Vodka is great if I want get hammered without tasting booze or if I want to sneak some booze into my girlfriend’s drink without her noticing.
Otherwise - gin. There are dozens to choose from, all different. It helps to think of vodka as a from of gin with all the flavor removed.
I have such firm opinions because these days, if I order a martini, gimlet (my drink) or any other gin drink, there is a 100% chance it wil be made with vodka unless I can impress on the waiter the importance of using the proper spirit
Gin and Tonic should be drunk whenever the opportunity arises. I like mine as a very long drink, lots of ice, lots of tonic, lots of lime. The gin is there to add aromatic interest to the tonic water (as is the lime) The tonic water is therefore of paramount importance. If anyone tries to serve me a G&T using a tonic containing artificial sweetener I will politely decline and weep silently for way the world has turned.
Tonic water alone is quite nice, but 1:1 with gin is transcendent.
The wife likes vodka martinis, so I will never speak ill of them.
Serve them with whatever vegetation floats your boat. All the same to me. The wife likes olives stuffed with habanero peppers personally, although I really have to make those cocktail onions of drastic quench’s.
Nah. Whenever you feel like it is the time for a G&T. But heavy on the lime is a must.
Yes
No
Whatever blows up your skirt
Don’t be fatuous
Frehman year of college, my buddy George consumed Gin & Tonics more or less exclusively. I thought he was nuts: two gnarly tasting things in a glass, with a lime? Then I drank one, and by God he was right.
At the time (early 90’s), the frat boys and jocks called it a girl drink, as though we needed any more evidence they were subhuman morons. Is that still the conventional wisdom today?
The best thing about gin and tonic is that it temporarily turns you into a British expat who has just possibly started to go insane from the heat.
I’m going to go start a gin recommendation thread.
I drank gin and tonics a lot in college. No one ever accused me of being girly. Gin was not a popular liquor to keep around. The girls had vodka, schnapps, malibu and puckers and the guys had vodka, beer, and captain morgan/sailor jerrys. Generally speaking. A few of the guys who wore dress shirts of their own volition during the week would have a scotch or whiskey to drink neat but I only ever knew one other guy who also kept gin, tonic and limes in his apartment. This was 2010-2011.
I apparently have arrived too late, because Telemark has already said everything I would say. And just so everyone knows, I will be having my first G&T today in about 2 hours and 15 minutes, depending on how long it takes to get the car washed, so I have that going for me.
I’m one of those who wants a martini, meaning gin and vermouth with an olive. I’m not RUDE about it, if someone is serving a vodka martini, I accept it cheerfully* (although I do vaguely wish they would have clarified it was going to be a fake martini).
So if I’m drinking a vodka martini, yes, a twist is better with the vodka.
Generally, I like gin and tonic as a summer drink. However, it’s also a traditional Christmas drink because of the juniper. It’s one of the only things I can think of that is traditionally “summer” and “Christmas” (but not winter in general).**
*I mean someone offering me a drink in their home, not serving in a bar, because in a bar I would have already ordered a real martini.
** I am a drinker who believes everyone should drink what they like whenever they like. So I will be drinking my G and Ts in the summer and at Christmas, you should drink them whenever you would like them.
Technically speaking, a vodka martini is a Kangaroo cocktail, but people have taken to calling anything served in a cocktail glass (yes it’s a *cocktail *glass not a martini glass) a <something>-tini.
Damn it, SDMB, I had to go get a new handle of Tanqueray after taking part in this thread. I need to whip up a new batch of cocktail onions too. Tell you what, if I ever get to a SDMB meetup, I’ll be the weirdo at the bar with a mason jar of onions, and I’ll share – both the weirdness and onions.
I prefer a dirty gin “martini”. Bombay sapphire, olive juice, olives- yum. Not really a snob about it though- I’ll take a traditional martini if you’re buying.
I follow the Inverse Rule of Gross Olives, which states that the grosser an olive is on its own, the better it is in a martini. So, pimento stuffed? Ya sure, if that’s all you have. Blue cheese stuffed? Better. Garlic stuffed? You’re getting warm. Anchovy stuffed? Bingo!
Absolutely. Vodka is, well, I really don’t get it. It’s an alcohol delivery system, that’s all.
A martini is made with gin and vermouth. Not with vodka, and absolutely not with anything else. An appletini is an abomination before the Lord.
Yeah, whatever. It’s not a martini.
Gin and tonic is a great drink. Really. It is certainly best in warm weather, but have one whenever you want. But it’s true that there’s something cooling about it.
On the subject of gin and tonic, I’ve noticed that the brand of tonic is actually more important than the brand of gin. I always use plain old Gordon’s, which is fine. But I remember one summer beach weekend when the only tonic we had was some horrible store brand, and the drinks were terrible. I’d rather have a G&T with no-name gin and brand name tonic than made with fancy, high-end gin and store brand tonic.
