As it will be a boozy or not so boozy day i will start on the drinks for you ,waiting for some more me and yous from the oppos.
HOW TO MAKE A GIN AND TONIC THAT TASTES LIKE A GIN AND TONIC OUGHTA TASTE
About 150 years ago, we lost a great many useful words from our language. They were good, earthy, words that came to be perceived as being rude and naughty. Opportunely, a few of them are creeping back into acceptability. A while ago, the nice Will Carling, ably assisted by the media, brought the fart back into polite conversation, using it in connection with the administrators of rugby union. More recently, the even nicer John Major re(-)introduced the word "crap" into the quality end of the media market. I seem to remember that he used the word in conjunction with Europe. Mr Ratner also used the word, when describing the jewellery sold be his (as they were then) shops. The rehabilitation of the word "crap" is most timely, as it is the exact word that is needed when seeking an adjective to describe the average gin and tonic served by the average pub.
To make a decent gin and tonic, take a bottle of good gin. Now! Here is an immediate problem. People like me, have increased difficulties in buying spirits. The utility of alcoholic spirits rests partly in its taste, brand name and social acceptability but mainly in its alcoholic content. Many of try/like to maximise the number of bangs that we get for each of our bucks. In other words, the price comparisons of one brand of gin with another should be based on the volume of alcohol purchased per unit of currency.
Until recently, this was fairly complicated to compute, as spirits came in .25, .5, .75, 1, 1.5 and even 2 litre bottles. Larger bottles are discounted in price, which means that poor people, and students, pay more for their booze than rich people.
Nowadays, it has become even more complicated, as the volume of alcohol in each bottle has drifted away from the standard 40%, with many brands brazenly stating that they contain (a mere) 37.5%! This requires some pretty nifty finger work on a calculator to compute the volume of alcohol bought per unit of cash spent. When all the sums have been done, the supermarket own label brands often turn out to be good value for money. Some people like the nice green Gordons bottle, though personally I prefer the export version in a clear bottle with the classic yellow label, adorned with a boar's head and juniper berries. The rather jolly Beefeater bottle cheers up the drinks cabinet enormously, while the blue tinged Bombay bottle is very pretty. Traditionalists prefer the straw After the gin comes the tonic. Sadly, most tonics, even Schweppes, seems to contain saccharine, which seems (to me) to have a cloying taste. Look around, though, and you may find some 'own brands' that stick to sugar (Waitrose used to).
Next comes the lemon. A real lemon, freshly sliced, is a major contribution to the enjoyment of a G&T. Many pubs use little plastic pots of pre-sliced lemons. These are ideal as a fast food substitute, but taste nothing like the real thing! A bottle of Jif Lemon Juice is a useful standby in case of a shortage of lemons. Nonconformist, adventurous, thrill seeking G&T drinkers have been known to use a slice of lime in place of the lemon, but those of us who have lived East of Suez prefer to keep this particular peccadillo to ourselves. Any one remember when we used to fly out for them and come back with a bucket full.
We now have to consider the ice factor. Ice makes things cold, but in so doing it melts and dilutes the drink, so it is as well to start off with cold ingredients in the first place. Gin can be kept really cold in a deep freeze. Tonic should be in the fridge, along with the tumbler and your shoes - if you emulate Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The ice should be fresh from the deep freeze. If it has lived in an ice bucket for too long it will have lost much of its magic cooling powers. Cubes of ice may be cracked. Cracking the ice increases the surface area of the ice, and hastens the cooling process.
Most people prefer to drink their G&Ts from straight sided tumblers, though a stemmed glass keeps the warmth of the hands away from the drink. Sadly, many stemmed glasses glass keeps the warmth of the hands away from the drink. Sadly, many stemmed glasses have small bowls - requiring more frequent refills.
Finally, we need to discuss quantities. As a rule of thumb, the thirstier you are, the less gin is needed. If this rule is ignored there is a strong possibility that you will be overtaken by alcoholic unconsciousness before your thirst is fully quenched. The other rule is that G&Ts without the gin are just the ticket if you have to drive home afterwards.John and Geordie its just for you no alcohol.
Well Bill hope this gets you going for the weekend more to follow in the next episode and will let John do the write up on the meet.
Regards Magic
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