> It is a shame that the days of gin are immediately replaced with
> vodka.
I agree, that gin has fallen by the wayside in popular drinking with the only
exception being the gin and tonic. Then again, when I began bartending over 20
years ago, a bar wasn't a bar without at least 15 kinds of bourbon - bourbons
with the name "old" in them, not $8 single batch barrel selections.
I think it is an overall U.S. trend in two directions:
1. Expensive = quality
2. Tasteless = quality. Without making a statement in taste - like gin, scotch
or bourbon - you can drink expensive and bland. Grey Goose must be better than
Smirnoff, despite over 100 years of history. I won't comment here that the
same applies to TV, movies, or music - overprocessed and bland is "safer" than
assertive.
As a final note, I am amazed that other liquors are jumping on the trend to
take the distinctive taste out of their product - the new Bacardi rums are
triple filtered, and my old favorite, tequila, now has less bite than a week
old lime!