My thoughts on: Flavoured Gin

I was alway partial to a drink of sloe gin, but gin in its original format was about the only spirit that I never liked.  I didn't like the taste nor the smell.  Mind, having said that I didn't much like the taste of vodka ... Or whisky ... But I drank that.

I have noticed lately that Gin is the new wine.  My Facebook page has been littered recently with Gin memes:  it's gin o'clock, to gin or not to gin, etc.

What used to be nicknamed Mother's ruin is becoming more and more popular, particular with the ever increasing new releases of flavoured gin.  You can now buy all sorts of flavours; Parma violet, rhubarb and ginger, strawberry to name a few.

This worries me, in that manufacturers have obviously latched on to the idea that Gin is becoming more popular and are concocting these new flavours to be even more popular.  How attractive is a strong spirit that tastes like strawberry juice when mixed with a bit of tonic?  How refreshing?  It's ideas like this that probably would have drawn me in.  I have no doubt that I would have tried it and BAM!  I would have been hooked.  We all know that spirits like these are incredibly addictive.  Some of these gins have a 20% alcohol content.

I once bought a litre bottle of vodka, explaining to Mr W that it would be more economical than buying wine because it would last me much longer.  It appeared that I did, but then, I was topping it up with water and smaller bottles of vodka.  I actually drank more because (when not taking sneaky drinks of it neat) I was mixing it with coke or tonic.  After the first couple of sips, you can't taste the vodka.

I have always considered my sister to be a normal drinker.... Shes always gone out drinking a couple of times a month with friends and drunk cider or Malibu and coke.  Now though, she is really into drinking gin and I mean REALLY.  Her Facebook page is littered with gin memes, comments about which flavoured gin she's bought, photographs of a just poured large glass of gin, which 'gin palace' is opening locally.

Today though, when visiting her at lunchtime, she was showing me an opened bottle of pink gin she had bought herself.  Did I fancy a try of it?  Obviously I said "no thanks, I'm driving and I don't drink anymore... Remember?"  "Really?" She said - "I thought that you would've given in long before now."  (Gee, thanks for the support sis!).

The Sister then proceeded to state "it's Gin o'clock somewhere!  I'm having one" and poured what looked to be a pretty generous measure into one of those large gin glasses... The ones that look like you could fit half a bottle of wine into.... She chucked in a bit of ice and a bit of tonic and took a slurp.  It was 12.30.

I'm really hoping this was a one off, but my little alky senses are tingling.  They don't call Gin Mother's ruin for nothing.

I suspect that before long, instead of seeing articles about people worrying about their wine habit, we will see articles about people being worried about their gin consumption.