Gin is a delight! and with the stipulation that cocktails are meant to be palate stimulants, it becomes Queen of the Bar. Even the most frayed consumer can stem the tide of day by simply icing a shot, dashing in orange bitters, and downing - without thinking - and be refreshed enough to gather and exhale.
The next drink, though possibly stretching over a slightly longer period of time, need take no more thought, because ANYTHING dashed into Gin works. The attached spread of Gin Cocktails is ordered on this frayed experience. The first set of drinks is simply Gin with a splash of attitude. The next Gin and White [French] Vermouth -the Martini. The next the Martini with flair. . . . . so on. Each segment building on the previous. By the time you run through these you will own Gin.
APPROACH: I suggest a series of mini-drinks build on 1 oz of Gin only. The short ski approach allows you to sample several variations without over indulging or depleting your stocks. It also affords you the needed tasting proximity that leads to understanding the nuances. Consciousness is a ROM function - what is not in it is immediately gone, so to try something one night and expect to come back the next and try something new and remember the previous, is a doomed methodology. Make 2-3 minis at one time. Compare back and forth. Take notes. Make a full version of your favorite and sit back to enjoy. Nothing beats getting what we want and having it be as good as we expect.
The first set of Straight Gin drinks is designed to help you locate a gin or two that will become your Gin. Buy a [1] and a [2-3] - give yourself a range. You need to establish a base line because without it exploring other drinks will become a snare. You want to change only one variable at a time, otherwise the impact of that new ingredient will be lost in a gin or vermouth that has also changed.
The second set is designed to grapple with the Martini. To not come to grips with the Martini is to be doomed never to leave the temple, grasshopper. You don't have to like it wildly but like a navy blazer and khakies, with out mastering it you will forever be out of step.
From here it is a yellow brick road of adventure - the next two segments take the Martini and either add an edge with the herbal Benedictine or smooth it out with the Maraschino/Violette liqueurs. Ultimately you arrive at what must be considered as the finest drink ever conceived - the Aviation of circa WWI NYC German bartender Hugo Enslinn.
The next section is akin to the previous only without the White Vermouth. These will be a bit cleaner if you will - vermouth has a very sophisticated layering about it, that without, will leave you with a drink that is more a flavored Gin.
Finally the section of Red Vermouth Gin drinks is a bold category that is virtually unknown even in today's retrosepctive homage to the Classics. And by the time you get to the Negroni and the Jasmine you are half way to Manhattan.
REMEMBER: If it's not quite the drink you want,
a)
determine the culprit ingredient.
b)
Then change the dosage first. Than will generally satisfy. If the flavor profile still falls short in your assessment,
c)
then drop it and substitute a similar product, such as a different level of Vermouth or one fruit brandy or liqueur for another.