Various Miscellany

I worked out Wednesday, but it was a struggle. I did 2 miles on the treadmill and was just dying.. My legs felt awful and abused. I went and did the bike for 20 minutes, and wound up with 5.74 miles done.

Afterward, I hopped on the treadmill and did another mile, and called it a day. I wanted to do 5, but this seemed like a good compromise.

I also opted to take Thursday off, just to rest. Friday is a rest day by default, as tonight is the last night of dice baseball. The world series, baby! We'll see how it goes. Should be fun, at least.

I tried out a couple of new (to me) gins last night. Found these little bottle at the liquor store, and decided to give them a go.

First up is Tanqueray Rangpur. Tanqueray makes a very good gin to start, and the No. 10 is in my top 3 of gins. I decided to give the Rangpur a go, just for something different. It claims to have some extra citrus type things mixed in the flavor, so I said, "hey, why not?".



You'll note in the picture that I didn't put any limes in the gin. If it had extra citrus, I wanted to be able to taste it purely. Taking a sip, you definitely could taste extra things. It was as if lime juice had been mixed into the gin. The usual taste of juniper was heavily masked. Even the scent of it was very faint.

That being said, it was still very smooth. There was no need to add any limes to the gin & tonic, though.

I'd say it was good, but more of a gin for non gin drinkers. The usual bouquet that I look for was highly masked. I wouldn't turn it down, but I wouldn't hunt for it, either.


The next gin I tried was New Amsterdam.



I also started this one off without limes, just to get a taste for it. Looking at their website, it states "so smooth you can drink it straight."

Uhm, no.

Not so much.

It had more of a classic gin scent to it, but it had a fair amount of bite and it felt like a high amount of alcohol (it doesn't.. just a standard 40% ABV).

I added some limes to cut the bite, and it was better.

That being said, no, I wouldn't buy this one again. But, it certainly wasn't the worst I ever had.


I've tried a fair number of gins, and the ones I really like are:

• Hendrick's (previously discussed here)
  
• Tanqueray No. 10
  
• Bombay Sapphire
  

I also don't mind Beefeater, as it's a decent gin for a budget price. The newfangled Beefeater "Wet", however.. that stuff is absolutely disgusting. Tastes like paint thinner. Expensive paint thinner, too. That stuff was by far the worst tasting gin I've ever had. Mr. Boston tasted like sweet nectar compared to this stuff.

Alright, that's enough gin for now.

I really should get to work.. keep on rockin' everyone. Have a good weekend.

Cucumber

So, one of my favorite drinks is a gin and tonic. Classic. Gotta love it. (OK, so none of my friends love it. But I do.)

In one of my posts, I'll describe my quest for the perfect gin, and where it's taken me.

Right now, though, I'll discuss one in particular:




Hendrick's Gin. It's a gin that has hints of rose and cucumbers infused into it. Yes, you read that right. Cucumber.
The traditional juniper (aka 'pine tree') smell with this gin is present, but not overwhelming like it is in some gins. I don't mind that smell, but a lot of folks do.


So, it was Saturday night. I think it was Saturday. Maybe Friday. Doesn't matter for this discussion, though. My wife and I were eating at home, and I whipped up a G&T, made with this Hendrick's gin. I threw in a lime, per usual. Downed it, and enjoyed it.

We were in the process of eating dinner in front of the TV, and I went up for a refill on salad and my beverage. While there, I realized.. hey.. we have cucumbers. And they're sliced.

I'd always heard that you should try making a G&T with Hendrick's and a cucumber, instead of the lime. So, I cleaned out my glass, and proceeded to do so.


I must say, it was interesting. The cucumbers loose in the gin did enhance the taste of the cucumbers in the gin. (And, they tasted delicious after sitting in the gin for a bit, too. :) ).

It was worth trying, and I'd certainly try it again. Not a requirement, though. Hendrick's is versatile enough to handle limes or cucumbers in the tonic...