The domestic martini

January 6, 2007 11:40 AM

My parents have been given a bottle of imported gin for Christmas. They are teetotal. While I do drink, I hate gin. Does gin have any household applications?

By household applications, I mean things such as cleaning metal, polishing surfaces, deterring squirrels, etc... The things you would find in a "Top tips" section in Chat! magazine or such.

posted by randomination to home & garden (47 comments total)

Oh, dear. You can't seriously be thinking of using a bottle of gin to scour the kitchen sink? What's next, disinfecting the toilet with single malt scotch?

If you don't like gin, give the bottle to someone who will appreciate it.
posted by Dasein at 11:46 AM on January 6, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Why not sell your unopened bottle of gin on craigslist or something? It's hard to imagine household uses for gin that wouldn't be satisfied by inexpensive rubbing alcohol.
posted by grouse at 11:46 AM on January 6, 2007

I don't think many people would buy a bottle of gin from Turkey. Unless they would use it to scour the sink.
posted by randomination at 11:49 AM on January 6, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Keep it around the house to serve to guests?
posted by sindark at 11:49 AM on January 6, 2007

(also, it's already been opened)
posted by randomination at 11:49 AM on January 6, 2007

I don't know of anyone who likes gin, but I do know people that dig a martini... I agree with keeping it around for guests.
posted by rolypolyman at 11:53 AM on January 6, 2007

I don't think many people would buy a bottle of gin from Turkey.

you don't know many drunks then. ask a very reasonable price, you'll sell it
posted by matteo at 11:56 AM on January 6, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

How much do you hate gin? Could you still cook with it? It's not quite deterring squirrels, but there are gin based sauces out there.

This is, of course, assuming that either you live apart from your parents, or that their teetotaling doesn't extend to alcohol in sauces. If neither is the case, then it's an extra bad suggestion.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:01 PM on January 6, 2007

I don't know. . . I love gin, and I love to try different kinds. Surely you must know someone who enjoys gin? Giving it to them (or bartering for some other liquor you do enjoy) seems like a better solution than using it for household cleaning.

The Craigslist idea doesn't seem too far-fetched, either, except that the bottle has been opened already. Honestly, plenty of gin-lovers would be curious to try this (unless there's something I don't know about gin from Turkey).
posted by katie at 12:04 PM on January 6, 2007

Donate it to a bum.
posted by fire&wings at 12:15 PM on January 6, 2007

My parents don't usually have guests round, tbh. While my fiancée and I do, none of our friends really drink spirits. A huge bottle of nice-looking Cuban rum was left unopened for a year and a half on our shelf before we brought it to a party and left it there.

I hate wasting stuff - hence the question - so I'd be game to try cooking with it. Tomato and gin soup?
posted by randomination at 12:16 PM on January 6, 2007

No. No tomato & gin soup. It is forbidden by the cuisine gods and with good reason.

My dad used to clean my glasses with vodka when I was a kid (but then, alcohol didn't sit around undrunk in our house) and it worked pretty well. Perhaps gin might do the same thing? Sure, it will take you a few years to use up a bottle but well, worth a try.
posted by mygothlaundry at 12:30 PM on January 6, 2007

Could I use it to get rid of the mildew in my bathroom because of this? (I like solving one problem with another)
posted by randomination at 12:34 PM on January 6, 2007

Don't use it to clean your glasses. Don't use it to get rid of the mildew in your bathroom. Drink it, or give it to someone that will. Otherwise it's a sin. Or a party foul. Pick one. Gin is for drinking.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:40 PM on January 6, 2007

Just flush it down the toilet and be done with it. Or better leave it on a park bench...
posted by mycapaciousbottega at 12:41 PM on January 6, 2007

(Have you tried it with cranberry juice? You might be pleasantly surprised, adds the girl who is even now drinking her Bombay and cranberry. It's good for you.)
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:41 PM on January 6, 2007

Do you really not know anyone who likes gin? It seems like a sin to waste a good bottle like that. I agree with fire&wings: give it to a bum rather than use it for some stupid household-cleaning job.
posted by languagehat at 12:59 PM on January 6, 2007

I like gin. why don't you swap it with someone on MeFi for some booze you do enjoy?
posted by sindas at 1:10 PM on January 6, 2007

(careful using alcohol on your glasses if the lenses are plastic and coated - I say this with a mess of scratches in my lenses from using with ethanol and methanol at work)
posted by twoporedomain at 1:15 PM on January 6, 2007

You don't want to use gin to clean stuff. One of the defining attributes of vodka is its absence of smell and taste (although fools will argue otherwise) while gin is made with herbs and whatnot and definitely has a smell and taste.
posted by furtive at 1:19 PM on January 6, 2007

You don't want to use gin to clean stuff. One of the defining attributes of vodka is its absence of smell and taste (although fools will argue otherwise) while gin is made with herbs and whatnot and definitely has a smell and taste.

In my experience, gin will get kind of sticky and nasty when it dries up in a glass, where vodka will not.
posted by blenderfish at 1:26 PM on January 6, 2007

Are you sure you don't like Gin? Take a look at some Gin drink recipes. Give it a shot.
posted by xammerboy at 1:32 PM on January 6, 2007

I appreciate everyone's amazement - I know if somebody said "I have a bottle of Tuscan red wine. I don't like wine. Can I use it to dye my jumper red?" I'd be up in arms too - but really, this stuff isn't going to get drunk and for reasons stated above I can't really give it away.

And the area of London where I grew up really doesn't need any more vagrants.
posted by randomination at 1:38 PM on January 6, 2007

I'm wondering if there might be a way to turn it into a room fragrance (candle, lamp oil) but if you don't like the taste of gin, my guess is that you won't like the smell either.

It will keep, even opened, so I'd be inclined towards leaving it at a party. Or donating it to the proprietors of a local Turkish kebaberie.
posted by holgate at 1:58 PM on January 6, 2007

I've had an interest in Victorian-era domestic science for a longish time now, and one of my all-time favourite 'tips' was to clean your ribbons in gin. Have you or yours any hair fripperies?
posted by kmennie at 2:16 PM on January 6, 2007

Apparently you can use gin as a medium to transfer photographs onto clay.
posted by footnote at 2:30 PM on January 6, 2007

Ah, my friend, let me introduce you to the joys of the gin fizz, a once-popular drink now sadly neglected. Made properly (and perhaps with more juice than the recipe calls for), there's not a hint of gin to be tasted. A delicious treat! (And this is coming from another person who doesn't care for the taste of gin.)
posted by jdroth at 3:11 PM on January 6, 2007

Gin has many uses in the kitchen. For example, you could use it to cook devilled kidneys (that classic student standby); the alcohol will burn off, leaving a pleasant aromatic flavour. Jane Grigson has a recipe for lemon and gin sauce (zest of 1 lemon, 3 heaped tablespoons sugar, 1 cup water; simmer till sugar dissolved, then add 3 tablespoons gin and juice of 1 lemon) which you could pour over a steamed pudding. Sophie Grigson has a version of the same recipe; she suggests it as a way to make apricots less boring, by simmering them in the sauce, then serving with ice cream. Then of course there's always sloe gin or other fruit liqueurs, which is a good way to use up a lot of gin at once, should you need to.

I can see why you might not like the taste of gin; it's one of those very counter-intuitive tastes (like marmalade, or very bitter chocolate), and it takes time to get used to it. But I do urge you to give it another try. Wine is for dinner parties; beer is for crowded pubs; but gin is for intimate social occasions; gin sharpens the wits; gin is for indiscreet gossip; gin is for bitchy conversations with friends who share your prejudices. Gin has very happy memories for me. It may be that you don't like the taste because you've been served very cheap gin (which can indeed be horrible); you should try an upmarket brand before concluding definitively that gin is not for you.
posted by verstegan at 3:11 PM on January 6, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

If you know absolutely no-one who likes gin at all or is interested in unusual spirits, and you will never attend a party with people who may like gin, and you'll never have or attend a party for which you will make punch, and you aren't willing to let it take up a corner of a cabinet for guests...then you could just dump it.
posted by desuetude at 3:18 PM on January 6, 2007

Oh man, that's too bad you want to use it for more domestic applications, because a good Tom Collins'll cure what ails ya.
posted by parilous at 3:24 PM on January 6, 2007

For example, you could use it to cook devilled kidneys (that classic student standby); the alcohol will burn off, leaving a pleasant aromatic flavour.

Sorry to be difficult, but I'm vegetarian.

I'll try the recipe with the apricots though - I likes those.
posted by randomination at 3:31 PM on January 6, 2007

Aftershave
posted by hortense at 4:10 PM on January 6, 2007

I use gin when a recipe calls for juniper berries. Juniper is the most identifiable aroma in gin -- IMO, the berries taste like leather, and the reduced gin is nicer.
posted by wryly at 4:54 PM on January 6, 2007

In three syllables, re-gifting.
posted by KRS at 5:02 PM on January 6, 2007

From foodtv.com:

Grilled Lemon-and-Gin Marinated Chicken
Recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon rind
1/4 cup gin
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 whole skinless boneless chicken breasts

In a shallow dish whisk together the lemon juice, the gin, the oregano, the salt, the sugar and pepper to taste, add the oil in a stream, whisking, and whisk the marinade until it is emulsified. Add the chicken, coating it well with the marinade, and let it marinate, covered and chilled, for 20 minutes. Grill the chicken, reserving the marinade, on an oiled rack set about 6 inches over glowing coals for 7 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked through.

On the other hand, realsimple.com's references to Gin are all about beverages or Humphrey Bogart, so I'd say you can't use it around the house.
posted by seymour.skinner at 5:07 PM on January 6, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

He's vegetarian, seymour.
posted by goo at 7:12 PM on January 6, 2007

Work out a trade with one of your lush pals. They get your weird gin, you get a nice bottle of wine. Fair's fair?
posted by sixacross at 7:18 PM on January 6, 2007

Are you American or something? This is about as weird as it gets ;-)

Trade it or give it to you friends. Someone will like it.

The chicken sounds goood though ;-)
posted by KimG at 7:33 PM on January 6, 2007

What kind is it, it could be really evillish bad or very very good of course, and someone is bound to know even the strangest stuff.
posted by KimG at 7:37 PM on January 6, 2007

Aftershave

Ha!
posted by intermod at 7:59 PM on January 6, 2007

I know of a printer who uses a particular cheap brand of gin to clean metal printing plates. He says it works better than the more-expensive commercial cleaning products.
posted by Monk at 8:19 PM on January 6, 2007

You might not like drinking gin per se, (as I don't) but can you get hold of any sloe berries and convert it to delicious sloe gin?
posted by biffa at 5:35 AM on January 7, 2007

Hey, don't scoff the aftershave comment. Many rugged Hemingway types make their own aftershave out of rum. I dont see why a nice floral gin shouldn't work well. Get a mason jar add some nice-smelling herbs and put it in a dark cool place for a few weeks. This'll make a great aftershave, just need to figure out whay herbs you like.

Bay leaves and citrus zest seem to be popular.

Many gins are flavored with lavender which is great for applications like this; but might be too "feminine". Most dude aftershaves are a bit spicier. Make sure you don't use anything that is an irritant. No capsicum extract etc.
posted by Telf at 4:22 PM on January 7, 2007

A friend infused a bottle full of gin with blueberries - poured out about 1/4 of the gin, replaced the volume with fresh blueberries, and let it sit for a few weeks. You'd think that'd be nasty, but it was surprisingly delicious, neat.

On the other hand, when occhiblu told me it was Turkish gin, I rolled my eyes.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:37 PM on January 7, 2007

Damsen or sloe gin is easy to make, and will end up tasting significantly different (and can also go into cocktails itself try www.extratasty.com ). If you want, you could make damsen gin, re-bottle it, and give that out as birthday gifts, in a small bottle it makes a pleasant present. and the concerns of the bottle being opened have no hold over homemade presents.
posted by Iananan at 4:16 PM on January 9, 2007

I hate gin. I can't stop drinking gin fizz at parties though, when someone brings some. Go figure. Recently at a boring marriage I almost drank the whole salad bowl. :)

I'd save it for when guests come, or for the next time you throw a party. Girls love Gin Fizz. Use fresh lemon or lime for an awesome experience :) .

Maybe use a site like www.webtender.com to find new drinks.
posted by CamilleLambert at 12:19 PM on January 10, 2007

I'm n'thing the sloe/damson gin idea. I hate plain gin, but I will drink my dad's sloe gin. It's best left for as long as possible, so it'll make good presents for next Christmas if you still can't stand it yourself.

Unfortunately, now is the wrong time of year to find sloes, but a quick Google turned up similar ideas using raspberries and blackcurrants. So if you don't want to hold onto it until next autumn to get the sloes, I'd think you'd be able to use any soft berry fruit. The fruit doesn't have to look pretty, so hang around the supermarket and see if they have any out-of-season, flown in from far off places, soft fruit on special offer because it's about to go off...
posted by Helga-woo at 12:57 PM on January 10, 2007