Aviation American Gin

Gin and tonic has been one of my favorite summertime cocktails because it’s so simple to make, it’s refreshingly cool, and I enjoy the flavor. But three incidents have occurred which lead me to believe that I don’t actually love gin.

Incident #1: My husband and I drank a flight of Dutch gin at a little canalside pub in Amsterdam called Café ‘t Smalle. We had a grand time relaxing surrounded by wood-paneled, sea-faring décor in Amsterdam (yippee!), but I did not enjoy the gin. Fast forward five years and many gin and tonics later to…

Incident #2: Since we can’t travel anywhere this summer, we decided that one fun staycation activity would be a tonic taste off. What I discovered is that I don’t love gin; I like the tonic and lime that mask the full flavor of the gin. Ten days after this…

Incident #3: We hosted two friends for socially distanced cocktails. I mixed up a batch of gin and tonic using my favorite tonic from the taste off. I gave a three-ounce sampling to Friend #1, and she nearly gagged. “Ugh, what is this? Is this gin? I can’t stand gin!” Wow, not even my new favorite tonic and lime could mask the flavor for her. (Don’t worry, she enjoyed the rest of her cocktails.)

And then one week after this, we received an invite from Total Wine to attend a virtual tasting for Aviation American Gin, hosted by Ryan Reynolds and Travis Tober. We had nothing else to do that evening, so we ate dinner while we watched. We wound up getting an education we weren’t expecting, and we can’t wait to try what was suggested.

Whether you love or hate gin, this 16-minute virtual presentation will give you something to think about when it comes to this popular cocktail ingredient.

In addition to the gin cocktails you already have in your repertoire, here are three others courtesy of Total Wine:

Cheers!