Why didn't Stalin drink Gin?
It made him mean.
Gin and champagne are two of the more falsely accused alcohols in the ethanol world. "Man, I don't drink champagne, gives me a headache" or "Gin makes me do stupid stuff" are constant refrains. Notice I didn't include tequila. Tequila is a criminal, and whether or not it is guilty of any particular crime, it is guilty of something.
Gin's best expression is in the martini. I'll grant you an afternoon of gin and tonics is no slouch either, but really a martini just feels better. Plus, rarely if ever is there a pair of gin soaked olives at the bottom of a gin and tonic. If there is, it is time to find a new bartender. My liquor cabinet at home has around four or five gins at any one time, each having there own purpose. Hendrix comes out when there is cucumber in the house, Seagram's for gin buckets in the fall, and so on and so forth. But suddenly a sultry, domestic gin walked in the door and she seems to be taking over. Her name even evokes the code riddled world of James Bond, No. 209 Gin.
Distilled in San Francisco, I first ran into No. 209 at Tales of the Cocktail. There were a few bottles in the media room and I grabbed one or fifteen. I went home and poured the gin into a glass and immediately sensed this was unlike any other gin I'd tried. Intensely floral and spicy, but not sweet, the gin also has some background citrus flavors. Hence, you can see why it is just as good with tonic and lime as with vermouth and olives.
So far I've been mixing four parts gin to one part dry vermouth. It's worked for me, I bet it would work for you.
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