In the age-old tradition of millenia of social drinkers, I stand before you, Everything 2, to profess my 'new' discovery.
I discovered my love of gin and tonic a bit over a year ago (summer 2001) while in the arctic climate of Minnesota. Under the guidance of one of my friends there, I learned the dark and calculating art of mixing. Nights after work I'd head over to their place to relax, mixing up large Gin and Tonics, and to a lesser extent, Vodka and Tonics.
And then, one night, mildly out of my mind already, I stumbled onto my epiphany. "What if," I asked myself, "we were to mix the powers of these two mighty drinks?" And so, with a bottle of Tanqueray Gin, and the lesser known Tanqueray Vodka, I mixed it up for the first time. When I took a sip, I was stunned. The following conversation took place:
Me: (Pause.) Karl... Could you try this?
Karl: Sure. (Sip. Pause.) It tastes like... nothing.
Me: Hrmm... we might have impaired judgement right now, though.
Karl: Good call. Erik, try this.
Erik (the Sober): (Sip. Pause.) Yeah, it's good, man.
Me: My god... I've invented alcoholic water.
Upon further experimentation with the drink, the results were disturbing. It doesn't have that 'bite' associated with alcohol at all. When mixed properly, the prevalent taste is only the bitterness of Quinine. I've tried to mix this with other forms of vodka and gin, which result in the bitterness being amplified greatly, to the point of not being able to drink it comfortably. I don't know why, but I've ventured the guess that the twin Tanquerays work well with each other because of similar filtering techniques.
Enough with the story. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
One bottle Tanqueray Gin
One bottle Tanqueray Vodka
One Lime
One bottle tonic
A modicum of Ice Cubes
One Knife
One Pint Glass
Instructions:
Fill the glass with the Ice Cubes. Pour one inch of Gin, followed by an inch of Vodka. The glass should now be approximatly half full. Cut your fresh lime into eigths with the knife, and squeeze two or three of the eighths into the glass, before dropping the crushed remains in. Fill the rest of the glass with tonic, stir gently with the knife, and enjoy.
I've looked around at length for a similar recipe, and after a few bartenders collections had been exhausted, I decided that I might actually have a new claim to a drink. My friends suggested "The McGrue" as it's name, but I much prefer the more whimsical and much less egomaniacal "Ginka Vonic". We've also been known to call it "The Superdrink". No matter what you call it, please enjoy, and spread the knowledge!