Saturday 20 October 2007

Optic-free country


It still gives me a ridiculous, childish thrill when I order a gin and tonic here and it's placed on the bar. There's none of that nannying, Blair/Brown knows best how-many-units-a week-do-you-drink-you-hopeless-alky nonsense. The barman or barmaid just spins the top off the bottle of Gordon's or whatever and gives the glass a good glugging. Some bars are more generous than others of course, but it's all part of the learning process. The Haiti bar, for example, fills the glass up to the sodding rim, which even I find a bit hard going when there's a long wine-filled night ahead. Anway, this example is from Voglino in the centre of town and, yes I know, there are ice cubes in the glass and a slice of lemon, but that is still one mother of a (Tanqueray) gin. Note the bottle of tonic is untouched. Incidentally, should they put me up against the wall and if I were to be asked for a final beverage, I think the G&T would do the job nicely. But an Italian one of course.

1 comment:

Peter Ashley said...

I seem to recall (hazily) that Ron Combo and I indulged in catering-sized gins in a bar in New York and the whole unseemly episode ended-up with my being flung out on to the pavement of New Amsterdam Avenue.