What makes one sort of gin better quality than another? Why is

just drink a wide variety of gin until you know what gin you like

That pretty much goes for all alcohol. You won't enjoy everything

Quality of the base spirit, quality of the botanicals, method of infusion.

Other than that it's just taste.

>>9278386

This. I never appreciated hard liquor, beer, wine, or cigars until I forced myself to pretend to like them multiple times.

I started with beer, and after learning to enjoy any beer I would try wines here and there and hate them all. After trying enough wines, I'm at the point now where I will crave a bottle and drink it while I cook dinner. The same premise applies to hard liquor. Keep drinking, keep trying new liquors and remember it isn't a taste you acquire overnight. If you really want to "get into" gin, you won't care how long it takes to get into it.

Gin is pretty palatable all around, and I use it mostly for cocktails. Unlike vodka which i use for both straight drinking and cocktails, there's little difference between medium and high shelf for myself; personally.

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>>9278364
For a straight/rocks sipping gin, pic related is hard to beat. For GnT it's not really worth it to go top shelf. I'd put the money towards a premium, non-high fructose, tonic water, or even better go for a tonic syrup like Jack Rudy topped with a few ounces of soda water.

All that being said, I'm tired of Tanqueray personally feel there are better options for the money. Try Beefeater 24 and Citadelle.

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>>9278364
Best gin and tonic I've ever had was
>two cucumber slices & basil leaves muddled in glass
>ice over that
>0.5 oz st.german elderflower liqueur
>2oz gin
>tonic
stir this gently and garnish with cucumber slice and basil leaf

If y'all like gin keep an eye out for pic related a distillery in my hometown started making it and it's pretty good.

>>9278364
>What makes one sort of gin better quality than another?

Most gin tastes like turpentine or paint thinner.
Quality gin tastes good.

Even Tanqueray is paint thinner, you'd have to step up to Tanqueray Ten for something that isn't shit.

>>9278405
>>9278426
Well for gin and tonic (home version) I mostly drank GMG & Schweppes. Not sure which other tonic options are avaliable off-the-shelf. As for the bar variant, I drank Tanqueray with cinnamon and some Blue Sapphire. It tasted better than what I was able to make at home so I was wondering if I should invest more into a gin of better quality. I am not interested into drinking pure gin.

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i got pissed and gave me wife a Watford mate

>>9278473
Fever Tree and Q Tonic are nice off the shelf tonics. Also, the anon here >>9278445
is right about a splash of St Germain doing wonderful things for a GnT. And I haven't tried the gin from Dripping Springs yet, but their vodka is really clean and smooth.

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>>9278364
pic related is one of the best gins readily available on the market (more or less readily available)
im an old tom fan myself, which is a tough thing to be in a world of london dry
jensens makes a fine old tom, but unless youre in the uk i doubt youll ever see it

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>>9278956
>>9278364
and to add to your question OP, BTW tonic is the best tonic I've had
im close ot the jensens distillary, so i head there for a g&t often
they shove a sprig of rosemary in there which tastes great but im not going to be shoving rosemary in my drinks at home
also double dutch tonics are the only flavoured tonics ive ever had that are any good

>>9278514
I honestly think their gin is better than their vodka and I'm a fan of their vodka.

>>9278364
If I'm having a GnT, I'll have Hendricks.

If I'm drinking neat, any decent Sloe Gin.

>>9278364
Taste them all and see what you like - only you can answer that. In the UK Tanqueray is one of the cheap ones at £15 ish a bottle so comparable to Gordons / Bombay Sapphire / Bulldog etc. Beyond that, it is up to you. I like Ophir as it has a really nice flavour, however I have found quite a few "premium" gins aren't worth the extra over the normal stuff.

As for a good G&T - good tonic water. Try Fever Tree - quite cheap and very nice. I go for a 1:3 ratio of gin to tonic, plenty ice, and a wedge of lime or whatever garnish I feel like. If you want to be really fancy, rinse the glass out with water then chuck it in the freezer for half an hour so it has a nice misting on it before you pour.

>>9278364
Botanicals and filtration.

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I generally assumed Gin was pretty much the same everywhere, some was just worse because of fusel oils or something.
Had to get a nice Gin as a birthday present for someone recently though, so I asked in a proper shop and they recommended pic related to me.
We tried it at the party and I was amazed how nice and fragrant it was.
I really should try more Gin, it's a lot more interesting than I gave it credit for

>>9278364
Eh, I prefer the ones with juniper berry extracts. Like mixing it with ginger ale and bit of lemon juice, garnished with some cucumber. Great during summer, desu.

>>9278956
Gin mare is probably the nicest i've tasted.