[mrs bouquet]

My Daughter and Son in Law, enjoy a gin and tonic sometimes.   I thought I would buy them a bottle for Christmas, and would probably get 'Bombay Sapphire'.    Now that gin is a popular drink, I wonder if you can recommend any new makes and flavours.    Thanks,  Mrs Bouquet

[snowdrops]

I don’t know what make it was but I had a beautiful gin flavoured with plum & clementine on Saturday, it was  wonderful. Go to a good wine shop, there’s one near us that has over 100 gins😱😊

[Goosegirl]

OH and I are quite into gin and he often gets Bombay Sapphire but it's not as good as it used to be. They do a Star of Bombay which is good, as is Brecon Botanicals. The tonic we use is Fever Tree and we particularly like the pink aromatic one with angostura bitters. Why not get some so you can sample them beforehand! 

[mrs bouquet]

I am T.Total.  !!  that's why I need your help    Mrs B

[New shoot]

These lot are not cheap, but it is a bit special.  They have lots of gift ideas as well.  I have no connection with them, other than I am hoping for some to also come my way this year.  It is a real treat for anyone who likes gin 

https://sipsmith.com/

[mrs bouquet]

Thanks all for your help.  You will see from my other 'Gin' post, that my idea has escalated      So thanks again for your replies, it hasn't been a waste of time, because your answers gave me food (well drink actually)for thought.   Cheers everybody,  Mrs Bouquet

[Aunt Sally]

These lot are not cheap, but it is a bit special.  They have lots of gift ideas as well.  I have no connection with them, other than I am hoping for some to also come my way this year.  It is a real treat for anyone who likes gin 

https://sipsmith.com/

I agree.  I'm working my way through a bottle with Fever tree tonic with elderflower - very nice !

[Growster...]

There's a great gin made by Anno, a small firm in Marden, near Maidstone in Kent. Waitrose sell it too!

https://annodistillers.co.uk/product/anno-kent-dry-gin

Mrs Growster and I went over there to buy some direct, and met the owners, and they're a great business - their gin is the best I've ever had! Elder Daught was the first to pronounce the quality!

Oh yes, and you must use an exact double measure, with a small refrigerated full-fat tonic, to get the mix right. (Slim-line just doesn't work). Fevertree tonic is excellent! Slice of lime is optional, I prefer lemon, and not too much ice, but these exact quantities are very important!

And finally, (about time Growster - Ed), , the best thing to do after your first G and T, is have another one..;0)

[Goosegirl]

Just the one? Nay lad, nay! Tha's letting t'air in't bottle which ain't good because the aromatics will immediately dispel the moment you take the plug out! Unless you can shove some Cling-Film down on top of the gin, may I suggest you get some friends round to help you out? Depending on what aromatics are in the G's &T (being a bit pedantic I think this is how you actually spell it) we could (presuming Angela and I are invited) give you a hand with the selection of which cut-glass crystal tumblers would be the most appropriate, the choice of various accompanying savoury nibbles, doling-out the gin as per your personal preference whilst watering it down (or even up) for anyone who doesn't get into the spirit of things, subtly placing ice-cubes and a leaf of mint where one feels like it at the time but … be assured that we will help you clear up the left-over dross, detritus and debris into your wheelie-bin as long as we can kerb-crawl to film your aromatics turning into acrobatics! 

[mrs bouquet]

Yes that's a good idea, Growster, have a party, please can I come. !!!
I won't do the Gin, but I will bring my own Non/alco.   Or just quaff the tonic,  the whole thought makes me very happy     Mrs Bouquet

[Growster...]

Ha ha ha!

The aromatics in my favourite include hops, which add a subtle bitterness!

(Funny you mention the wheelie bin Goosey - I wonder where that came from..;0)

Mrs B, of course you're invited as well as Goosey! I recommend some elderflower cordial as a suitable non-alcoholic slurp too!

Actually, Bombay Sapphire is excellent gin! Your family will love it and you're being very generous!

An old chum told me that several years ago, he owned a small gin distillery in London. The output wasn't large, and margins were so tight that if they delivered a load to the wholesalers, and just one case was broken out of the many on the load, the total profit from that batch was lost!

Margins on craft gins are much improved now, such that some of the top-range bottles are way beyond many customers' price range! And anyway, I always have a bottle of Gordon's stashed away...

[8doubles]

Empty Gin bottles and multiples of are best left in the nextdoor neighbours recycling bin !

[Goosegirl]

What a good idea that would be but for the fact that I would have to toddle a quarter of a mile down the lane carrying several bin bags. I trust that our bin men just chuck it in their lorry and drive off!

[mrs bouquet]

I am just soo squeaky clean - so are my bins       If anybody would really like to help me, although of course you have al been so kind already, and if you've got time, please check out -  Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery Tour Experience, that's near Basingstoke, and also Silent Pool Distillery, Shere, Nr Guildford.
Both describe the tours and prices, and gives good pictures of both places.   I can buy an open voucher for the two of them, so they can use it anytime.  The travel times are not too different although the map shows going in different directions.

I use to be so indecisive, - now I just can't make my mind up.      Mrs Bouquet

[Goosegirl]

Growster, wheelie bins are well-known for harbouring anything post consumption-wise and are capable of letting you know if you've put the wrong items in by their way of refusing (pardon the pun) to be taken a short distance to meet their maker. This fact is compounded if one has slightly imbibed too much, whereon their wheels will nip at your ankles as you drag them out kicking and squealing with the final disgrace of judging just where the edge of the kerb is to enable the vast majority of the contents to be strewn all over the path much to the delight of the neighbours who will already have posted it on You-Tube.  It was your fifteen minutes of stardom and you blew it big-time.