THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!
Well, not really. Summer is upon us, and that brings me to my favorite summer topic: Gin & Tonics. Inspired by my buddy Amanda Berkowitz - the master of taste tests, i decided to research a supposedly already settled topic - which tonic water is the best. So i assembled the ingredients:
(pic via photoshelter)
Hendricks gin. Three 1L bottles of tonic water all procured from Fresh Direct. Ice via NYC tap water. Local, organic cucumber also from FD. Non-local, non-organic lime from the local deli (unpictured). And yes, i know, real enthusiasts (read: alcoholics) make their own tonic water, but i don’t have that sort of time.
Methodology: three drinks, measured exactly 1 part gin, two parts tonic. Venessa was my double-blind taster. No fruit to start, tried cucumber and then lime on subsequent drinks.
Tasting notes:
schweppes: least character of the bunch - perhaps the most balanced, with a bit of sugar and a bit of quinine flavor. mid-sip flavor might be considered medicinal. Probably due to the lack of character, it took to lime/cucumber better than the other two though this advantage faded as the ice melted. Also exposed the gin the best of the bunch. A solid ‘B’ grade.
canada dry: strong initial quinine flavor - fades with time, but leaves a sugary, pasty aftertaste. The most artificial tasting of the bunch.
seagrams: the opposite of canada dry - dull initial flavor with a strong quinine aftertaste, possibly the dryest of the three - very little sugar. Initially overpowered lime/cucumber but as ice melted, possibly the most enjoyable of the three.
The Winner:
Well, me, as i had a good excuse to make a bundle of gin and tonics on this nice sunday afternoon. But beyond that, given the option, i’d probably chose seagrams as my go-to tonic water with schweppes as a close second. The big differentiator is how much dilution (read: melting ice) you’re expecting to have. Hot summer day = seagrams. Cooler climes = schweppes.
Interestingly Schweppes and Canada Dry are made by the same company, so it’s surprising their flavor differed so much.
Happy drinking!
