Can't get a decent G&T

[Travelcat2]

A shade off topic, but since we're talking Christmas trees there....(haha) Several years ago when my daughter and I did Alaska (Skagway to be specific), we did a hike with a naturalist. He commented that spruce tips were used to make a special beer that's produced locally. When we found a spruce that had young tips on it (very pale green) he pulled off a few for us to taste. Yup, Christmasy, with a hint of lemon. Really nice. It's used in tea as well as in beer. I could see how this could translate into a tasty gin....or even vodka.

 

Hmmmmm, wondering if I could put a piece of one of our Christmasy trees from our backyard and present it to you on our November cruise. I have no doubt that you would have the bartender making us something quite different and yummy.:halo:

[Mudhen]

Hmmmmm, wondering if I could put a piece of one of our Christmasy trees from our backyard and present it to you on our November cruise. I have no doubt that you would have the bartender making us something quite different and yummy.:halo:

 

LOL! I bet the creative bar folks on the Mariner could most certainly whip up something interesting!

[ronrick1943]

Indian Tonic is really good---makes almost any gin good.

[Travelcat2]

Indian Tonic is really good---makes almost any gin good.

 

We love anything Indian:D. I suspect that this thread is bringing out the taste differences in various countries. Think that I would tend to want to try an Indian tonic over those in other countries. Just a matter of taste.

 

My DH once did a tour of the Heinz company and learned that Ketchup in different parts of the U.S. have different flavors - based on likes and dislikes. He also brought to my attention that Heinz vegetarian beans in the U.K. taste nothing whatsoever like the same brand and type in the U.S. So, one must assume that just because something is a big hit in one country does not necessarily mean that it will be in another. Still, I will give Fever Tree a try (will buy it locally and try it with vodka as that is the only way I can make a comparison).

[flossie009]

I thought most leading brands of tonic water were marketed as "Indian" tonic water, since it was in 19th century British Colonial India that the product first became popular; first as a medicinal prevention (quinine) against malaria, then mixed with gin

[Kwaj girl]

:( Wish there were better choices for sugar-free tonics....

[pinkpanther52]

Bloom or Opihr!!! The first with Fevertree Sicilian Lemonade and the second with there normal tonic :)

[LynnRuns]

:( Wish there were better choices for sugar-free tonics....

 

Fever Tree has a light version. I don't believe it is completely sugar free though.

[Travelcat2]

Bloom or Opihr!!! The first with Fevertree Sicilian Lemonade and the second with there normal tonic :)

 

If this is available in the U.S., it would be difficult to find. I have personally never heard of either brand. Also, my DH said that when a Brit discusses "Lemonade", it is like 7-Up in this country.

 

Just looked up "Diet Tonic". On amazon.com, you can get Fever Tree "Naturally Light" Tonic water but it contains "fructose" - not sure if this is "high fructose corn syrup". Their quinine is from Twanda/Congo.

 

Canada Dry has Sodium Saccharin which is also questionable.

 

Schweppes is rated higher than Canada Dry but the website does not show what it is sweetened with. According to food facts.com, is is "high in sodium per serving" and "This product contains multiple controversial ingredients"

 

The best "natural" brand is Hansen's. They have a Tonic water - unsweetened - no calories or sodium.

 

The most interesting one that I found on Amazon is "Q Drinks Tonic Water". The quinine is from Brazil - it is "lightly sweetened with agave nectar (not processed sugar or high fructose corn syrup) and contains 60% fewer calories than competitors"

 

Lastly I went to a website that compared Q Tonic, Fever-Tree and Schweppes. Q Tonic comes out on top followed by Fever-Tree. Schweppes is last - likely because of the high fructose corn syrup (now I know why it was difficult to find the ingredients). The same author favors Bluecoat American Dry gin (Mudhen - it is now your "job" to find this - try it and report back:evilsmile:)

[Kwaj girl]

TC2 - I think Canada Dry is the diet tonic we've had onboard. It's okay....just wished there was a better-tasting one available. Will check out Hansen's and see if available here in AL.

[Mudhen]

If this is available in the U.S., it would be difficult to find. I have personally never heard of either brand. Also, my DH said that when a Brit discusses "Lemonade", it is like 7-Up in this country.

 

Just looked up "Diet Tonic". On amazon.com, you can get Fever Tree "Naturally Light" Tonic water but it contains "fructose" - not sure if this is "high fructose corn syrup". Their quinine is from Twanda/Congo.

 

Canada Dry has Sodium Saccharin which is also questionable.

 

Schweppes is rated higher than Canada Dry but the website does not show what it is sweetened with. According to food facts.com, is is "high in sodium per serving" and "This product contains multiple controversial ingredients"

 

The best "natural" brand is Hansen's. They have a Tonic water - unsweetened - no calories or sodium.

 

The most interesting one that I found on Amazon is "Q Drinks Tonic Water". The quinine is from Brazil - it is "lightly sweetened with agave nectar (not processed sugar or high fructose corn syrup) and contains 60% fewer calories than competitors"

 

Lastly I went to a website that compared Q Tonic, Fever-Tree and Schweppes. Q Tonic comes out on top followed by Fever-Tree. Schweppes is last - likely because of the high fructose corn syrup (now I know why it was difficult to find the ingredients). The same author favors Bluecoat American Dry gin (Mudhen - it is now your "job" to find this - try it and report back:evilsmile:)

 

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!

[JPR]

It's called "The Botanist"

[Travelcat2]

It's called "The Botanist"

 

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

[GolferMike]

Never tried Monkey 47 but Martin Miller with Fever Tree Tonic is my favorite way to drink a G&T. I too hope they adopt Fever Tree onboard by the time I get to the Mariner on Sept. 9. Cheers! Who do you contact to make a request of this nature at Regent?

[SteveH2508]

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

 

https://www.thebotanist.com/

 

Rather nice!

[Mudhen]

It's called "The Botanist"

 

Thank you......I would never have found it without the correct name!

[Travelcat2]

https://www.thebotanist.com/

 

Rather nice!

 

Thanks for the link. It seems that you have as many gin choices in the U.K. as we have vodka choices in the U.S.

 

We did a blind vodka tasting on Silversea a couple of years ago and what I thought was our favorite came out last. Perhaps they should do different spirits tasting on Regent. Could be fun!

[SteveH2508]

Thanks for the link. It seems that you have as many gin choices in the U.K. as we have vodka choices in the U.S.

 

We did a blind vodka tasting on Silversea a couple of years ago and what I thought was our favorite came out last. Perhaps they should do different spirits tasting on Regent. Could be fun!

 

Gin and tonic tastings - pick say 4 gins; 2 tonics and lemon, lime and cucumber garnishes. that's 4x2x3=24 possible combinations! That should wipe out a sea day or two!:D

[Mudhen]

Gin and tonic tastings - pick say 4 gins; 2 tonics and lemon, lime and cucumber garnishes. that's 4x2x3=24 possible combinations! That should wipe out a sea day or two!:D

 

OOOOO! That would be a great and wonderful thing! Since none of us are driving, that could be fabulous!

[SteveH2508]

OOOOO! That would be a great and wonderful thing! Since none of us are driving, that could be fabulous!

 

I now have a mental image of the Captain watching this party, growling and grinding his teeth with jealousy (unless he trusts his second officer to drive of course).:evilsmile:

[UUNetBill]

Thanks for the link. It seems that you have as many gin choices in the U.K. as we have vodka choices in the U.S.

 

We did a blind vodka tasting on Silversea a couple of years ago and what I thought was our favorite came out last. Perhaps they should do different spirits tasting on Regent. Could be fun!

They did a couple of fun tastings/classes on our one and only Cunard cruise - one they did was a blind Johnnie Walker tasting. Surprisingly, many of us picked the Black and Red as our favorites, even over the Blue. Was a real eye-opener.

 

I know Regent does a lot of wine tastings, but it would be fun to do some Scotch, Bourbon, or Gin tastings, and/or some mixology classes. I'd even pay a bit extra for something like that (but don't tell Regent I said that).

[Travelcat2]

They did a couple of fun tastings/classes on our one and only Cunard cruise - one they did was a blind Johnnie Walker tasting. Surprisingly, many of us picked the Black and Red as our favorites, even over the Blue. Was a real eye-opener.

 

I know Regent does a lot of wine tastings, but it would be fun to do some Scotch, Bourbon, or Gin tastings, and/or some mixology classes. I'd even pay a bit extra for something like that (but don't tell Regent I said that).

 

They have done some late night Scotch tastings but nothing recently (no cost - as it should be).

 

Okay, I'll admit that I choose Smirnoff over Grey Goose, Stolichnaya and a couple of others. Stoli won the competition by a landslide! :o Even after the taste test, I order Grey Goose or Chopin (potato vodka) onboard.

 

The Huffington Post did a blind tasting off 21 world-class vodkas that ranked Smirnoff the "hands-down favorite". So, then they did of taste test of the five favorites:

 

5. Stoli

4. Absolut

3. Ketel One

2. Grey Goose

1. Smirnoff

 

My only comment to that is ........ go figure!

 

P.S. I'm sure that if you ask your bartender for 3 or so half shots of three different brands of the same spirit and not tell you which one is which, they will do it for you.

[Purplelady1]

We love Belvedere Vodka. Stoli is way to harsh for our palate and no longer a premium vodka and Smirnoff is a well drink at most of our bars...cheap.

[UUNetBill]

I've been drinking Tito's on the rare occasions I drift away from the brown ones and go clear. I find it very drinkable...perhaps a bit TOO drinkable. :o

[Travelcat2]

We were in yet another lounge tonight and I was checking out the Gin offerings. This lounge has a huge amount of the "brown stuff" -- some extremely expensive. However, when it came to Gin, there was the typical American favorites (4): Hendricks, Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire and something from a local distillery. The reason I'm watching the Gin - in addition to their being a thread about it -- is I'm wondering how long it will take before someone orders a Gin drink in one of the places we frequent. We sit at the bar as we enjoy the social aspect of it so I see drinks being made. So far, since this thread started, I have noticed any.

 

They had a decent selection of Tequila and Vodka. I'm not sure if this is true throughout the states but on the West Coast and the border states in the South, Tequila is crazy popular. If you sip it in a shot glass with salt and lime (not in the drink - you bite the lime and lick the salt), you can drink a lot and not get a hangover. Ocne you add the sweeteners to create margaritas or Regent's wonderful Mexican Butterfly's -- watch out -- a hangover is likely:D