One can't escape the long arm of liquor.

I tried a new drink this evening, and gave an old attempt one more chance. That is, I mixed a gin and tonic, and found it wasn't quite so bad. It was better than a martini, but as I hinted at earlier, what wouldn't be?

The gin and tonic was created by the British army. No, really. The amounts of citrus (lime, mainly) and quinine required for health reasons (to prevent scurvy and malaria) by the British army in India bothered so many of the soldiers, they cut the foul flavors with gin. Simply, the tonic water (the delivery method for quinine) was so bad, they had to add liquor to make it taste better.

Tonic water still contains quinine, "for flavor," it's claimed. Less than previously, but still. What? It is terribly bitter, but not as bad as I remembered. Maybe the bartender was cutting back the gin to save money, or something. Anyway, I made a wee version -- This wiki claims you should use a highball, but I used a lowball, and cut the ingredients appropriately. I didn't want to waste gin, in case I hated the drink, right? Well, it was better than I remember, though the quinine is still bitter as a smart high schooler. I didn't have any lime, so maybe it'll be even better with. I'll find out, eventually.

The new drink was the mojito. Supposedly it was a favorite of Hemingway's, though he preferred it without sugar. Given what I know of his life, this isn't surprising -- he always did go out of his way to make his life worse for himself. Damn volunteer ambulance driver.

Anyway, I picked up a mix (everything but the liquor) out shopping tonight, and made the drink -- though it's a bit touchy, really. The back of the mix bottle claims one could make a "mojito spritzer" by adding club soda to the mix -- if you look closely at the wiki, club soda is part of the drink. So, what now? It's sugar, rum, and lime juice, mainly, so I figure I'll like the real thing if I ever gather together all the ingredients. I suppose the only difficult thing to find will be the mint leaves.

So, that's tonight's venture into debauchery. Incidentally, I added the line to the g&t's wiki about Bertie Wooster. Someone had to say something.

I become convinced that I have a low alcohol tolerance, by the way. I'm fuzzy/tired, the phase (or so I'm told) before tipsy, and I've only had an ounce of rum and 3/4 of an ounce of gin. Oops.