G 'n' T

"Hey Scotty...Yeah...What's it gonna be?
A gin & tonic sounds might mighty good to me."
-Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

I don't like mixed drinks. That's almost entirely true.

Not that I'm much of a drinker. Although I've developed a reputation among some peers for my love of beer, I really can't in good faith claim to be anywhere near the drinker that some of my friends are, nor can I claim the drinking power I displayed back in college.

But, from time to time, I like a drink or two. Usually, this takes the form of Coors Light, or whatever other beer has manifested its presence in my fridge.

As my wife and I have resorted to shift work to cover our baby at night, I find myself with several wakeful hours with a sleeping baby and nothing to do. As idle hands are the devil's playthings, I find myself watching too much TV (or Tivo, I should say) and finding things to drink.

Tonight, I had settled on wine. I thought we had a bottle of 2-Buck Chuck around here somewhere, and had every intent of denting it substantially. But I was astounded to find that it was gone, no doubt imbibed by me a few months ago when my wife had gone to bed early and I was, as I am now, at least somewhat bored.

I looked in the fridge and saw that we had a Coors Light and a Fat Tire. I don't dare touch either, as my wife has laid claim to both. This is a problem I have with my wife. She lays claim to these things, but then lets them sit there for weeks, only deciding she wants them at the very moment that I've decided they've hit the end of their shelf life and, um, disposed of them.

So I had to look elsewhere for satisfaction. I mean, God forbid I should actually just make some iced tea or something.

Then I remembered the Beefeater. My friend JLowe bought me a bottle of Beefeater gin while he was in London a while back, and although it wasn't the gift I expected, it certainly wasn't a disappointment. Over the last month or so, I've found that an occasional gin and tonic is an excellent way to pass the time.

I don't know why gin and tonic passes muster where most mix drinks don't with my palate. Although I have a certain affinity for drinks that end with "and Coke" (i.e. Jack or Rum and Coke), everything else tastes pretty poor to me. But a G'n'T never disappoints, always refreshes, and usually leaves me happy.

So I looked in the cabinet to see if Beefeater was still a viable option. I found 4 ounces left, along with an unopened bottle of tonic water.

By the way, what is it about tonic water that makes it so good with gin? A couple of weeks ago, finding that I was out of tonic, I tried gin and lime sparkling water. Simply awful. Is it the quinine that makes tonic blend so well with the juice of the juniper? I wonder...

Anyway, I decided that Beefeater had lived long enough. Though there was no "born-on date" on the bottle, and (as far as I know) booze doesn't really ever die, I decided that the shelf life had come to an abrupt end as I was peering into the cabinet.

JLowe, the bane of my existence (at times), also bought me a set of 1-liter steins a couple of years back. I pulled one down from the top shelf, poured my gin into it, added a bunch of ice, then squeezed a hefty dose of lime juice in and finished the job with about 16 ounces of tonic.

The result? Heavenly. I'm half done now, and a mild buzz is around the corner.

Right now, the baby is sleeping and War of the Worlds, which I still haven't watched, beckons. I imagine I'll fall asleep about 10 minutes in, to be awakened either by my crying baby or my wife as she pumps milk. Either way, I'll have finished the night off in style, and will wake up tomorrow with a mild headache to remind me of why I don't often buy my own liquor.