Gin is so reasonable there, I could live there LOL 
As is everything else! An excellent bowl of ramen is $6.50USD, bottle of water $1.17USD, ~12 oz can of Asahi $1USD, great sushi meal for with two beverages is $15USD - and that included soft-shell crab! Our favorite treat from Kyoto is the bag of Yatsuhashi cookies for $2.30USD (and of course the gin). We had excellent A5 Hokkaido wagyu burgers for $10USD. Sure, you have have the $200USD+ omakase, but why?! Excellent cocktail and vinyl bars - all reasonable. The most expensive thing there were accommodations - and they were on another level and worth it.
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surprised as the alcohol tax is high
yes, you have not lived until you’ve had Teppanyaki Kobe beef in Kobe, so reasonable and fantastic
let’s just say the fruit and Strawberries are expensive LOL
what?
perhaps I am thinking of South Korea
Has anyone been to the gin bar at the JW in Singapore? It is called “Tonic.” They must have 100+ gins from around the world. I spent three happy late evenings there in July. They have a good selection of Fever Tree.
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What vermouth are you using for your Negronis?
I prefer Cochi
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50/50 blend of punt y mes and antica.
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So much more bold/bitter style?
The Mrs. and I are thinking about moving there. She’s from Taiwan, but went to college and graduate school there. Her sister has two places in Tokyo. I will likely retire at the end of next year and want to live somewhere that “speaks” to us vis-a-vis food and culture. And I love Japanese gardens and temples.
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Juniper Gin
Bruto Americano
Punt e Mes
1.5 oz each with three drops of MM Aperitivo bitters.
Makes an excellent Negroni, thanks @ybarselah
Maybe the Gin is a bit strong at 49.3%. My first sub will be the gin.
that sounds fantastic!
Better with Monkey, plus a prechilled old fashioned glass. Not the gold standard of the 10 minute freezer technique.
Gonna have to be a special place to order a Negroni. Any tips on batched/smoked?
Condesa Gin Clasica - A nice dry gin out of Mexico City that uses palo santo, sage, some spices, citrus peel, and elderflower. It’s pretty juniper driven, with light herbal accents. It’s pretty decent gin, but I thought it could use just a hint more citrus given the flavor profile. It does pretty well in a gin and tonic. Not sure this would be my go-to for a martini. Probably be nice in a cocktail where you’d supplement the citrus. But a nice, well made gin.
Hendrick’s Oasium - This is the newbie in the Cabinet of Curiosities and it’s a bit of a mind-bender because it tastes a bit like you’ve made a cocktail when you pour a gin and tonic. This gin is fruity. Apricot, tropical fruit, then a blend of other complimentary flavors that are so integrated it’s hard to pick out this and that. It’s fruity and then more, finishing with a pithy citrus note. This is silky smooth but a hair sweet, though not cloying, and is quite nice on ice. I admit I kind of loved this though it is outside my sweet spot for gin and is unique in profile for my 45 or so bottle gin cabinet. I’m not a big fan of many of the Cabinet of Curiosity gins, and probably love Orbium’s bright bitterness the most. This is probably an easy second, but like Orbium, is probably not for everybody, especially folks who like more classically styled gins.
have been using these for my boulavardiers, thank you guys for the recs
Reviving this, does anyone have opinions on the Procera Blue Dot? I’m suddenly hearing it mentioned a lot.
Hi friends! Big gin fan and I like to try local gins wherever I go, so dropping a few of my favs below:
- Geranium Gin (Copenhagen): probably my all-time-fave, love both the original and the 55% ABV Navy Strength, if anyone has any leads on where to get this in the U.S. please let me know…
- Hendrick’s (Scotland)
- Botanist (Scotland)
- Monkey 47 (Germany)
- Boar (Germany)
- Ki No Bi (Japan)
- Wild Wombat (Australia)
Adjacent topic, but what tonic do people prefer? I’ve been using Fever Tree since I was a teenager but sometimes it’s too sweet, especially when paired with some of the more floral gins, so was wondering what other contenders people like!
Fever Tree and Q both have light versions. I don’t use much so they generally suffice for me, but agree the regulars are too much.
For awhile though I was using Tonic syrup which you can adjust to your liking.
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