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It's medicinal Gin · Sips, Suds, & Smokes

• 0:00
  > >On the next episode of sips, Suds and smokes.
• 0:03
  > >We're taking a break from whiskey though, and talking about my favorite topic, which is gin.
• 0:08
  > Moss>So we have eight total combos. Gordon's with Publix tonic water and a lime slice. Bombay Sapphire with Jack Rudy's tonic and a dehydrated lime nolette with Fever Tree tonic and paper thin sliced of lemon. We have Gordon's with Schweppes or as I like to say, schweepies and a lemon wedge.
• 0:29
  > Moss>Tenjaku gin with Q elderflower tonic and lime wedge. Botanist with Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic and lime wedge. Beefeater 24 with Fever Tree light tonic with a fresh lime wedge. And the last one is Plymouth Navy with Whole Foods365 tonic and a half, a wedge of lime squeezed and a lemon twist.
• 0:53
  > >We'll be right back after this break. Brought to you almost live from the dude in the basement studios. Why? Because that's where the good stuff is. It sips, suds and smokes with your smokin post the good old boys. And now it's sipping. Hey, welcome to this sips episode where everything good in life is worth discussing. I'm, um, one of your hosts here at the table. This is good olboy Mike.
• 2:07
  > >Joining me for this interesting discussion today is good O boy Sparky.
• 2:11
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : As part of my work release program, I appreciate you allowing me to participate in this episode.
• 2:16
  > >Is your ankle bracelet fully charged today?
• 2:19
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : No, but it is chafing a lot.
• 2:21
  > >Well, you know, you gotta, gotta put in the white tube socks, you know, to get through that.
• 2:26
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : I know, I always forget that part.
• 2:27
  > >Yeah, you know, anyway, fair. Also joining me here at the table is good A boy Michael.
• 2:33
  > Mike>How are we doing?
• 2:34
  > >Well, I hopefully you're not wearing an ankle monitor.
• 2:38
  > Mike>No, I soak my ankles in gin and tonic at the end of the day.
• 2:41
  > >Oh, that sounds really good. Yeah, I'm telling you, that's a great choice. Also joining us is good old boy Moss.
• 2:49
  > Moss>Mike, thanks to have me back on. I do have to say real quick, I'm disappointed. Last time we got together for gin, you you promised you'd wear a dress and um, I don't see one today.
• 2:58
  > >So. Negative Ghost Rider. Not going to happen today for sure. Well, uh, I wanted to tell you a little bit more about some of our co hosts that are here at the table. Michael is a published author of a lot of amazing books, uh, featuring a, uh, broad range of cocktails. My favorite of his is called Garden to glass. For sure you have, uh, some other ones. And you're working on a fifth.
• 3:23
  > Mike>Yep, yep. Hard at work.
• 3:25
  > >Also has his own podcast called Liquid Gold. So if you get tired of us, um, go over and check out some of his episodes in the back catalog. It's a different twist with a similar theme.
• 3:36
  > Mike>We did some gin stuff. We did a big martini episode That's. That's a lot of fun. If you want to know all about that.
• 3:40
  > >One, One olives or two olives? No olives.
• 3:44
  > Mike>Olives. I don't know if you'll have to cut this out. Olives are like nipples. One's not enough.
• 3:48
  > Mike>Two is just right. Three is kind of weird.
• 3:54
  > >That's interesting. All right, so I'll, uh, I'll.
• 3:58
  > Moss>Sure.
• 3:58
  > >I'll get a few phone calls from the ombudsman about that. So, again, uh, like, dude, seriously, do you have me on speed dial? So he also runs a food and beverage program at a distillery and just, uh, gets to eat great food all day long. I think that's really just your only. You know, I think that's what keeps you around for that job is that
• 4:17
  > Mike>it's checking the fries.
• 4:19
  > >They just feed you. Well, I think that's the whole point. That's Sparky, uh, keeps his tribe alive, uh, in line on a routine and regular basis and helps to raise a bunch of money serving a lot of people in the tribe as well as just do they self.
• 4:33
  > >Like the emergency see, you know, unleavened bread packets that you just. It's like, you know.
• 4:39
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Yeah. The great thing about them, uh, Mike, is they never go stale. It's kind of amazing. It's been a couple of thousand years.
• 4:44
  > >So you're saying when. When the end of the earth comes, that's what we're going to have in the fallout shelter is unleavened bread crackers.
• 4:51
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : It's basically mana from heaven.
• 4:54
  > >Cool. Moss is the executive director of a wonderful nonprofit organization in Nashville called Whiskey House Nashville. We are actually here recording live at the Whisky House Nashville today. I want to thank them so much for hosting us. And, um, we get to do a lot of cool things with whiskey every day here, don't we, Moss?
• 5:14
  > Moss>It is very, very fun. One of my favorite things to do is your, uh, whiskey history classes you do over here.
• 5:19
  > >Yeah, thanks. Um, we're taking a break from whiskey, though, and talking about my favorite topic, which is gin. Our sip segments are all about wine, mezcal, whiskey, scotch. And today we are going to be discussing gin. But before we get going, I think I'll just have another because I can't think of anything better to do than that, that's for sure. While we all have that, ah, lazy, thoughtless beverage that is like a comfort blanket for our livers, like scotch and soda or whiskey with a splash of water or highball of any type, or vodka with, well, more vodka. And then there's rum and coke. And today's topic, which is gin and tonic. Oh, we'll talk about a way to elevate this classic beverage and just keep that liver oh, so cozy. Each host has submitted their two favorite gin and tonic combos, and we've, uh, rated and ranked these to talk about why we made the choices that we did. And Moss is going to tell us about that lineup for this episode.
• 6:24
  > Moss>So we have eight total combos today, including gin, tonic with a garnish. Um, those include Gordon's with Publix tonic water and a lime slice.
• 6:34
  > Moss>Bombay Sapphire with Jack Rudy's tonic and a dehydrated lime no let with Fever Tree tonic and paper thin sliced of lemon. We have Gordon's with Schweppes or as I like to say, Schweepies and a lemon wedge. Tenjaku gin with Q elder flower tonic and lime wedge. Botanist with Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic and lime wedge. Beefeater 24 with Fever Tree light tonic with a fresh lime wedge. And the last one is Plymouth Navy with Whole Foods 365 Tonic and a half a wedge of lime squeezed and a lemon twist.
• 7:15
  > >I had to make it complicated. Beat the holy grail.
• 7:18
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : This is supposed to be easy. Mike.
• 7:19
  > >Yeah, Jason, you're going to tell us what we're going to do today with all this.
• 7:23
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : All right, well, we may not get to all of these today, but we're going to post the rankings and ratings on the show notes. And, um, we're going to go over these various products and then give them our globally recognized opinions. And we'll be rating these combos with our sip suds and smoke sips ratings from 1 to 5, with 5 being just the best, plus our signature sounds. So, for example, say it was a three. That would be interesting.
• 7:49
  > >Hmm.
• 7:49
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Interesting. What was that again?
• 7:54
  > Mike>If you're a gin newbie or maybe just intimidated by tonic and gin versus gin and tonic. Well, fret not. We've got you covered on our Gin 101 episode where all of this gin speak will be decoded. Just search for Sip Suds Gin 101, and that episode should pop right up or follow the link on our show notes. Also, don't miss our blockbuster hit episode the big gin taste off.
• 8:16
  > >The big gin taste.
• 8:19
  > Mike>All featuring a global taste based off of 500 plus gens, down to our top 10. Maybe some of those cast members got a merit badge patch for that new skill they acquired mine.
• 8:29
  > >Mine was nice.
• 8:30
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : I could feel my liver from the outside of my body, and I'm not sure that's okay.
• 8:34
  > >Did it call? Was it, uh, liver first aid? Was it the name of the mirror badge?
• 8:39
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : We should have come up. That's what it was.
• 8:40
  > >Yeah. I still have all my mirror badges.
• 8:42
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : There's bits of liver in that badge.
• 8:45
  > >While I would speculate that I've probably easily had over 5,000 gin and tonics, that's not a goal.
• 8:50
  > >That's just the number. Uh, it's like ordering water with, uh, lemon twists for me, you know, it's just. It's just so simple. Um, one of my many failings is that I've been trying to figure out the best of something, no matter what. It is a lot of trial and error. And then I change something up and then repeat and rinse and do it over and over and over. It's become a bit of a intake, um, process here for Jen at Subsetno Smokes. Really fortunate distillers send us, uh, probably 50 new gins, you know, every year. And I actually use the same process for tasting every single one of those. I actually have it neat, uh, then I have it with a touch of water. Um, then I have it in a gin and tonic of some kind, usually one of these recipes, and then maybe another cocktail. So I'll also end up that my tasting reference is really close to that London dry style with just a splash of tonic. Or if I'm ordering at a bar and that evil, evil soda gun, I actually lean over to the bartender and I go, dude, seriously, let this be a, uh, gin beverage with a splash of tonic. No need to ruin the gin while we're at it. So, um, you know, how many times do you guys order at a bar and it's like,>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : I'm pretty at bars. I never get gin and tonics. I always do it at home. And, um. But, yeah, they love to press those buttons. I mean, don't we all?
• 10:15
  > >It's pressing buttons.
• 10:17
  > Mike>How can you not?
• 10:18
  > >It's like, you know, plus, you know, there's so many other things coming out of that soda gun.
• 10:23
  > >It's like, that's the thing.
• 10:25
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Don't overthink it. You know, tomato juice.
• 10:28
  > Moss>I ran cocktail bars for 10 years, and, you know, that same gun has got Dr. Pepper Coca Cola, Sprite, all this stuff coming out of it, and whatever. The last thing was when they go to splash some water in there, soda water, you're gonna get a little bit of that Coca Cola in there.
• 10:42
  > Moss>>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : So that's how they make the mystery, uh, flavor dum dums. It's whatever was left in the line when they switched flavors. Seriously, it sounds basically the same thing.
• 10:52
  > >Well, we'll be right back right after this break.
• 10:58
  > >Hey, welcome back to this episode of SIP, Suds and Smokes. Today on this SIPs episode, we are talking about gin feet, the holy grail. That's right. And we're talking about a. Our favorite combinations for making really good gin and tonics. Our hosts have all put together two combos that they are.
• 11:19
  > >It's kind of their go to standard. We've ranked and rated those, and we're going to go through those in our order. MAS is going to give us a bit of background about gin and tonic. And where in the heck did this come from?
• 11:32
  > Moss>Thanks, Mike. Uh, yeah, I was actually asked to do an English accent, uh, in honor of the gin we're doing today, but if it's okay with you, Mike, uh, to avoid ear bleeds, I'm going to stick with my southern accent. The origins of this mixture are disputed, as with anything that goes back in time, with a lack of records and oral history stepping in to fill in these gaps of facts. There are numerous stories about the origin of gin and tonic, and many center around the use of tonic water to stave off malaria. Tonic water contains quinine derived from the bark of the cinchona tree, which is a common treatment for the illness, and also gives tonic water its bitter taste. One of the first known instances of gin being mixed with tonic water was in Holland in the 1840s to combat malaria. The British army in India also started using tonic water with quinine in it from the 1850s to fight the disease, uh, both as a preventative and actually as a cure as well. So in order to effectively treat malaria, the concentration of quinine in the tonic water would have to be five to 10 times larger than that of a modern tonic water. As you can imagine, the result of this would be a very bitter tasting liquid.
• 12:43
  > Moss>Therefore, another sweeter tasting drink that would be needed to be mixed with it, uh, to make it more palatable for soldiers to taste. So initially, brandy, whiskey, or rum were used. The Royal Navy preferred to use rum mixed with the tonic water to stop their crew from falling ill from malaria.
• 13:01
  > >Hmm, interesting. Yeah, well, you know, the part about this story that makes a lot of sense to me of what, what crosses over into jinn. Um, so you have genev that originated and is really kind of the precursor to modern day jinn. So it makes a lot of sense that, um, this probably came right along with that evolution between the two.
• 13:26
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : And wasn't Genevere barley based, uh, spirit rather than a regular?
• 13:32
  > >Yeah, that is correct. So, yeah, I think that you had a lot of sugars that were flowing through because Genovever is quite a bit sweeter than, you know, most gins. And I think that they were looking for something, you know, imbalance, you know, that was going to go along with some of those sugars. And I'm betting that that was probably the first combo was actually with Genevieve and tonic, not with gin. So I think that the two just kind of moved along in some evolution and then crossed over, you know, into, um, you know, the. Across the English Channel. And so, you know, so much more of that juniper actually came along with a lot of the British colonies and, and the ability of getting those ingredients a lot cheaper. I think that's the reason why that really kind of moved into, you know, a standard. Probably taxed it a lot lower too.
• 14:20
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : It's always about taxes. Yeah, I just always joke when I'm walking down the street, uh, you know, I don't need to worry about malaria today, folks.
• 14:27
  > >I've packed up with gin and tonics.
• 14:31
  > >Well, um, I actually have the first combo for us to go over today. Well, I didn't plan it that way.
• 14:37
  > >It just kind of came out that way. But I'm really honored to talk about, uh, one of the combos that I put forward first, which is we're going to do these from one to one to whatever number so you don't have to listen to the whole episode to get to number one. I know you're lazy. You just tell me the number one, then you're not going to listen to the rest of the episode. I hope you do because we'll probably have something entertaining, you know, to talk about. Uh, it is, uh, The Bee Feeder 24 Fever Tree Light Tonic. A fresh lime wedge is the combo that we're going through, um, for number one. I've had such a long time with Beefeater. Uh, I just, I, I really love this. It was in our top five for the big taste off. Big Gin taste off.
• 15:20
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : It made me so happy.
• 15:21
  > >I was just, you know, I'm sorry. I could, I could just have Beefeater, you know, meat. Uh, I could have it in A cocktail, you know, uh, just all day long. And so when this elevated version of Beefeater came around, I was like, I m wonder what this is going to be like. So, uh, the interesting the main component that they have in beefeater 24 is green, uh, matcha tea. Um, really? Yeah, that's one of the big, you know, components in that elevated version of Beefeater that is very distinctive. And the juniper gets kicked up, you know, dramatically in this. And so I was like, first time I had it, I was like, oh, yeah. Lever just went, yeah, I just like this. So, uh, there's a couple of key things, uh, that I did in making, um, this particular combo. I wanted to actually back off the sugars, and I really wanted it to be a juniper bomb all the way. And I just love killing brain cells with this combo. You know, I have it in a short rocks glass, I have it in a tall tea glass, I have it in a pitcher. I don't care how to set you're gonna have. I I personally like it with crushed ice. And, um, the thing that I love about this is whether it's the first one I'm making or the eighth one I'm having for that day, they're all really good. So it's just like a combo I can't seem to screw up, you know, at all.
• 16:49
  > >So I really love that. What'd you guys think about this combo?
• 16:52
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : I I enjoyed it. Um, I'm a I'm a Beefeater freak myself. Um, actually, uh, one time when Beefeater Crown Jewel was still around, I was on a cruise and I saw it in the duty.
• 17:04
  > >You know, that's 800 a bottle now.
• 17:06
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Well, I'm down to my last one. So crazy. But I l bought an extra piece of luggage just to fill with that. And somehow customs didn't pick me out. But, uh, yeah, had they, they would have got an entire suitcase full of Beefeater. But, um.
• 17:21
  > >You have that look about you.
• 17:22
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : I do.
• 17:22
  > >You know, I'm honest. Don't stop.
• 17:24
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Yeah. Why would you, why would you come for me?
• 17:26
  > >Uh, no, I I really enjoy it. Um, you know, I will say that I'm not as big of fan of the, um, Fever Tree light. I get it all the time from my wife.
• 17:36
  > >Um, it's not bad, but there's just something that that kind of puts me off a little bit.
• 17:40
  > >Interesting, huh? And that was a key decision I made between making it with regular Fever Tree was again, about backing off those sugars. I just, I felt like it was Getting in the way of the gin.
• 17:52
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : That makes sense.
• 17:53
  > >Yeah. Michael, what'd you think about this?
• 17:54
  > Mike>Yeah, I really like this one. Uh, Beefeater is like a standard for gin. You know, we've. We've made gin at the. At our distillery and Beef Eaters. One that you, you know, uses like a, you know, a control or something, or, you know, starting standard.
• 18:08
  > Mike>>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Yeah, yeah.
• 18:09
  > Mike>Um, so it's always been kind of a masterful gin, so I really like that The Fever Tree light tonic, you know, didn't really try to take too much away from the flavor, so that's why I think this one was. Was really nice.
• 18:21
  > >How about it, Moss?
• 18:23
  > Moss>I think this is a great example of a. Of a gin just across the board. And with both, with those teas in there, you really get those kind of dry tannins, and I can see where you're coming. What you start putting sugar on top of that, it'll probably get in the way. But, um, I really can't say enough about it. I've really, really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it last time I had it. Uh, actually, I think the last time I had beefeater 24 was with you, actually.
• 18:46
  > >So we'll always have another of that, for sure.
• 18:50
  > >Our SIPs rating for this is going to be a 4.
• 18:53
  > >That's classified. And, uh, something really great to get out of the chute. I'm going to introduce the next product and let Mike, Michael, uh, talk about it. Our number two pick is the Botanist Fever Tree Mediterranean and the lime wedge, which good old boy Michael brought.
• 19:12
  > Mike>Yeah, I love this one. Botanist is one of my favorite gins. That's one that's usually on my bar at the house. Um, you know, Made in Scotland has, uh, a lot of those eyelay botanicals. So it's.
• 19:24
  > Mike>It's both complex and not, you know, too complicated. So I think it's just a perfect gin.
• 19:30
  > Mike>The Fever Tree Mediterranean, um, is. There's a lot of flavor there, so I just feel like this is, like, the flavor bomb. Gin and tonic. Um, and then if you have, like, other cooking herbs at your house, Rosemary would be perfect.
• 19:44
  > >Hey, we'll be right back after this break.
• 19:46
  > Announcer>Foreign.
• 19:51
  > >Smokes. Today on our SIPS episode, we are going over our top gin and tonic combos. And what a great discussion we're having so far. We just got through, uh, talking about Bee Feeder 24, Fever Tree, uh, light tonic, and we were going in our number two choice, which is the Botanist with Fever Tree Mediterranean with the lime wedge, and Michael was introducing that for us.
• 20:16
  > Mike>Yeah, I love that one. As I said, just a big flavor bomb of the gin and tonic. Um, a lot of complexity with the botanic, with the Botanist gin. Uh, similar to the fever tree Mediterranean.
• 20:26
  > Mike>It's got a lot of different flavors that, that, uh, you wouldn't always associate with tonic water. Some different kind of herbaceous notes, um, some kind, uh, of almost not too sweet, but maybe like a saline element. There was. It's very full tast. Um, tonic water. And we might get into Spanish gin and tonics later where you can add a bunch of different botanicals. I think this would be a good candidate for that. You could add like, rosemary, thyme, anything that you have around that you might use for cooking. I think would be great for this one, but. Yeah.
• 20:59
  > >Moss, what'd you think about this one?
• 21:01
  > Moss>You know, uh, as a cocktail bartender by trade, the Botanist is the perfect example of something that a cocktail bartender would look for to keep in behind the bar. It covers all your bases. What I really like about the Botanist is you can drink it neat right now and you'll be like, this is fantastic. You can put it in anything. You put in a gin and tonic, you could put it in a Brambler, you could put it in a clover club and it'll be great. It's just a really, really good, across the board, solid gin.
• 21:28
  > >Yeah. I think one of the things I love about Botanist is they sell it in a three liter bottle now. What, with a handle?
• 21:35
  > Mike>Yeah.
• 21:36
  > Mike>>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : It has a luggage car that you carry.
• 21:39
  > >Finally, somebody has understood the real problem at hand here. Uh, Sparky, what do you think about this?
• 21:44
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : I'm a big fan of the Botanist. Um, and I honestly had not had fever. Ah, tree Mediterranean until this. But it was really, really great pairing.
• 21:53
  > >Michael, uh, you knocked out of the park on this one, man.
• 21:57
  > >Um, yeah, I had not had this, uh, particular combo before as well. I've had botanists quite a bit, but I think, uh, that Mediterranean, um, tonic water choice to me, I thought, rounded things out.
• 22:10
  > >And I really think that the Juniper is very forward in the. In the Botanist. And I really enjoyed the balance that, you know, the tonic was.
• 22:19
  > >Was bringing here, uh, to the equation. Um, I think probably the. The one rendition I made was I actually did not put enough tonic into it.
• 22:28
  > >Remember, I tend to let the gym speak for itself.
• 22:31
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Look at the bottle of tonic and I found myself that, um, as it diluted down and actually got a lot better. So the second time I made it around, I actually added more tonic and probably drink it faster. And I actually enjoyed that, uh, Change up a bit more. I think that let the. The Mediterranean tonic, you know, really kind of balance things out a lot. Bit better. So really great combo. Um, our SIPs rating for the botanist Fever Tree Mediterranean with a lime wedge is a four. That's classified. Next up is actually going to be, uh, the other choice, uh, that Michael brought to the table, which is Tenjaku. Tell us all about this one.
• 23:10
  > Mike>This one was a little bit different from our previous, you know, big boy gin and tonic. The Tenjaku gin, Japanese gin, very soft. It's complex, but you have to kind of get into it. Um, there's a lot of stone fruit, some yuzu that they use in it. Um, and similar to the Beefeater 24. I know they also use some Japanese green tea. So I really love that gin. It is lighter, it's not going to hit you over the head with juniper, but it's got a really nice blend of ingredients that you don't get in a lot of gins. Um, so paired that with the Q elder flower, which is a kind of a lighter tonic water. So I just thought this was a really beautiful mix of two, um, you know, sort of light but, but complex and tasty beverages.
• 23:57
  > >Uh, so Japanese gin is like a highly underrated, you know, category, you know, and when I am talking about, you know, Japanese, you know, whiskey products, you know, I always tell everybody I, um, always feel like I am underdressed. The whole time I'm actually drinking. I'm like, I just want to stand and bow and go. I, you know, and just there's this reverence I have for the quality of, you know, the spirits that they make. And that's true of the gins as well. In fact, one of the products that made our top five, um, in taste off was Kenobi.
• 24:35
  > >Um, and you know, what a fantastic and wonderful product that is. Um, I wish it was a little more affordable, but it is really an amazing, you know, gin.
• 24:46
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Yeah. That was an evil tease, by the way, to put me through 500 bottles and then get down to, uh, the top five that I'll never be able to buy again.
• 24:54
  > >I guess the one thing with this combo, Mike, though, that I thought the elderflower was fighting with the gin, you know, uh, from on the aroma side of the equation. And so I, you know, I think that I goose around with, you know, the proportions that I was doing. I just. It felt like the whole time I just felt like the tonic was screwing up the gin itself, you know, and I actually, um, I was like, wow, this this combo, not quite it. I really love the gin, you know, itself, and I thought it worked well with other tonics, but I don't know, for whatever reason, the elderflower is just fighting with it, you know, aromatically.
• 25:31
  > Mike>Q is probably my favorite tonic water, but like a lot of the tonic waters, maybe they're. They've just made too many flavors at this point. Oh, yeah, you know, so. But the original Q, the regular Q, I think is great for gin and tonics, especially when you want to taste the gin, because I think of a lot of their stuff as a little lighter and milder.
• 25:51
  > >Moss, are you underdressed for this one?
• 25:54
  > Moss>I'm underdressed every day for everything. Welcome to Tennessee. Um, I actually do agree with him on the, uh, uh, queue. We, I think at every, just about every bar that I've ran, uh, we carried Q for our, for our tonic water. It's solid. And look, if somebody's coming in for a gin cocktail, they want to taste the gin. So let the gin do the work,
• 26:16
  > >not the soda gun. Yeah, for sure. All right, well, our, uh, rating for the Tenjaku gin with Q, elder flower and a lime wedge is also going to be a four. That's classified. Really great combo.
• 26:29
  > >Thanks, Mike. Really, um, a solid start. You. You nailed, you know, two out of, you know, the top three. So that's definitely saying quite a bit.
• 26:38
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : He knows what he's doing.
• 26:39
  > Mike>It's like I've been drinking gin and
• 26:40
  > >tonics and hang on to your hat because you're never going to guess what Maynard number four slot is actually the Gordon's Schweppes and a lemon wedge. And this is what Moss brought to the table.
• 26:52
  > >So, um, very interesting. I have a lot to say about this. Tell us why you put this combo together.
• 26:59
  > Moss>You know, Gordon's. Gordon's might not be your favorite, and it might be your favorite, but one of the great things about it is it's very affordable and you can find
• 27:09
  > >it literally anywhere to.5 liter handle.
• 27:12
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Yes, yes. 1299 for a handle at my local store.
• 27:16
  > >It's like getting paid to drink gin. I don't understand the economics.
• 27:21
  > Moss>I'm starting to pick up a pattern with you, Mike.
• 27:22
  > Moss>The, uh, the size of the bottle is, uh, with gin, it's everything.
• 27:26
  > Moss>>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Yeah.
• 27:27
  > Moss>So with Gordon's, getting that really, really good price and also getting something that is approachable and of good quality is really, really nice. Uh, and according to Diageo, it's the best selling gin in the world. So now, whether or not that's true. I'll leave that up to you guys to figure out. But a, ah, lot of old history too. I think it's about a 250 year old company.
• 27:50
  > >Yes. Uh, I think they claim to originate making gin. And I know that's not true, but it's a nice marketing story for sure.
• 27:57
  > Moss>Yeah, it'll do the trick. But yeah, I think that's my main selling point is just the fact that, you know, you can get a nice approachable gin for a really, really good price. And again, you can find it anywhere. Any type of package store, any liquor store, anywh. Uh, and then, you know, buckled in with that, um, Schweppes, which is another. That's a tonic water you can find anywhere. This is your value right here. If we're talking about value today, it's this one right here. And I think it goes really, really well with that lemon.
• 28:24
  > >So, uh, one of the more surprising comments was actually from Craig, who was on a previous gen episode with us. And he is just like, you know, a, uh, savant when it comes to Jen. And we were all talking about our. Some of our favorite gins. And he was like, well, Gordon's is my favorite. And we were like, no way. You know, and, um, I made this.
• 28:45
  > >And the thing that won me over was it's just such a great combo with the lemon is instead of having a lime wedge, I thought changing out the fruit made a huge difference. Uh, we probably have time for one more comment.
• 29:00
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : No, I was just going to say I apologize to Mike when he called for my picks and I said, well, I'm kind of embarrassed, man. It's Gordon's. Um, don't judge me, man. And he was like, actually, no, it's, it's, it's something else that was brought up in it too. So, um, no, I love Gordon's. Um, I keep it around, you know, I don't. I usually use Beefeater for my martinis, but Gordon's I just have for everything else. Um, and it's great.
• 29:28
  > >Our rating, uh, for this, Gordon's, uh, Schweppes Lemon is going to be a four. We'll be right back after this break. Hey, welcome Back to SIPs, HUDs and smokes on today's episode. This is a SIPs episode we're covering Our favorite gin and tonic combos is what we're going over. We, uh, put together eight different combos. We've rated and ranked these, and we're been going through a few of these. The last one that we Just went through, uh, was the Gordon Schweppes and lemon wedge that Moss brought in, and that was a 4 rating for that.
• 30:09
  > >So we had a lot of interesting discussions in preparation for this episode. And Sparky asked me a question about something I did not know to do with quinine specifically and with tonic water.
• 30:20
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Yeah. So if you. If you take tonic water and shine a black light through it, uh, you can find how many, um, crimes have been committed with substances all over the. No, no, wait. No sleeping. Else entirely. Sorry. No, but if you shine a black light through tonic water, the amount of quinine is proportional to how much it fluoresces. So a, um, brand with a lot of quinine will light up, like, you know, incredibly bright.
• 30:47
  > >And it's. In some cases, it is completely backwards. You would think that some of these premium brands have more quinine in them, and that's not necessarily the case. So, um, fungal science experiment you can do on your own, um, is to get a couple of tonic waters and pour them into a glass, turn off the lights, and shine a, uh, black light through it.
• 31:08
  > >I think you'd have to have the right kind of music. I was thinking It'd be like a 70 funks kind of sound, but, you know, either way sounds like a lot of fun and an interesting, entertaining moment for sure. You know, um, I love what Moss said. He said, well, if. If I had to do a blood draw, they would my based on how much m. My blood would be glowing in the dark with. Under the black light.
• 31:33
  > Moss>Look, I'm a blunt guy. I don't. I don't know what to say.
• 31:35
  > >Yeah, I. I hope they don't make that part of a sobriety test, you know, for. For drinking, you know, stare into this black light. Whoa, man, look at that.
• 31:44
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : And I don't know if you guys remember this, but I was deeply impacted it during the COVID pandemic when people were doing just crazy stuff. There was a hot moment about the time when people were starting to take horse dewormer.
• 31:58
  > Mike>Somehow.
• 31:59
  > Mike>>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : There was a rumor out there that that quinine or some. One of the. Or a similar chemical compound could help you stop getting Covid. So, like, you could not buy. People were just going in, buying all the tonic water, and it was total bs But. But I was deeply affected by that because I needed that almost as much as toilet paper. And you just could not get tonic water for a minute because it was one of the crazy conspiracy.
• 32:25
  > Moss>You remember that?
• 32:25
  > >Yes. That is crazy. Well, I have, uh, the last product we're going to get to go over on today's episode, which is, uh, Plymouth Navy, uh, with whole foods, uh, 365 tonic and a little change up with the garnish, which is a half wedge of lime squeeze with a lemon twist. So I'll tell you all about this. You know, I've probably used Plymouth longer than any other gin. Um, you know, I've definitely had more Beefeater by volume, hands down, easily. Uh, but in terms of, you know, drinking gin, I've probably been, you know, drinking uh, Plymouth, uh, longer than a lot of the other brands we've been talking about today.
• 33:08
  > >The Navy version just meets my standard because it's actually very alcohol forward, I>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : was gonna say because it has more booze in it.
• 33:14
  > >Yeah, absolutely. Why? You know, I can put water in myself. I don't need any help from the distillery. Um, so Plymouth actually needs some sugar to kind of lay down and relax. And so I always kind of know that when I'm walking into working, you know, with that gin, especially in a cocktail that I'm like, I got to have something that's going to chill this out. I found of all the tonics, uh, that work really well with this is actually the Whole Foods 365 tonic water. It's a little bit, um, on the sweeter side in terms of, you know, the tonics. And I really love the, the overall quality of that particular tonic water. I really find, uh, they use a lot of natural products as they do in a lot of whole food brands.
• 34:01
  > >But that particular tonic water I thought was really the thing that worked exceptionally well with the uh, Plymouth Navy. I actually prefer this with cheese and crackers. Ah, good Havarti. A great midnight moon. A Queso Manchego, uh, PDO from Pandini Exports. I think I just had a food, food orgasm right there. Yeah. So you know, those simple lemon, uh, rind oils actually, uh, kind of complete the ambiance, you know, around this. And I just want to put up the sign that says I'm not available. I'm having one of these. Um, so yeah, it just, it sounds a little bit like a bit more work, but I think you'll be rewarded if you do this combo just, just like I described it. Moss, what do you think about this?
• 34:52
  > Moss>I mean you really can't go wrong with it. And I think Mike, you had said, you had said this earlier. It's, it's really an evening kind of thing.
• 35:01
  > >Mhm.
• 35:02
  > Moss>You get that higher proof and then, you know, especially with that tonic in there, it's already A little bit.
• 35:06
  > >I always watch Jeopardy. With a gen and tonic nearly every day.
• 35:12
  > Moss>I see why you want the handles now. I, I get the.
• 35:14
  > Moss>I get the size of the bottle thing. There's a lot of Jeopardy episodes out there.
• 35:17
  > >A whole day of drinking there. I am saved up, um, you know, with some moment. Yeah, it's really weird.
• 35:23
  > Moss>One of the things that I liked about your attention to using a specific amount of lime and a specific amount of lemon is I think a lot of people get locked in with just, oh, well, a Negroni has to have this, or gin and tonic has to have this. Mix up your fruits a little bit. Try, try your cocktails with different citruses. It does change the profile quite a bit. And sometimes you'd be shocked how, uh, just switching from a lemon to a lime can make all the difference in the world.
• 35:50
  > >Well, and I think that, you know, one of the things I've learned from Mike's books is that you really have to make cocktails for your nose. And you're, you're so good at describing aromatics and introducing them into recipes that are in a lot of your books. I think that's what I've done here, is that I've intentionally said, do not forget that the lemon, uh, twist on this.
• 36:13
  > Mike>Oh, yeah. And I think it makes a ton of sense because lemon and lime go so well together. They should be used together more often. Um, like, you could make a great gimlet with, especially with Plymouth Navy, if you use a little lemon juice and a little lime juice, um, you could make a really big, expressive, bold cocktail.
• 36:31
  > Mike>>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : So I make my jack roses always.
• 36:33
  > Mike>Oh, nice.
• 36:34
  > >Perfect.
• 36:35
  > Mike>And I think the, uh, I think I wrote and one of my books, I think it was Garden of Glass, that Plymouth Navy answers the prayer of. Gosh, I love Plymouth Gin so much. I just wish it was a little stronger. There you go. It's perfect.
• 36:47
  > Mike>>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Aston answered.
• 36:49
  > >Yeah, I've, I've probably made more retailers put it back on the shelf after they sell it out, they forget to buy it again. I don't know why I'm like, you know, dude, seriously, the reason why it's not on the shelf is because everybody bought it.
• 36:59
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : And another reason why you need the three liter size. Uh, got it.
• 37:04
  > >Well, our, uh, SIPS rating here for the, uh, Plymouth Navy whole foods tonic and half wedge and lemon twist is going to be a three out of five. So while that's going to be the last product we're going to get to go through on today's episode, but I would love to Hear about your combos? Have you come up with another combo that you like that we didn't talk about today? But I think that this represented a nice broad stretch of, you know, choices. So don't make that blind, you know, choice, you know, think about, you know, uh, and don't get stuck with one. You know, I probably go through at least six different recipes, so. Yeah, for sure. Do you guys have fun?
• 37:47
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Oh, yeah, absolutely. And no malaria.
• 37:50
  > >I'll have another one for cocktail rituals for 300.
• 37:54
  > Mike>Alex.
• 37:56
  > >For sure.
• 37:57
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : I'll take anal bum cover for 5.
• 37:59
  > >I don't have a handle on anything I brought today.
• 38:03
  > >Well, thanks everybody for, uh, coming today and joining me for this episode. Good old boy Sparky.
• 38:09
  > >Thanks for coming, man.
• 38:10
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : And, uh, if you'll just sign off on this form for my parole office here, that'd be fantastic. Thank you.
• 38:15
  > >He only had three. Yes, check. Good old boy Michael. Thanks for being here.
• 38:21
  > Mike>Hey, thanks for having me. Can I take out the Plymouth Navy Strength iv or shall I leave? I'll leave it in.
• 38:25
  > >You should just leave it.
• 38:26
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : We bought in. Okay.
• 38:28
  > >Moss, thanks for joining us.
• 38:29
  > Moss>Hey, my pleasure. And who do I give the black light back to?
• 38:32
  > >Um, you should keep that.
• 38:34
  > >>> Identification Announcer: On the next episode of Sips, suds and : Take it home. It's fun.
• 38:36
  > >Hey, uh, enjoy anything from our back catalog.
• 38:39
  > >Hundreds and hundreds of other products that we got to review and some other entertaining moments on Sip, Suds and Smokes. I will ask you to join us for another episode and to keep on sipping.
• 38:51
  > Announcer>We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're listening to us online, do yourself a favor and tap. Just tap it in the subscribe button.
• 39:00
  > >Give it a little tappy. Tap, tap, taparoo.
• 39:03
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• 39:29
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• 40:04
  > >This has been a one tan hand production of Sips, Suds and Smokes, a program devoted to the appreciation of of some of the finer slices of life from the dude in the basement studios. Your host, the good old boys. We'll see you all next time.