Something and Tonic

[vakkotaur]

I'd always heard or read (probably most often from the Hitchhiker's Guide series) "gin and tonic." This made some sense as the gin would suppress the bitterness of the tonic. A properly made gin and tonic doesn't taste much like anything.

But recently I'd been hearing "vodka and tonic" which was a bit puzzling as vodka is supposed to taste like... well, nothing. So it seemed odd to affect the tonic with something without any flavor beyond that of alcohol.

Ah, but what is gin? It is flavored vodka. Vodka flavored with juniper seeds. I've heard folks say it "tastes like pine needles" but that hasn't been my experience. Either I just plain don't register that flavor very well or else I've either had really good (or really bad) gin when I've sampled it. I've had gin and tonic and like such on occasion.

Maybe sometime I'll try simple vodka and tonic and see if it tastes much different.

The scotch and whisky responses to the last post puzzle me a bit, but I suppose anything that can be/is mixed with one liquor is eventually mixed with others. Also, if one really does taste gin as pine needles, I can certainly see going with something else.

Comments

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

My favorite reference to it: the second verse of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road".

What do you think you'll do then?
I bet they shoot down your plane.
It'll take you a couple of vodka* and tonics
To set you on your feet again.

*Or, as it sounds when Elton John sings it, "vodker and tonics".

[luke-jaywalker.livejournal.com]

Me personally, I don't much like the taste of even good gin. It and tonic... I've tried, repeatedly, with no success.

Vodka, also, doesn't taste "like nothing." To me, at least, it tastes vile. A reason you mix it with orange juice is to disguise the taste somewhat.

Maybe I'll try a vodka and tonic at some point. Could be *they* cancel each other out.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

I suspect you should have a sample of someone else's for that as you likely won't much care for it given the distaste for what all goes into it. I'm not crazy about tonic but I can drink it straight - that was largely a defensively acquired taste as it was one item that a college roommate would not drink.

Yeah, vodka does have a flavor and not just of whatever it's been flavored with. I suspect it's that it's "just alcohol" to many.

I've run into something sort of similar. I like gin and tonic, so no real problem with gin. I like Manhattans, so no real problem with vermouth. I have yet to have a martini I actually liked. Dry, sweet, doesn't matter. I haven't had a "dirty" martini yet which I know some folks prefer, but adding it to the list of things sampled is certainly nothing very urgent.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

I like a good gin and tonic in the summer, with plenty of lime. Enough to order them out on occasion, but not enough to bother making them at home. But it has to be GOOD gin. Good gin imparts a nice cool piney flavor to the drink. Bad gin tastes like pine-sol smells.

I'm not terribly fond of plain tonic water but I know that some people are. It has a combination of bitter and tart that some people find pleasing. If you are one of them, and you don't like the taste of gin, then I imagine that a vodka tonic would be nice.

[woody-whistler.livejournal.com]

I'm not fond of either gin or tonic, although I enjoy a good vodka, particularly with a splash of vermouth and a few olives.

[rbradakis.livejournal.com]

Scotch/Whisky and soda, that I've heard of and vaguely understand, but I'm thinking that the tonic is just wrong to do to scotch.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

I tend to agree. If the point is to make the tonic tolerable, I sort of understand, but since there's no medical need if one finds the flavor that objectionable it might as well be omitted. Granted, for some whisk(e)y's, I'd say that the the tonic couldn't hurt, but again, it's probably best just to avoid those from the start.