Reader: If gin is good enough for the Queen Mum...

The beloved juniper berry.

Is gin really "the original flavored vodka"? That's what Sean Kenyon suggested in his recent Ask the Bartender devoted to gin, and more than one reader took exception to the description. But it didn't bother Harvey, who loves gin no matter how it's categorized:

I love gin. But my brother the doctor said to stick with vodka because gin is poison. What he meant was "impure" and the body metabolizes vodka more cleanly. The exception? the Queen Mum, whose daily dose of gin helped her make it past 100.

Ah, sweet, sweet gin. The juniper berry of my eye.