Today's cocktail: Gin and Tonic

Today's ingredients: gin, tonic, lime wedge

If you've been with us for awhile here, you might remember that I started this blog as I was leaving my last job. While it hasn't turned into a source of any income (that was really just a side benefit if it happened), I was reminded the other day of what kicked this thing off in the first place: simplicity.

I was getting checked out at the doctor's office (nothing bad, just routine), and as part of the usual process, I had my blood pressure taken. Now, I've had a notion for a bit that my stress levels have plummeted since the beginning of the year when I left the corporate life and started building up my radio and theater work again to pay the bills. At my old job, we had one of those blood pressure machines where you stick your arm in the sleeve, push a button, and wait for the results. I was always a little wary of the setup since I couldn't fit my arm all the way in past my elbow (I don't have a gun permit because I don't have guns--it was just a fairly small opening that made me wonder if a lot of people who SHOULD be checking their blood pressure actually could, but anyway).

Toward the end of my employment there, my blood pressure would routinely register around 140/100, give or take a few points. That's not good. It's not terrible, but it's definitely not good, falling in that pre-hypertension range on most days. Most doctors will tell you that a somewhat ideal reading is 120/80, and for most of the checkups I can remember, I was at or below that number, so seeing the elevated readings--granted, they were unofficial, in a busy setting, and smack in the middle of the source of most of my stress--probably made them self-fulfilling as I dreaded seeing similar numbers when I'd run the test every week or so, just to keep tabs.

Anyway, there I was, about four months later, sitting in the doctor's office, and the nurse throws on one of those newer automated sleeves, which I suppose are more accurate than the old steth-o-pump method, but I'm happy to embrace technology. She pushed the "go" button and walked out for a couple minutes, and I'm sitting there chuckling at the office's choice of Muzak (it was whatever you want to call the "Ace of Base" time period and genre) when the sleeve beeps. I looked down and thought the damned thing broke. 100/60. Forty. Friggin'. Points. In four months. Yes, I've been working out, and yes, I've been eating less and a little better (I stress-eat), and yes, I've noticed I've been sleeping better, but c'mon, forty points?

I'll take it.

Gin and Tonic

Speaking of simplicity, the wife and I are about to head off on our annual family beach trip. Her parents like to rent a house for a week and invite down whoever can make it. Usually, only a handful of people show up, though there are pictures of the entire clan being there in years past, but one of the foundational (and, dare I say, mandatory) activities of beach week is Cocktails in the Surf, and it's exactly what it sounds like: you set up a beach chair in the surf toward sunset (hopefully, the tide is coming in), and you sit there with drink in-hand as the water swishes to-and-fro. It's over whenever you feel like getting up, which is at least one drink, sometimes two. I married into this tradition, and I'm happy to be a part of it. Highly recommended.

So yeah, the drink. Quick, cheap, and easy:

• 2-3oz gin
• tonic water (to fill rest of glass)
• lime wedge
• Combine gin and tonic in rocks or highball glass (depending on how long you want it to last) filled with ice. Squeeze wedge of lime into glass, drop wedge in, and stir.

That's our preferred method. Some gins call for a lemon or even an orange wedge, but I don't find those to be as refreshing. Usually, we'll use New Amsterdam gin (cheaper and just as good as Tangueray) and whatever diet (keto-friendly) tonic water is at the grocery store). However, we happened upon a three-pack of St. George's gins during one of our recent package runs. These are fun and fairly distinctive in their characteristics:

• Botanivore (blue): this is your typical, straightforward gin--grass, loam
• Terroir (green): "like drinking the forest" (wife)--very piney
• Dry Rye (red): follows its namesake--rye, wood

These can be find in the mini-ish bottles pictured, which make them a good buy to get an idea of what can be done with gin flavor profiles. I haven't done a #simplysip review on these yet, but you're getting a preview here. If I had to buy a bottle, it would be the Terroir simply because (to me) it enhances the refreshing qualities of the tonic fizz and lime bite. I would drink the Dry Rye straight. Botanivore would appeal to folks who are used to sweeter, smoother, simpler gins. and would be the only one of the three with which I would want lime--the other two stand on their own. It's a good chance to have a mini tasting that doesn't instantly turn people away like with whiskey or tequila.

Or you could just make one for yourself and have a quiet sit-down. Those are always good.