|
|
resurrectionsongJuly 27, 2003A Potential BAD ThingI like gin. I started drinking it when I was a teenager. My father and I have always had a bit of a contentious relationship. We're both headstrong, opinionated bastards who really get on each other's nerves. But from the time I was young, we always drank well together. When I was still in middle school, my dad would feed me vodka tonics while we played Monopoly all night. As you might imagine, he usually won. When I was in high school, on Fridays we would head over to the local bar and sit with some of his friends. I would order a coke and he would order two-fer Long Island Iced Teas or gin and tonics. Either way, I'd get the spare, and he'd get to show me off to his friends. Since then, I've been hooked on gin. His taste ran towards cheap and mine ran towards good. I'm a big fan of Boodles and, of course, Bombay Sapphire, but I'm not above enjoying Tanqueray. Anything less just won't do. In the house right now, I have a bottle of Tanqueray Sterling (a wonderful, smooth, well-finished vodka), Tanqueray Ten (a very solid gin that doesn't quite compete with Sapphire, but is much better than the regular Tanqueray), and Tanqueray Malacca. And there lies the problem. Malacca may be my favorite gin of all time. It's perfect for sipping --less of the pine finish that most people associate with gin, and more of the spicy, fruity finish that underscores the best gins. It isn't as mellow or understated as Sapphire, but it has a flavor that leaves me grinning pleasantly. It also costs less than all the other gins that I consider excellent. I'm almost to the end of the bottle and went out to the store yesterday to try to get a replacement part. The proprietor told me that Tanqueray discontinued Malacca. On the Tanqueray Web site, I can't find any mention of Malacca, but I'm still hoping that he was wrong. So, tonight, I sit and sip at some of the very last of my Malacca, watch Zoolander, and noisily munch honey roasted peanuts. Is it acceptable to mourn the death of your favorite booze? Posted by zombyboy at July 27, 2003 10:37 PM | TrackBackComments
Of course it is! I hope that very bad man was wrong. I wish I had more of a taste for gin, so I could be of more comfort. Now a fine scotch. . . . Heh. Posted by: margi at July 27, 2003 11:02 PMDefinitely ok to mourn. In fact, you remind me of Travis McGee ceremoniously opening his last bottle of proper Plymouth: His usual at-home drink was Plymouth gin, until in 1974 the inevitable happened. Here is how he tells it in THE DREADFUL LEMON SKY, p.32. "I...broke out the very last bottle of the Plymouth gin which had been bottled in the United Kingdom. All the others were bottled in the U.S. Gin People, it isn't the same. It's still a pretty good gin, but it is not a superb, stingingly dry, and lovely gin. ...There is something self-destructive about Western technology and distribution. Whenever any consumer object is so excellent that it attracts a devoted following, some of the slide rule and computer types come in on their twinkle toes and take over the store, and in a trice they figure out just how far they can cut quality and still increase the market penetration... Thus the very good things of the world go down the drain, from honest turkey to honest eggs to honest tomatoes. And gin." When the proper version of Plymouth gin disappeared, he switched to Boodles. from: http://home.earthlink.net/~rufener/cuisine.html Posted by: Deb at July 27, 2003 11:32 PMOh, the sadness of gin... Posted by: zombyboy at July 28, 2003 12:10 AMI'm honored. I'm all blushy over here. Posted by: margi at July 28, 2003 01:02 AMI don't recall the scene Deb recounts -- it's been years since I read Travis McGee -- but I do seem to recall his high regard for Plymouth, followed by a switch to Boodles. Me, I take to the occasional gin and tonic, but I'm certainly no connoisseur. I just plain don't drink enough to be able to tell good gin from passable gin -- just as long as it tastes like gin... Posted by: McGehee at July 28, 2003 06:41 AMOn a particularly ill-advised speed-and-Tanquerey-fuelled road trip to Montgomery in 1989, I found myself puking in a doorway as a cop pulled up to the curb behind me. Oops. No, I'm not 21 officer, but really, my Mom gave me this booze... Once you have vomited a substance out through your nose, it will never be the same to you. I can't even smell gin now without getting that "whoops!" feeling in my stomach. However, you have my deepest sympathy on your recent loss. Perhaps you should put out an APB for stray bottles of Malacca that your readers might have lurking in their liquor cabinets. D Posted by: David Strain at July 28, 2003 08:17 AMI got sick-drunk on Gin and Ginger Ale one night my freshman year of college. I was not feeling good, and haven't been able to touch gin ever since. Posted by: nathan at July 28, 2003 09:10 AMDavid-- I was thinking about crawling all the liquor stores in my neighborhood this week to see if any of them still have leftover bottles. Maybe I can pick up a couple, and that would keep me happy for a while... That sounds like a few of my better nights, though... Nathan, that sounds like a damned fine reason to avoid gin. And pine-sol. And, perhaps, many forests. Posted by: zombyboy at July 28, 2003 09:36 AMVodka tonic, gin and tonic. Nectar of the gods... Posted by: Patrick at July 28, 2003 03:44 PMAhhhhhh...Malacca. There's nothing like it! Posted by: Tracey at January 1, 2004 05:18 PMPost a comment
|
| All content ©2003 by the authors of ResurrectionSong.com except where noted. |
