Although it is fairly icy cold in Melbourne and probably best suited to a whiskey and a fireplace, today is World Gin Day and I do not wish to attract the displeasure of the World Gin Police. Drunk Pynchonette and I have a resolutely summery gin old-fashioned each.

The particular gin is Tanqueray No. 10, pulled from the same top-shelf p. 303 Bleeding Edge bar (“elaborately carved in a number of neo-Egyptian motifs”) that brought you Stolichnaya Elit. Maybe head back to that post for the deets on the party.

I’m reliably informed that Tanqeray No. 10 is a fruitier, more floral version of the normal Tanqueray London Dry Gin. At the time of Bleeding Edge, Tanq 10 would have only been on the market for about a year—it was introduced in 2000. Now it’s August 2001, “microsoft XP has just emerged from beta.” The Tworkeffx honchos, or at least the “out of work hackers” and “street-level drug dealers” tending their bar, are up to the minute on their fancy booze as well as their technology.

My gin old-fashioneds consist of a shot of the Tanq 10, a teaspoon of simple syrup, and a dash of angostura bitters, basically like the traditional bourbon Old-Fashioned we sipped with Slothrop. I’ve never been a gin drinker in the past, but I’m finding these mightily enjoyable. The first impression is a bit medicinal, but that unfolds into a complex subtle floral citrusy delight. They taste still recognisably like an old-fashioned, but an old-fashioned from a super-fresh alternative universe.

Happy world gin day. Now where’s my whiskey.