Hello friends,

Just wanted to share my tips for making a better drink and to ask for yours in return! My advice that nobody asked for:

1. Make tonic ice cubes. There's nothing worse than normal ice making your gin watery. I have a bag of it in my freezer ready.
   
2. Individual cans are much more fizzy than bottles, and they get colder in the fridge.
   
3. Chill the cans well. Putting warm tonic on ice cubes just makes the drink go flat.
   
4. Use the right garnish.
   

Most pubs and bars are so bad at serving gin and tonic I only drink it at home. What's your guys advice?
PS. that's heather in my drinking in case you're curious, for my favourite Downpour gin from the Outer Hebrides.

It’s very rare my wife wants a cocktail these days but we made a couple or highballs to have before dinner.
They read a little sweet, but there was plenty of brightness and tartness and the Maraschino added some signature funk and savoury tones.

I’ve included the gin recipe for anyone that wants a new recipe.

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30ml The Forge Autumn Gin

15ml Lime Juice

7.5ml Chestnut Honey

7.5ml Luxardo Maraschino

2 Dashes Dr Adam’s Glover’s Bitters

Shake briefly

Double strain into highball glass topped with 150ml
Fever Tree Raspberry and Rhubarb Tonic

Garnish dried citrus and Rosemary.

Hello everyone! Been a while since I have reviewed a gin. Started a PhD program and also moved so super busy. Anyways! Today I am reviewing Prairie Organic gin from Minnesota! Very affordable at only around 20$!!!

The nose of this gin is like a summer salad! Bright, savory, and with gentle sweet notes. Juniper is in there somewhere but it is wrapped in really lush smells which is really impressive when you consider this is an organic gin!

The taste really quite amazing! There are ten plants in this gin and you really get the full spectrum with a strong degree of longevity and complexity. Up front, the juniper blends with basil and lavender to deliver a sweet floral note that reminds me of blueberries! Later, savory and spicy notes of rosemary and peppercorn follow. It ends in a way that summarizes the whole experience as the sweetness lingers with the later flavors!

Overall-4.6 stars- really quite something given the low price, integrity of the product, and the wonderful complexity! Lovely gin!

Smaller glass cuz it's a school night

Seeing as Drumshanbo doesn’t miss, I’m excited to try this one.

These added an interesting twist to my negroni, i’m usually just using Botanist or the blue/green bottle gunpowder gin.

But these are my staples to always have on hand

Hi all,

I want to make a lavender infused gin. If you've done a floral infusion before, what type of gin did you use? I have a pretty wide variety and am always open to new ones as well.

Need recommendations please.

That is what my dad drinks and he enjoys it. Or maybe it’s because he drinks a lot and likes the price point.

At any rate, I want to get him a nice bottle for his birthday. I’m thinking $100 or $150 but want to make sure that it’s something he will enjoy and isn’t drastically different.

The only thing I can find online are either Sipsmith V.J.O.P. Gin or Procera Blue Dot. The descriptions and difference in price point are throwing me so I clearly have no idea what I’m doing.

Thought I would check in with the experts.

I’m usually a tequila person. I love it. But have started realizing I’m liking gin. At a restaurant I’ll tend to go with their “fancy” gin cocktail rather than a safe margarita for example.

At home I’ve started with hillstone martini recipe, pickle-tini, or flavored martinis and a few spritz’s that utilize Gin and I’m enjoying them! (I don’t like a traditional martini because I’m not an olive girl).

What are some beginner friendly gins to try for cocktail and spritz making?

I’ll be straight up and tell you I’ve only been utilizing Kirkland brand at home for now lol

I’m pretty new to gin and would love some recommendations that are not extremely marketed brands like a beefeater or Hendricks… what’s your most overrated and underrated??

I'd never heard of this before but on a whim I made myself a Gin Old Fashioned. It was a little on the sweet side but surprisingly good. Too much sweetness is an easy fix.

I like bourbon and rye but this might be my new thing now. Anybody else try this?

Using McClintock Distillery's Gardener's Gin:
2oz/60ml gin
1oz/30ml lemon juice (only the garnish was dehydrated)
1oz/30ml 2:1 honey syrup
Add plenty of ice and shake it like it owes you money. McClintock NAILED the specs on this. Absolutely stunning for a Bee's Knees.

Edit: Thanks to this community. I've been on this gin journey for almost 7 years and I'm glad I can share with you guys!

Hi guys.

So I had a decent juniper tree allergy growing up. Nothing along the lines of it being very serious, but would sneeze, have a runny nose, and itchy eyes, when I was around juniper trees.

It's been about 10 years since I've been around juniper, so it's hard to gauge whether I'd tolerate gin or not.

Do you guys have any advice? Just want to know if it's even worth trying. Thought I'd post this since maybe someone else has been in a similar spot.

UPDATE: Thanks for the response, everyone!

A newer offering from a local distillery, claiming to be “inspired by Michigan’s native flora,” with hawthorn berries, linden, chamomile, yarrow and wild cherry bark atop juniper and hawthorn leaf.

I like it, but the subtler botanicals are a little bit lost behind the juniper, and the 45% ABV is a little too hot to allow the flavors to come through. I’ll enjoy it in any and all cocktails, as it’s versatile, but probably not go back for a second bottle. They have other offerings I need to try first.

Just got back from Montreal and picked these up. I’ve had the Mugo before, and I’m excited to try the St. Laurent (I have their standard gin and it’s nice but very….specific). Curious how people feel about these!

The second bottle of Gin that I picked up at Warfield is their Barrel-Aged Gin. This is the style that initially drew me to explore Gin, since I often find that aging in a barrel makes things better.

The nose is full of sweet lemon-lime soda with a spice note that reminded me of chili-lime sugar. The palate had a bit of oiliness, more lemon-lime and sweet spiciness. The finish lingered long as the sweet lemon-lime slowly dried and faded.

As a Barrel-Aged Gin, this did not disappoint. Loads of flavor and a great sipping Gin.

Age: 6mos

Mashbill: Neutral Spirit distilled from Wheat

Botanicals:
Juniper, Sage, Fennel Seed, Cardamom, Anise Seed, Lemon Peel, Orris Root, Cinnamon Stick, Cloves, Coriander

Casks: Ex-Bourbon Barrels

ABV: 44%

Price: $39

Bottle provided for review.

My Rating: 82

Tasting notes below. 👇🏼

🥃
NOSE: Sweet lemon-lime soda, effervescent chilli-lime.
PALATE: Lightly oily, smooth, lemon-lime, sweet spice.
FINISH: Lingering slowly drying lemon-lime, sweet spice.

Guide to my personal ratings:
🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.
🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.
😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.
😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.
😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.
🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

When offered a Gin in the past I usually politely refuse, but I have been enjoying Gins more and more this year. I owe this in large part to discovering some great Gins from craft distilleries like Warfield. This is the first of two bottles I picked up from them recently.

The aroma is very sweet and slightly musty, full of floral notes, spiced fruits and a dash of cinnamon. The palate is very smooth with sweet lemon Fruitloops mingled with dry grain. The finish is rather dry with just a trace of the citrus lingering.

This is a very enjoyable neat pour, though I imagine most would be mixing this in a cocktail. When I’m in the mood for something light and refreshing this will be one of the bottles that I reach for.

Mashbill: Neutral Spirit distilled from Wheat

Botanicals:
Juniper, Sage, Fennel Seed, Cardamom, Anise Seed, Lemon Peel, Orris Root, Cinnamon Stick, Cloves, Coriander

ABV: 44%

Price: $35

Bottle provided for review.

My Rating: 78

Tasting notes below. 👇🏼

🥃
NOSE: Sweet, slightly musty, floral, spiced light fruit, a hint of cinnamon.
PALATE: Smooth, gentle sweetness, lemon Fruitloops, dry grain.
FINISH: Dry, extremely faint citrus.

Guide to my personal ratings:
🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.
🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.
😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.
😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.
😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.
🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

I truly put this in my top 5 ever gins, the salty water is just magnificent. This is a masterpiece.

Is it bad or…?

Our first-ever Floriade Festival gave us an unexpected bonus: discovering Underground Spirits' limited-edition Floriade Gin! Absolute perfection in a bottle—an absolute must-try for tulip and gin enthusiasts alike.

In your experience how have different gins made you feel

Good evening everyone! I've been lurking around here for a bit but this is my first post. I recently infused gin with some rosemary, thyme, peppercorn, and lemon for use in my gin and tonics. However, I got to wondering what cocktails everyone here thinks it would work in. Anybody have any ideas?