Gin: The New Vodka?
This entry was posted on 6/5/2007 9:17 AM and is filed under Drink.
Actually, gin was fashionable waaaaay before vodka found its' niche. Many of you may remember Bogart dipping river water into a glass then adding gin as his boat makes its' way up the river in The African Queen.
Vodka is obviously the now, happening, and cool drink. While I love good vodka, gin definitely has a place in my heart.
As many of you know, the distinctive taste of gin is derived from Juniper berries. Gin has a long and varied history, and is available in several forms. Rather than repeating them all in this blog entry, I will simply provide a link to the wikipedia entry, shich contains interesting information for the beverage conneseiur.
Probably the most famous gin drink is the original Martini, simply gin, a hint of vermouth, and an olive or two. Vodka Martinis seem to dominate the market today, but occasionally a gin Martini is nice as the tast of gin adds a complexity to the Martini which vodka cannot achieve.
For those of you who drink Screwdrivers (vodka and orange juice), I strongly suggest you try and gin and orange juice (which I have heard is called a Orange Blossom). The complex flavor of the gin blends exceedingly well with the OJ and makes for a much, much more enjoyable drink. I have convinced several friends to try this and have never had anyone say they preferred screwdrivers afterward.
A popular ethnic drink was made evern more famous by Snoop Dogg in "Gin n' Juice", the juice here referring to grapefruit juice. Unfortunately, no matter how much gin I add I can never kille the grapefruit taste, so this drink isn't for me, but if you're a fan of the overgrown cousin to the orange, give it a try.
As far as brands, my preference leans to Tanqueray and Sapphire, although there are a number of other good brands and the differences in taste vary almost as much as the differences in assorted brands of Scotch.
