Originally Posted by
budwom
Since you asked! Until the early 1980s (when, by the way, there were a lot fewer gins around) I"d make a good, basic G&T using one of the premium gins available at the time, either Beefeater or Tanqueray, the latter being a bit more floral due to different botanicals...then there was that fateful day!
The Boston Globe (1982 or so) did a fun survey of a bunch of their writers (not just the food snots, everyone...sports guys, tv writers, local reporters, etc). They blind tested a bunch of gins, maybe 10 or so IIRC for several categories: on the rocks, in a martini, and in a gin and tonic.
The results for the rocks and martini categories were as one might expect, Beefeaters and Tanqueray were dominant. But in the coveted G&T category, the prodigious runaway winner was little known (to me and them) Booth's gin. They raved about the crispness. So, skeptically, I tried it. The skepticism only mounted when I found it to be very inexpensive. (To this day, you can get the big 1.75 liter bottle for $14 at the New Hamster liquor stores for example). Gotta bend down low, it's WAY down on the bottom shelf.
For some reason, it produces a marvelously crisp G&T, really quite remarkable. I wasn't trying to enjoy it, but I certainly did, and still do. And in the ensuing 40 years, I must have converted at least 20 friends to using Booth's. (I heartily agree with the Globe writers, it's not good on the rocks or in a martini, its chosen mission in life is to make a truly splendid G&T.
So to finalize the answer: Get a Big glass (I like the large insulated kind), and fill it to the top with ice cubes, add three ounces of Booth's gin (bonus: it's 90 proof!), and finish it off with your chosen tonic...ours is still Schweppes (good grief, not the diet kind) though some these days favor stuff like Fever Tree..whatever you like. Just don't use the cheap crappy stuff like Polar or store brand...
And of course you definitely don't want to skip on fresh squeezed lime, all drinks get a full quarter of a lime...(bartenders who skimp on the lime shall be condemned to venues with loud, bad music). I usually add the lime after the gin, then pour the tonic to finish things off, get the best lime penetration. Try it!
p.s. Booth's is available in NC in the larger stores...