This sounds like an excellent plan.

I have to give a shout out to this place:

https://www.alley6.com/

Discovered it a few months ago - about a mile north of the square in Healdsburg (CA). Both the regular and aged gins are delicious. The flav(o)ur profile of the regular gin is that if you want to drink it in a martini glass, just shake it with ice, and perhaps add a twist. Do not add vermouth. I'd likely not even want to add tonic (or perhaps just a much better tonic) - but more likely, just add a bit of fizzy water to maintain the flavo(u)r without changing it for a "lower alcohol" (HA) drink.

Since I missed this first time around I�ll go now. My favorites are probably Plymouth, Hendricks and Boodles. I like Sapphire and Tanquery as well. I have changed my preference over the years. Interestingly, Plymouth isn�t a London Dry Gin as are most of the others from what I�ve been told.

The recent explosion in craft gins is getting a bit silly in my opinion. Many (but not all) are now far too aromatic to enjoy properly, and for a regular G&T they tend to be well-suited. You can't go wrong with a Tanqueray or Plymouth.

I recently bought a bottle of Four Pillars' Olive Branch gin, lured in by its marketing as savory. So far I've only had one drink from it but I quite enjoyed it as a G&T with Fevertree light cucumber tonic (it's the only gin I've had where the cucumber in the tonic comes through as a taste, rather than just an aroma).

Some of the "craft" gins taste like ground up pine needles that a bird turded on before they fell to the ground and the bear peed on them. But some are delicious and taste like a cocktail all alone - just add a few rocks. I really despise Tanqueray. For tonic or something unfussy, I'll take the Hendricks, or Bombay (not Sapphire).

I remember really liking Monkey 47 - has anyone else tried it? It's basically double the price of usual premium gins - 375 ml for $45 or so.

I usually use Plymouth for everything. Maybe I'll try Boodles next.

Agree that in a g&t most new gins can be a bit wasted. Better to invest in proper tonic water.

Favourite gins: Inverroche (South African cape botanicals); made right excellent in a martini. Fauna: Norwegian gin, my now go to - works equally well in martini and gt/gin fizz and Monkey 47. Latter is still my favourite and sits in Norway at the price point between the two aforementioned. It did appear to have quite steep price increases but that appear to have subsided. Best use is for a martini and creates a relatively complex tasting one.

Wow, getting that combination done would take some effort and coordination!

I used to like Monkey 47 until they sold out to a conglomerate. You can buy the 500 ml bottle for that $45 now. The 1L. bottle is priced in the $60s.

Does it taste differently now, like they went cheaper ingredients to boost profits? Any replacement options with similar flavor profile? As far as my Gin of choice. I was never a Gin drinker until I fell upon Cotswolds Gin. We were in Bath and taking a flight out and the distillery was handing out samples in the duty free shop near the club lounge. I loved the taste. I brought a couple of bottles back with me to the states. When that ran out, I tried Sipsmiths, Plymouth, etc. but they just don't taste the same, and I wouldn't have become a Gin drinker had those been my options. Perhaps a more knowledgeable person than myself can tell me why I love their Gin. Their Whiskey was why I stopped at the sampling, but it didn't grab me like the Gin did.

Monkey 47 is hands down my favorite. Love it, and have got most of my family onto it now as well.

Have seen it as high as $90, as recently as this past weekend in SC. Can usually find it around $55

What is a good gin at a reasonable price?
Is Hendrick's considered middle of the road at an ok price?

No, it doesn’t taste any different, but it lost some of it’s “mystique” for me when it sold out to the conglomerate. I travel to Germany frequently and was buying it in Konstanz for €35 for the 375L bottle in 2014. I still drink it, but not as frequently. In the last year or so, I’ve had some people gift me some lesser known gins and I haven’t been impressed by any of them.

What size bottle of Monkey 47 are you buying for $55?

Ummm... if you enjoy the taste, why do you require "mystique?"

Regards