Reformed Cynic

Benchmarking: A Gin & Tonic at Samurai Boston

Shopping, if only of the window variety, consumes far more of my time than I'd like to admit. On a shopping jaunt to the Prudential Center, I decided to have a quick bite and refreshment at Samurai, a Korean-Japanese eatery across the street.

Discreetly lit and below street level eatery, I found a seat at the bar and asked for a gin and tonic, not specifying a spirit. I received a refreshing,slightly tart, if somewhat weak drink. Garnished with a slice of lime and perhaps a 1:4 ratio of gin to tonic, it ranked as just fine, but not especially noteworthy.

The drink being somewhat dilute was a mixed blessing, as it didn't overpower my sushi, which was pretty good. When I received my bill, I found that I'd received a Hendricks and Tonic, which I did not discern while drinking it. Did the lime overpower the Hendricks, or did the standard-issue tonic water do so?

The moral of the story? Perhaps I ought to have Sake or plum wine when enjoying sushi.

Other Things Equal: Benchmarking with Gin and Tonic

In visiting a new bar, I realized that I could order new and interesting drinks off the menu and rate each cocktail (and bar) on its own merits, but in order to judge quality as compared to its peers, I needed a measure by which consistent judgments could be made, a benchmark.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a benchmark as "something that serves as a standard by which others may be measured or judged", but in the varying world of cocktails, what could serve as that reference? To my mind, it must be a  popular classic, so I don't have to endure the horror of explaining to the bartender what it is, or how to make it (surprisingly, the Sidecar falls victim to this all too often) . To this end, I've selected the Gin and Tonic as my measure - popular, available anywhere with a spirits license, and one would think difficult to ruin.  I plan to feature a weekly G&T review at a nearby location, at home, on the road, or even visiting with friends who have a well-stocked bar.

My first installment in this series will be the Gin and Tonic as served at the Uno's restaurant on Boylston Street in Boston, MA. Yes, it's no foodie paradise, but I volunteer nearby and find their cocktails to be exceptionally inexpensive. Over the years the quality of a good G&T here has varied, but since the menu revamps and rebranding attempts by Uno's over the past year or two, the baseline has improved.

On a recent stop for refreshment, I ordered a G&T with house gin (Tanqueray), and received a pleasant 3:1 mix - in my tastebuds' estimation - of tonic to gin in an appropriately sized glass. Yes, it was the usual HFCS-sweetened tonic, and apparently Tanqueray has fallen out of popular esteem in some circles, but Uno's Boylston is a solid performer and will be my go-to if I need to unwind w/o paying a premium.