/ck/ - Food & Cooking

It's the juniper. It's not for everyone.

>>14826027
1. gin is extremely popular

2. you're in college, what your friends drink isn't representative of the world overall

3. nobody thinks you're classy for ordering a martini at Applebees, I'm telling you this because your friends are being nice and don't want to offend you. don't order a rare steak at Outback either or ask to see the "wine list"

>>14826027
Gin is vodka for adults.

>>14826127
I haven't been in college for over four years.

>>14826127
Forgot to add the reason why I made the OP was because I work at an alcohol store and I know that the spirit that turns the least amount of profit for us is gin. Vodka and tequila are our biggest sellers.

>>14826175
>I haven't been in high school for EIGHT WHOLE YEARS
kek

>>14826246
>I'm a bitter old man on the cusp of total societal irrelevance
Kek right back at you

>>14826253
Never said I was older, faggot. But 'cocktail culture' is basically a 1920s thing, nobody under the age of 115 who doesn't work in a liquor store has a good idea of what's popular or not.

>>14826299
You know there are different kinds of liquor stores right?

>>14826027
i like it because G&T is one of the easiest ways to get drunk

>>14826299
Ever consider you just live around/associate with dumb cultureless redneck fucks?

>>14826182
Alcoholics find that vodka is best for drinking yourself into a stupor. Any actual flavor just gets in the way.

>>14826299
>nobody under the age of 115 who doesn't work in a liquor store has a good idea of what's popular or not.
You would have an idea if you got out of you house more anon (; you can see in any bar what's popular to drink and what not and cocktails bars are always full of people but yeah it must be hard to see that if you are always in your computer being bitter in a Vietnamese basketball forum

>>14826027
Gin is the patrician choice
Vodka and tequila are okay if you are a teenager or in a lady night out

>>14826317
>anywhere that isn't a pit of mulattoized urbanite misery is 'cultureless rednecks'

>>14826329
>he's never had well-made tequila, just mass-market "tequila" (vodka with 10% agave nectar)
Go out and get a bottle of Fortaleza and try to tell me it's a lady's drink.

>>14826336
I made someone seethe, yeah I never had a "well-made" tequila and I mean it's okay for a shot or two but not something I would drink all night, I just don't like the loud girl screaming type of drunk tequila gives you

>>14826336
Ill drink a fine tequila straight, maybe with a bit of salt or wasabi because im a madman.

>>14826362
Go buy yourself a bottle of good tequila before posting again.

>>14826371
Lmaoo, sorry I don't like tequila, did it make you mad I don't like being a shitfaced roastie "dancing" on a nightclub?

>>14826376
What?

>>14826182
Where do you live that that's the case? Here in Australia gin outsells tequila like beer outsells alcohol free beer.

>>14826376
You acting like a retard is your fault, not tequila's.

>>14826382
>>14826403
still a drink I only can relationate with chicks getting wasted for the sake of "lmaoo look how much drunk I'm"
Maybe there are some good tequilas out there, but it's not a drink I would choose to have (maybe one shot but that's it)

>>14826027
I like it. A good gin and tonic is hard to beat.

>>14826475
I find tonic too sweet unless it’s watered down with plain sparkling water or mineral water

>>14826490
Maybe a tom collins is more like your taste
I like both tho gin is a based spirit way better than vodka

I fucking love Gin, having a Bennett right now

>>14826027
Every women I have ever dated post-college living in the upper midwest considers gin their favorite spirit

Normies drink tequila and vodka because they are party WOOO LET'S GO OUT AND HAVE FUN drinks. Same for shit like Fireball.

Whiskey is also pretty mainstream.

Gin and rum (at least rum that isn't Bacardi, Sailor Jerry, Captain Morgan, and Kraken) are not mainstream or popular. Good. It keeps the prices low. Stay away.

>>14826027
Quite a few people like looking at christmas trees. Not so many enjoy drinking them.

Vodka is great for getting drunk on a budget and also only tastes like diluted alcohol. I'll go for whisky if I want something strong that also has some flavor. Gin isn't bad not my cup of tea really.

>>14826310
back in the day I would knock back 12-15 g&ts at the bar and then go home and have a few beers.
now the thought of gin makes me sick

>>14826490
Get diet tonic. It’s ridiculous how much sugar they add to regular tonic

>>14826403 Anglo vs American I reckon. Gin has always been a British drink and I'd assume it continues in Australia as well.

Hey gin bros, I'm looking to get into gin soon. One thing I read is that price isn't an indicator of quality, that it scales more with the size of production than the quality of the product, and that gin is more about flavor profiles of the botanicals than "good gin vs bad gin" like whiskey would be. Is this accurate?

I tend to like dry drinks. I was thinking of starting with Beefeater. I'd also like a gin that drinks well neat.

>>14827844
gin is made pretty much the same as vodka but they throw botanicals in the pot when distilling
i think here in the UK for it to be legally called gin it needs to contain juniper. gin is kind of trendy here these days with lots of small 'artisanal' places making gin with weird shit in it, like rhubarb and ginger or """locally foraged wild botanicals""" i.e. weeds

>>14826027
3 oz gin
1 oz vodka
1/2 oz vermouth

Add into a mixing glass with ice and shake well. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with a thin lemon peel.

A Vesper is one of the most popular cocktails in the world, so I don't know what you're on about in regards to gin being unpopular.

>>14826027
Tequila is absolutely not popular. Where are you, Mexico?

>>14827456
>>14827968
nvm just saw this weird cope. It's not that gin is british, it's that tequila is mexican. mutt.

>>14827844
beefeater, tanquernay, bombay sapphire are all tasty.

It depends on what you like---AFAIK gin isn't aged for a long time, so price isn't really the same thing as with a whiskey, where you're paying (in some measure) for the company storing the stuff for 12 years, etc.

>>14827844
I like Tanqueray as a normal gin. St George Botanivore is a good choice, too, though I also like their Rye gin.

>>14826027
I read a book once where the main character's father was mixing himself a Gin and Tonic and the main character thought about the history of Gin. It was apparently a mandatory thing for English soldiers to have a swig of Gin for medical reasons during travel back in old days. It was considered low-tier stuff.

While in India, the soldiers learned about Tonic Water which made it easier to drink Gin, so in patriotical support, Gin and Tonic became the fun new "it drink" for the wealthy british.

I also learned that Pirates finally learned that Lemons and Limes were all that were needed every once in a while to prevent Scurvy. Thanks to the tropical islands, they finally figured out a cure. Can you imagine fucking scurvy??

>>14827317
>aspartame tonic
fucking disgusting, don't sully gin with that garbage, just get better quality tonic

>>14827844
Aviation gin is good, tanguarey if you plan to do citrus heavy drinks.

>>14828107
I think your memory has mixed things up a little. Tonic water was medicinal during travel because the quinine deters mosquitoes and therefore malaria.

>>14828204
>>14828204
You could be right. It's cool to know that tonic water repels mosquitoes. May have to test this theory the next time I go camping and get eaten alive by bugs. Couple of Gin and Tonics and all better! (and if not, I won't fucking care)

>>14828204
I've heard the quinine can help fight off covid as well.

>>14828298
Mr President please stop shitposting on /ck/.

>>14828107
>>14828204
>>14828260
Quinine doesn’t affect mosquitos, it was/is a malaria medicine. Brits mixed in gin to cut down the bitter taste. Outside of penicillin and arguably the smallpox vaccine, quinine has had the largest effect on human history out of all medicines. It opened up Africa to colonialism and had an outsized impact on the world wars.

>>14828346
I go to bed a smarter person. Thanks!

>>14826027
lmao what alternate reality do you live in
gin has been THE hipster drink for like five years

>>14827844
Tanqueray is abhorrent and something poor people drink to get drunk cheaply, no idea why people are reccing it.

"Artisan" gin has been the "in" drink for a while

>>14828414
True, it's pretty much displaced tequila and rum as the go-to for trend hopping companies and investors.

i like gin

>>14826027
Because it tastes like pine cones. Gross.

>>14826027

It's fairly popular here in the UK. I don't mind it myself but I can't have more than two without feeling a lil sickly. It's not so much that I'm a lightweight, I do enjoy my whisky, but the fact a mate of mine once covered my tab all night and I downed 22 doubles in three hours back when I was young and dumb. Once bitten, twice shy and all that. Overall I would not recomend the experience; I ruined a perfectly good pair of shoes spewing inside 'em

I work at a nicer (see: more expensive and located near some nice (AKA white) neighborhoods) and vodka is popular year round. However, both gin and tequila are extremely popular all spring/summer long. Then Fall/Winter people buy more whiskey, but mainly bourbon/rye rather than scotch.

>>14828414
>>14828553
Definitely way more "artisan" "small batch" "craft" gin coming out nowadays.

I grew up in a house that had poppouri scents in the house from November to the new year. a distilled & harsher version of that smell, but meant for consumption, makes me reflexively gag

>>14826027
Vodka is only popular for young drinkers. By the time you hit your late 20s only eastern Europeans and people who straight up don't like alcohol are drinking it.
Tequila is probably the least popular spirit of all. Nobody is drinking it and most of the stuff out there is gag worthy. I wouldn't have even given it a chance if it wasn't for a particularly good free tasting.
Lots of people drink gin however. G&Ts are probably the second most popular mixer after rum/whisky and coke.

>>14826336
Mass market stuff is all that matters when it comes to popularity of the spirit as a whole.
And clearly you've never had a good -any other spirit-

>>14826490
You could try to offset the flavor by using a dry vodka like beef eater and lowering the ratio of tonic water. Adding a good amount of ice should also help.

>>14828687
* dry gin

>>14827844
Price is 100% about popularity and perceived value. Only the perceived value of gin is thrown out of whack by the predominance of drinkers who are disgusted by the idea of drinking gin straight (and are therefore unable to fairly compare them).
What you want is something better than a mixing tier spirit. Barrel age is the best indicator I've seen, followed by local botanicals, followed by an abv over 40.
No Beefeater, Tanqueray, Bombay, Hendricks, etc.

>>14827993
The cost of aging a bottle is in the cents per bottle per year. You'd be more than willing to pay for a 30 year old minimum.
It's about perceived value (and a little about delayed profits, but that's not a concern once a distillery can produce an age statement).

Tequila is only that popular in USA and Mexico.
They can buy it in the rest of the world but rarely do. Most non-americans that drink tequila just want to act like people on the tv

>>14828695
Just use soda water or a low sugar tonic.
Why would you ever make a spirit concession to better match your mixer?

I like bombay sapphire and the botanist with low sugar tonic and a squeeze of lime

>>14828710
>No Beefeater, Tanqueray, Bombay, Hendricks, etc.
Well damn, that's most of what I was looking at. My store has basic gins, not the rarer and more expensive ones. Other than those, there's at least Gordon's, New Amsterdam, Roku, and probably a few more common brands

>>14828763
Hendrick's and Roku are perfectly good.

>>14827844
Tanqueray is legit one of the best and THE best for simple cocktails like a gin and tonic, or gin and juice.

>>14828710
Beefeater is good for cocktails and Hendricks is good in general, if obviously overhyped. If that's all he's looking at, I'd recommend those two.
>>14828763

>>14828774
I hate roku with a fucking passion personally but I could see someone else liking it yeah

>>14828843
no, what the fuck, why is everyone shilling tanqueray in this thread
it's cheap shit for cheap shitters for a reason, it fucking sucks

>>14828763
You don't have access to a large liquor store or online store? sounds horrible.

>>14828914
Not him, but some of us live in states with state-run liquor stores, which means all of the stores carry the same product line (and at the same inflated prices), and mail/internet ordering from out-of-state is illegal. My state does allow us to import small amounts in our own private vehicles, but the online stores can't ship to us because they aren't allowed to.

In theory, the state-run stores here are required to take special orders for products they don't normally carry, but in practice it's expensive (because there's minimum order sizes involved: you can't just order a single bottle, usually), and there's no guarantees that they can actually get what you want through the distributors they work with. Plus there's a wait time. I suspect it'd actually be easier to just drive the six hours to New York City and shop at the better liquor stores there, where you can probably find most anything you'd want. Can't do that right now, though.

>>14828710
Gin isn't usually aged, so barrel age is out. And local botanicals are as likely to be hipster shit as they are to indicate real quality. The point about ABV over 40% (i.e., greater than 80% proof, U.S.) holds true, though.

It's also worth noting that the quality of a given brand isn't always the same across markets. For instance, the Gordon's sold in America is made domestically under license and not the same as the Gordon's in the UK.

>>14828733
It's not just *delayed* profits when you consider losses due to evaporation (about 2% per year, which doesn't seem like much, but after 30 years, you're talking 60% loss). For every three bottles of 12 year whiskey eventually sold, there's another bottle that was lost completely, and by 30 years, it's three lost for every two sold.

Also, new wooden barrels aren't exactly cheap anymore (the materials aren't that expensive, but they are handmade there are very few practicing coopers left). And the longer the spirits are aged (and the more volume is lost to the "angels' share"), the fewer bottles are produced across which to distribute that cost.

>>14829327
>Gin isn't usually aged, so barrel age is out
That's some retarded logic. Some Gin is aged. It's great. Drink it.
>Local botanicals are as likely to be hipster shit as they are to indicate real quality
Maybe. But 50-50 odds aren't bad compared to buying mass produced gin, which are all mixer tier.

>about 2% per year
That does sound like a lot. The oldest cask strength whisky I've had is Glenfiddich Distillery Edition 15 and it evaporated at 0.83% per year.

>you're talking 60% loss
On your material cost. Barley and water are really cheap.

>new wooden barrels
Barrels are a legitimate cost. But new barrels aren't better and you can always sell a barrel after using it once. Of course you're not replacing a barrel every X years of its first use, so barrel cost doesn't contribute to cost of aging.

>>14829401
Aged gin has really never been the norm (leastwise not in Anglophone countries; aged Holland gin might be another question). I'm not knocking aged gin, mind you, but it's a niche product. Gin being unaged doesn't make it mixer tier.

And the problem about artisan spirits in general is that if you're paying for cachet with the mass-produced stuff, that's doubly true about paying of artisan labels.

>The oldest cask strength whisky I've had is Glenfiddich Distillery Edition 15 and it evaporated at 0.83% per year.
In the bottle, you mean? Evaporation is higher in the barrel because it's not air-tight, and it's not actually a flat rate (it gets worse over time unless the barrels are refilled, as more surface area is exposed to air), but 2% seems to be the rough rule of thumb.

>new barrels aren't better
New barrels are literally required by law for certain types of spirits (e.g., American whiskey).

>and you can always sell a barrel after using it once.
You can, but at a fraction of its value.

>Of course you're not replacing a barrel every X years of its first use, so barrel cost doesn't contribute to cost of aging.
It doesn't directly (it's a fixed cost), but it does when distributed across the bottles that come from it, because the longer you age, the fewer bottles come from that barrel, and so each bottle has to bear a greater share of the cost of the barrel.

>>14826027
Because it's disgusting

>>14829401
Oh, and
>On your material cost. Barley and water are really cheap.
You're forgetting labor costs. And fuel costs for distilling. And fixed plant (buildings, vats, stills, etc.) and machinery (like forklifts), all of which involves continuing costs for maintenance, electricity/gasoline/diesel fuel, property taxes, and the like. Also ongoing regulatory costs (licensing and renewals, for one).

>>14826027
My first experience with gin was with terribad cheap gin so I didn't bother with it again until years later. It seems like a lot of people had a similar experience, to the degree that when I lived with people I would sometimes get gin because nobody else wanted any even when I got the good stuff. I still prefer vodka because I usually drink in shots so flavor, and the money put towards it, is usually wasted on me where hard liquor is concerned.

>>14826027
Mostly because the shit I mix with it doesn't matter if vodka or gin; either that or it's so minimal that not an issue. Also vodka is usually on sale compared to Gin

Seriously what's one thing that gin does better than vodka at?

>>14829508
>Gin being unaged doesn't make it mixer tier
Creative interpretation. I said gin being aged meant it's probably not mixer tier. You basically can't taste light aging through tonic and heavy aging isn't done. It's a great indicator that the gin is meant to be sipped and therefore is sippable.

In the bottle, you mean?
No. In the barrel at 63.5% out of the barrel at 51%. 0.83% per year. Not that it is linear at all.

>required by law for certain types of spirits
And they're not better.

>but it does when distributed across the bottles that come from it
>New barrels are literally required by law for certain types of spirits ((e.g., American whiskey)
>[used] at a fraction of its value

>>14829596
These are minor costs when scaled down to a single bottle.
The cost for someone to shovel 1.6kg of barely per bottle twice because evaporation is nothing.
The cost of a 10cm squared piece of storage space, maintained for 30 years, is nothing.
The cost of fuel it takes to distill 0.7L of spirit twice is nothing.

seagrams is pretty good

unironically, roku is delicious

>>14826027
Here in the UK gin is very popular at the moment. The companies that produce it have finally realised they cannot stick to tradition to sell it as it just doesn't appeal to younger generations and the older ones are dying off. So they're making gin all these retarded flavours (like lemon sherbet) that don't have the usual flavours or colours gin should have. It used to be rare a gin wasn't clear, a big exception of course being Bombay Sapphire.

Hell you can get gin that looks like unicorn jizz now.

>>14830074
I wish gin companies swapped to hand sanitizer instead of all the Baijiu companies that I didn't know existed.

>>14828107
>It was apparently a mandatory thing for English soldiers to have a swig of Gin for medical reasons during travel back in old days.

Gin was cheap shit alcohol plebs drank. It used to be called "Mother's ruin" once upon a time because people would just become slaves to gin via addiction.

>>14828645
wasn't gin a major social ill over there for a while? it seems like brits like gin a bit too much

>>14828843
tanq is my standard, actually. good price for quality. not great, but you just can't go wrong with it.
>>14828889
what about roku don't you like?

>>14830680
>what about roku don't you like?
My dad taught me a rhyme when I was 6 that I live my life by. "Chinese? No, please"

>>14830017
You're not really examining it right. Distilling and aging has massive upfront costs in equipment and property. You're also dealing with not only ongoing costs of running a business, you're dealing with an ongoing loss of potential final product. While it's more prominent when dealing with spirits that have minimum aging requirements or where there is no demand for young spirits, you're still working on long-term cashflow considerations.

>>14826403
I work and live in Southern California, not too far from L.A.

>>14827993
>Unironically reccing Bombay Sapphire
Bombay Sapphire is only good for getting drunk because it's 47%, it tastes like nothing compared to other gins.

I wonder why that one guy hates Tanqueray so much. It's pretty good. It's a solid London Dry with some more upfront citrus. It's not the most complex thing in the world, but if I wanted weird or complex, I'd be reaching for the Botanist or St. Laurent. If I wanted juicy and sweet, I'd be reaching for Nikka Coffey Still. But that doesn't take away from Tanqueray being a solid, delicious, Babby's First Gin.

What's going on in this thread?

>>14826027
literally tastes like medicine

>>14830680
>what about roku don't you like?
It tastes like perfume. No thanks.
>but you just can't go wrong with it.
M8 you can't go right with it.

>>14830934
I hate it because it tastes like nothing. It's the tiniest step above gordons. It tastes like armpits, and not in the good way.

>>14830934
Not that guy but I don't like it because it's jogger sponsored and the are other gins that taste just as good.

>>14830996
>It tastes like perfume. No thanks.
That's gin in general.

>>14831001
Nah, I know what you mean but other gin doesn't have that perfume thing to me. Roku tastes like I'm inhaling actual perfume. It reminds me of baijiu or sichuan peppercorns.
That's not to say I wouldn't get drunk on it if someone else had it and told me to have as much as I wanted, but I wouldn't ever buy it for myself.

>>14826027
I really don't get tequila. I'll drink it, but it smells like dogshit.

>>14830979
Got a bottle of this for christmas. Easily one of the best gins I've had thus far.

>>14831003
>It reminds me of baijiu or sichuan peppercorns.
Well it has Sansho pepper as one of the botanicals, which is related to Sichuan peppercorns.

>>14827305
how did you not die

>>14826362
Why do people say different alcohol affects them differently? Ethanol is ethanol, it just makes you drunk. I guess if you're drinking vodka redbulls all the caffeine will do something but otherwise there's no difference

>>14827287
This, Vodka is good for when you want to get drunk and only want to spend £9.99. If you want to enjoy it, buy something else

Also I've tried a lot of different vodkas and I don't think I could even tell the difference between a "good" one and a "bad" one. How on earth do they judge vodka competitions?

>>14826027
Gin has a history of being known as a drink of alcoholics. "Mother's ruin", they called it. Look up Gin Lane and Beer Street.

>>14828107
>Thanks to the tropical islands, they finally figured out a cure.
laughs in sauerkraut

>>14831072
Their seasonal gins are extremely good. Moreso if you use their websites recipes with them.

Im an alcoholic and exclusively drink gin, literally only Gin and wont touch anything else.
It also has the added benefit of preventing nausea, stimulating hunger, and preventing cold/flu

>>14827844
pretty much

my gin power rankings:
Hendricks
Black Fox no.7
Roku Gin
Ungava
Tanq Rangpur
Black Fox no.3
Strathcona Spirits Gin
Caorunn
Glendalough
Uncle Val's
Tanq original
Gambit
Black Fox Oaked
Beefeater

POWER GAP

Black Fox Haskap
Bombay Sapphire
Earl Grey Tea Gin
Fresha Strawberry (undrinkable)

>>14826027
I used to hate gin but now I think I actually prefer it over vodka. Vodka is also a really weird buzz. But not in a good way.

>>14832312
It's about how much alcohol you drink over what length of time.
For example, if you drink wine you'll normally drink a moderate amount of alcohol over a long period of time. This gives you a very relaxed form of drunkenness. If you drink vodka, you'll often drink a shittonne of alcohol all in one go which will give you a much harsher kind of drunkenness.

It's not just about pure alcohol content, either, because whiskey is usually sipped over a long time compared to, again, vodka.

>>14833033
Oh, plus social settings. Obviously if you're drinking a bunch of vodka everyone else is going hard too, so you'll go hard. And if you're leisurely drinking wine at a bistro as the sun sets obviously you're not gonna fucking feel the edge.

for me, it's the gimlet

>>14826336
My nigga with that fortaleza knowledge, I love tequila above all other spirits and I feel that tequila just has a reputation of being a party liquor but the good stuff really sings on its own and is not for the faint of heart

>>14833799
corpse reviver #2 for me dawg
preferably with Brockmans

First restaraunt I worked at did a variation called a necromancer and I went from hating gin to loving it.

>>14826027
I never liked Tequila,
Vodka is fine,
but Gin has that rosy, resony, hint of flavor that really gets my noggin joggin

>>14826027
In the uk at least it's been and gone in the past few years, now gin has been claimed by basic bitches and 30 year old single mums who like to think they like gin but just like getting pissed on sugary cocktails.

>>14829327
>2% py over 30 years is 60%
Not how % work mongoloid

>>14834041
You'd be correct if it were a true flat rate, but it's not: the rate of evaporation actually increases as the volume reduces. 2%/year is a rough approximation of that phenomenon.

gin and tonic is my christmas tradition drink. every christmas eve i get a nice bottle of gin, some tonic, and get fucking plastered. i can only drink it at christmas time.

>>14826329
it's actually the opposite.

I always see a lot of ladies drinking Gin in various forms

>>14826027
Only gin I ever had was the cheapest bottom shelf shit out there, literally worst shit I've ever drank.

>>14833893
me but im a man :^)

>>14834586
Because gin is seen as a sophisticated drink for sophisticated people without actually being either of those things

>Why is it so unpopular?
maybe it's just me, but gin gives me unholy hangovers compared to whiskey or vodka.

Still, >>14826027 's pic or hendricks is my go tos

The wifey is really into her (mostly flavoured)gins, and here's our current selection. That raspberry one on the right is absolutely amazing and is fairly new to the market. So I'd recommend it for anyone wanting to get into gins.

I'm more a whisky man myself, which given the selection of gins in this picture, you might be able to tell we're right in the middle of the Whisky capital.

>>14837294
Is this what you serve the bull before you prep him?

>>14830996
>can’t go right with it
how often do you drink gin?

>>14832969
god tier ungava

>>14826403
This post sounds like it was written by Brian Griffin

>>14838398
A lot until a year ago when I went to a country which doesn't do gin and then got locked down FOR HALF A YEAR FUCK

>>14826027
Pine cones don't taste good.

>>14826027
Gin is a shitty spirit designed to mask the flavour of really shitty vodka with juniper.

>>14827968
So many of the 'Mexican' food places around here are essentially set up to sell watery margaritas. Americans drink plenty of tequila.

>>14838452
speak for yourself nigga

>>14828896
Tanqueray No 10 is good though

>>14838474
I've only had their bog standard desu