I’m not going to lie. My usual standards for buying liquor involve price per ounce. (That’s a driving factor in wine purchases too, with the added factor of attractive labels. Hm… that’s kind of like how I buy manga.) But this year, my partner got me a bottle of Hendrick’s Gin for Valentine’s Day, and while I’ll have no problem going back to the rotgut when this bottle is empty, man, is it tasty.

I think I’d heard about it before in some article about awesome gins, but my partner picked it because the bottle is really cool and distinct. It looks like something you’d find in a Victorian apothecary’s shop. Reading the label, I was a little concerned by the sheer number of botanicals in play. (This was problematic in Tanqueray Malacca, which is delicious on its own but doesn’t mix with anything, even tonic. I think there’s something seedy about drinking gin straight, though that might just be me.)

But somehow, cucumber and rose petals and all the other things that go into Hendrick’s make for really delicious gin, and it makes a wonderful martini. The taste of the gin definitely changes with the addition of vermouth, but the two don’t clash, becoming something uniquely tasty. (With the rotgut I usually favor, vermouth is a necessary edge-softener as opposed to a useful flavor note.) I haven’t tried Hendrick’s with tonic yet, but I suspect that will work nicely too.

I keep thinking about coming up with a comics-beverage pairing list, though I can’t think right off hand what reading material would best compliment a Hendrick’s martini. (Maybe Suppli?) I find that bathtub manga (generally classified as beautifully illustrated stuff on or near the shôjo-josei border, or anything by Fumi Yoshinaga) goes best with a red that’s on the dry side, but I haven’t done much experimentation beyond that. And I don’t drink much beer, so I have no idea what a good beer manga would be.