@Soba45 I’m definitely not a tonic expert, so if anyone has suggestions, I’m absolutely open to hearing them. I usually have some Fever Tree in the pantry, which tastes fine to me. I recently picked up a bottle of Liber and Co Tonic Syrup, which you mix with gin and club soda, but I haven’t quite got the right combination down. It’s nice because you can dial in the amount of tonic flavor to suit your preferences, but I’m not sure it’s worth the extra effort for me personally.

@ctbeck11 It took me 40+ years to like it but I got there in the end! Has to have a good Tonic. Here in NZ East Imperial is the only one I like. Other tonics just tasted artificial in comparison.

Thanks, @Soba45! I’ll be sampling The Botanist this weekend. This week of gin has been a refreshing change of pace for me. I’m more of a whiskey and tequila guy normally, but am gaining some newfound appreciation for the category. Previously in my mind, gin was just astringent juniper bombs that begged to be cut with citrus and sugar. But I’m seeing now some of the beauty in the depth and breadth of aromas and flavors gin can offer. It’s still far from my favorite category, but I won’t be recoiling in disgust at the thought of drinking them neat anymore. Cheers!

Nice review. Roots an NZ gin is my favorite, Monkey 47, Method and Madness (parent co. Midleton does Jameson's etc), the Botanist (Bruichladdich) round out my top 4

@Ancient33w You read my mind. I’ll be reviewing that one tonight. @cascode Oof! That’s too high. It’s $40 USD around here, which I think is reasonable.

@Ancient33w I keep hearing about this one but it's very expensive out here - $90, when you can find it.

Hey Beck. Another really good gin is Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin I am seeing it more and more on the east coast of the U.S. and the price ranges from $28 to $42 a bottle.

@ctbeck11 I taste gin neat initially and then only occasionally thereafter. 80% of my gin drinking is in G&Ts, the rest goes into cocktails (usually a negroni). My go-to gin is McHenry’s Federation from Tasmania https://mchenrydistillery.com.au/shop/700ml-federation-gin/ one of the best gins I’ve ever tasted. As far as things you can probably easily find are concerned, Aviation, Herno and Roku would be my best suggestions. Is it worth stepping up? I think so, but you should do a blind tasting and see before spending a lot on premium spirits. There are some very expensive and critically acclaimed gins that I think are massively over-rated.

@cascode @ContemplativeFox Well those make my second and third Roku recommendations from the community. I’ll need to track this one down. Looks to be ~$30 here, so a bit more than the Beefeaters and Tanquerays, but not too much. While we’re on the topic, what is your go-to mixing gin, for say $40 USD a bottle or under? I think it’ll be a while before I make a habit of sipping gins neat. My most immediate use for gin is definitely in the popular cocktails, e.g. G&T, Last Word, Bee’s Knees, etc. For those purposes, is it worth stepping up from a Beefeater to something more nuanced?

I can't believe I forgot to mention that one @cascode ! It has a definite Japanese character to it with the yuzu and sakura, also it's an interesting twist on a tea profile in gin.

Speaking of tea, one very good and affordable gin that has that note is Roku Gin, made by Suntory. It also has notes from yuzu and pepper leaf, and it's the budget gin I recommend. Usually I have a bottle open but at the moment I'm knee-deep in Australian gins and samples!

Tea (well chamomile) comes to mind for me somewhat often with gin (Monkey 47 in particular) and I generally like it. Looking forward to trying this one :)