Can't get a decent G&T

Death's Door and Norseman (locally distilled) are our favorite gins. And I agree a really good tonic makes a huge difference! Fever tree is our number one choice (and their ginger beer makes a great Moscow Mule!)

My friend (who is joining John and I on the Amazon cruise) have been doing "field testing" of Fever Tree. We've found Fever Tree in Walmarts in our neck of the woods. Not cheap by any means, but available.

2 weeks ago we gave it a try with Hendricks and cukes. We both thought there was way too much going on with the taste of each competing for attention. Thought the FT was a little sweet, possibly floral(?). Anyway, not a hit. We decided we'd try it with vodka the following weekend. That was this past weekend....

We did Grey Goose, fresh lime and FT....much better, very pleasant...we liked it. I don't know yet if we'll special order (ask) it for the Amazon, but maybe.

So that's the field report from the North East on Fever Tree, in our honest opinion!

My friend (who is joining John and I on the Amazon cruise) have been doing "field testing" of Fever Tree. We've found Fever Tree in Walmarts in our neck of the woods. Not cheap by any means, but available.

2 weeks ago we gave it a try with Hendricks and cukes. We both thought there was way too much going on with the taste of each competing for attention. Thought the FT was a little sweet, possibly floral(?). Anyway, not a hit. We decided we'd try it with vodka the following weekend. That was this past weekend....

We did Grey Goose, fresh lime and FT....much better, very pleasant...we liked it. I don't know yet if we'll special order (ask) it for the Amazon, but maybe.

So that's the field report from the North East on Fever Tree, in our honest opinion!

Your comments about Fever Tree was was what I expected. Tastes in Britain are not the same as in the U.S. I can't imagine floral notes on top of a "Christmas tree" flavor. It makes sense that it would match better with vodka which has little flavors of its own.

I forgot to post about a taste of gin that I had a couple of weeks ago at an upscale lounge. Wish that I could recall the brand but it slips my mind. The bartender had a new drink that he put on the menu that had gin (good brand), cakes, rosemary and a few other flavors. He mixed up a batch and gave us a taste. The flavors blended together well and the drink was nice. It hasn't converted me to gin but it gave me an incentive to try a couple of things while onboard Mariner in 2 weeks and 1 day (but whose counting).

...but it gave me an incentive to try a couple of things while onboard Mariner in 2 weeks and 1 day (but whose counting).

Flying in 3 days, boarding in 6...but yeah, who's counting? :D :cool: ;p ;)

You lost me. What is called "The Botanist"?

Distilled on Islay. Best whiskey for peat taste in world. Home of Caol Ila, Laphroig, Bowmore, Bruchlaudich, Laphroig , etc. Good gin, but French and Dutch find are better. But Islay is great to visit in Oct/Nov. It is chilly, but quiet and less crowded except for the sheep.

Ut oh....work cut out for me! Will see what I can find out. Must say I've never heard of it....at all!! I've launched a search for "Botanica" which sounded interesting and different....not the run of the mill. But this one is a challange. I'll get Elizabeth and Bob on the quest. Since the Newport "sailing set" seems to know quite a bit about gin (turned us on to Hendrick;s), maybe they know something about Bluecoat! This is the kind of research I can get behind! Will report back!

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Distilled on Islay. Best whiskey for peat taste in world. Home of Caol Ila, Laphroig, Bowmore, Bruchlaudich, Laphroig , etc. Good gin, but French and Dutch find are better. But Islay is great to visit in Oct/Nov. It is chilly, but quiet and less crowded except for the sheep.

 

 

 

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Thanks for the explanation. I have a feeling that the British would not think that the French and Dutch have better gin:evilsmile:. The whiskey sounds really good. I am a over of Irish whiskey!

Distilled on Islay. Best whiskey for peat taste in world. Home of Caol Ila, Laphroig, Bowmore, Bruchlaudich, Laphroig , etc.

You got my Caol Ila and Laphroaig but you forgot my Lagavulin? For shame, paratrooper, for shame. :eek:

I'm not going to rise to the bait about "British" taste, but will add that FeverTree tonic water comes in several varieties, some of which are better suited to the more characterful gins than others. http://www.fever-tree.com/pairing-wheel

I'm not going to rise to the bait about "British" taste, but will add that FeverTree tonic water comes in several varieties, some of which are better suited to the more characterful gins than others. http://www.fever-tree.com/pairing-wheel

Definitely wasn't meant to "bait" anyone. Tastes in the U.S, also differ which is why we have various styles of barbecue that are distinctly different from each other (St. Louis style, Texas, South Carolina, etc.). My DH told me that ketchup in the U.S. is formulated differently within the U.S. as well. So, to say that British tastes may differ from that in the U.S. is likely accurate. In any case, there was only one type of Fever Tree in the stores that we've checked.

As with any other product - including spirits - the stores stock what is the most popular as there is limited shelf space in stores. Vodka has the most brands and flavors available everywhere in the U.S. which speaks to the popularity. In the west, tequila would be the second most popular spirit while bourbons and whiskeys would likely be more popular in other parts of the U.S.. It sounds like gin is tops in the U.K.

P.S. Just learned that the U.S. is approximately 40 times the size of the U.K. which likely accounts for the differences in taste.

I'm not going to rise to the bait about "British" taste, but will add that FeverTree tonic water comes in several varieties, some of which are better suited to the more characterful gins than others. http://www.fever-tree.com/pairing-wheel

As TC mentioned,we can only get (or at least here on the East Coast) two kinds of Fever Tree and few, if any stores, stock it. There is "regular" (no added flavors) and diet, so that leaves "regular". Even if this one is the most tame of the group, I still would only want it with vodka. That is very pleasant!

Flying in 3 days, boarding in 6...but yeah, who's counting? :D :cool: ;p ;)

Please tell me you are going to be posting about your voyage. It seems forever since someone has posted about their Regent experience. Right now we can't travel because of my DH's health and so i am living vicariously through other people's posts and it has been too quiet on this board lately. I am enjoying the Regent vs Viking postings but would really appreciate one about a Regent sailing.

Also hoping that Bill will post from the Explorer. I'll be "sort of" posting from the Mariner beginning August 30th -- mostly photos of the PH suite and other "before the refurbishment" photos.

Please tell me you are going to be posting about your voyage. It seems forever since someone has posted about their Regent experience. Right now we can't travel because of my DH's health and so i am living vicariously through other people's posts and it has been too quiet on this board lately. I am enjoying the Regent vs Viking postings but would really appreciate one about a Regent sailing.

Sorry to hear about the health problems - never a good thing.

Not sure how much I'll be posting on this cruise, especially since it's pretty port-intensive. Some of it will also depend on the internet speeds and my tolerance level. I'm going to need to check in with the office so I'll be logging in at least once a day. Maybe I'll take time to post some observations this time. I used to be pretty good about making updates on Facebook but that only goes to close friends - and I've been off of Facebook for almost 9 months now (much happier overall, to be honest). A few cruises ago I tried downloading WordPress to chronicle our trip but between the interface and laggy internet I gave up in frustration on about day 3.

So bottom line - can't promise, but I'll try. :cool:

Also hoping that Bill will post from the Explorer. I'll be "sort of" posting from the Mariner beginning August 30th -- mostly photos of the PH suite and other "before the refurbishment" photos.

Jackie, one of my challenges is photos - I usually take them with my Nikon SLR which makes it tougher to get them uploaded in a timely fashion. I did finally get an EyeFi Mobi card in my Nikon last year that lets me wirelessly transfer my daily photos to my iPad at the end of each day, and from there I can use Tapatalk to get some pics uploaded. Not seamless but a lot easier than the old days when I had to use an Apple to SD card adapter and the clunky apps that ran it...

I'll try and use my iPhone more for snapshots; the quality isn't as good but it's a LOT easier to get them online that way. We'll see.

As an aside, the last time we were in St Petersburg, I managed to leave my camera bag on our tour bus. I had the camera around my neck but left the bag on the floor by my seat. I noticed it as soon as we were walking up the gangway, and of course by then it was too late to get back to the bus. So the good news was I had my camera. The bad news was I didn't have my other lens, charger, spare battery, extra storage cards, nothin'... Fortunately this was on day 2 of our 3 days in StP, and I headed out early the next day to ask around - and lo and behold, our tour guide from the previous day had my bag! Everything intact, too. Kinda restored my faith in humanity.

So we're takin' bets - we have another three days in StP this time - will it be day one, day two, or day three when my wife reminds me about me about the time I left my bag on the bus?

(Spoiler alert: It will be at dinner sailing from Helsinki the night before we arrive in Russia. Guaranteed.) :p

Bill, it might be worth trying MS LiveWriter (a free download) which allows you to compose a blog post offline and then simply hit "publish" and post in one go. I've used it for years and never had a problem posting to my blog. It doesn't work with every platform but I think Wordpress is one of them. (My blog is hosted by Squarespace and it's been solidly reliable wherever we've been).

Of course, you might not want to chronicle your trip in that way at all - there's no doubt, it's time consuming. However, if you do, I know you'll have at least one eager reader (I'm putting my hand up here <ggg>)

You got my Caol Ila and Laphroaig but you forgot my Lagavulin? For shame, paratrooper, for shame. :eek:

So sorry. It has been 20 yrs since my last visit and many of the named whiskeys are from the same distilleries. Having said that, lagavulin, 16 old is a good sip as is bunnahabbin, that is why the etc. My DS is the whiskey connisour, I am the gin guy. Sorry about the omission

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Please tell me you are going to be posting about your voyage. It seems forever since someone has posted about their Regent experience. Right now we can't travel because of my DH's health and so i am living vicariously through other people's posts and it has been too quiet on this board lately. I am enjoying the Regent vs Viking postings but would really appreciate one about a Regent sailing.

Depart Rome 12 Nov arrive Miami 8 Dec. Been a couple years since we were in Europe. Will keep updates coming if I can find my gim

As TC mentioned,we can only get (or at least here on the East Coast) two kinds of Fever Tree and few, if any stores, stock it. There is "regular" (no added flavors) and diet, so that leaves "regular". Even if this one is the most tame of the group, I still would only want it with vodka. That is very pleasant!

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So sorry. It has been 20 yrs since my last visit and many of the named whiskeys are from the same distilleries. Having said that, lagavulin, 16 old is a good sip as is bunnahabbin, that is why the etc. My DS is the whiskey connisour, I am the gin guy. Sorry about the omission

 

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And of course you know I'm just bustin' your chops. So many good whiskies that you couldn't possibly name them all. And in fact I drink a lot less scotch here in SC than I did in CO. Must be the weather - much more conducive to bourbon (although gin is probably even better but I haven't really gotten in the gin habit...yet).

And of course you know I'm just bustin' your chops. So many good whiskies that you couldn't possibly name them all. And in fact I drink a lot less scotch here in SC than I did in CO. Must be the weather - much more conducive to bourbon (although gin is probably even better but I haven't really gotten in the gin habit...yet).

Again we disagree (unusual?). Gin can't hold a candle to a good whiskey or bourbon (or vodka or tequila). Okay, I'm prejudiced........ I'm still open to trying gin when I'm on the Mariner in November with a gin drinker that I admire. After recently dipping my toe into gin (not literally), I have decided to wait until an expert can assist me with the right gin drinks.

Again we disagree (unusual?). Gin can't hold a candle to a good whiskey or bourbon (or vodka or tequila). Okay, I'm prejudiced........ I'm still open to trying gin when I'm on the Mariner in November with a gin drinker that I admire. After recently dipping my toe into gin (not literally), I have decided to wait until an expert can assist me with the right gin drinks.

My point was that gin drinks seem to go better in warmer climates - I know a LOT more gin fans here in SC than I did in CO. Me, I'm happy with pretty much any of the brown ones...

:whiskey-glass:

Has anyone contacted Regent before their cruise and requested that Regent stock the Fevertree tonic on the cruise?

We are on silversea in sept and sent in our special request in last month. No problem, never has been.

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Sorry to hear about the health problems - never a good thing.

 

Not sure how much I'll be posting on this cruise, especially since it's pretty port-intensive. Some of it will also depend on the internet speeds and my tolerance level. I'm going to need to check in with the office so I'll be logging in at least once a day. Maybe I'll take time to post some observations this time. I used to be pretty good about making updates on Facebook but that only goes to close friends - and I've been off of Facebook for almost 9 months now (much happier overall, to be honest). A few cruises ago I tried downloading WordPress to chronicle our trip but between the interface and laggy internet I gave up in frustration on about day 3.

 

So bottom line - can't promise, but I'll try. :cool:

Whatever you can do will be gratefully appreciated. Have a wonderful cruise. I am so jealous as your cruise is similar to the one we had to cancel for this September.

Depart Rome 12 Nov arrive Miami 8 Dec. Been a couple years since we were in Europe. Will keep updates coming if I can find my gim

 

 

 

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I am looking forward to whatever updates you are able to post. Have a great cruise.

Whatever you can do will be gratefully appreciated. Have a wonderful cruise. I am so jealous as your cruise is similar to the one we had to cancel for this September.

1982 - it took us three tries to settle on this cruise - we had four people and three still working to schedule around. We had originally booked an Iceland to Norway, then had to change it...then change it again. It all worked out, we like this itinerary - it's very similar to one we did years ago so it will be interesting to see what's changed.

I still have some pics from our April cruise on Explorer but I don't believe I posted any on CC. Sorry. ;p

Again we disagree (unusual?). Gin can't hold a candle to a good whiskey or bourbon (or vodka or tequila). Okay, I'm prejudiced........ I'm still open to trying gin when I'm on the Mariner in November with a gin drinker that I admire. After recently dipping my toe into gin (not literally), I have decided to wait until an expert can assist me with the right gin drinks.

Giggling here! Too funny! You'll actually have 2 tutors ( T&L....J won't touch...vodka all the way!). We're counting on you for help with ta kill ya shots!

But kidding aside (are we kidding?! haha!) I'll be happy to give some other gins a test drive. I don't know what else Regent has in stock. Part of TC's assignment on upcoming cruise!