreed about Fever Tree. Top notch mixers in all flavours.
Not cheap though