Gin

The lowdown -- Today, the Homewood House museum hosts its annual Crazy For Gin, a celebration of the liquor's history. Nelson Carey and Chris Attenborough from Grand Cru Wine Bar will discuss gin's past and also offer different kinds of the liquor for tasting. WYPR-FM director Andy Bienstock is the master of ceremonies. If you go -- The event is 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Homewood House museum, 3400 N. Charles St. Admission is $20 for members and $25 for nonmembers. RSVPs are required. Call 410-516-5589 or go to www.museums.

George's, which takes up a fair portion of the first floor of the Peabody Court Hotel, has a warm inviting atmosphere. It couples a bed and breakfast sensibility with a leather-couchy, dimly lit lounge area that makes for a decent dining - and especially drinking - experience. Bartender John Hartz and crew recently redesigned their drink menu to include a wide range of classic cocktails and one particularly refreshing gin drink: The Garden. The Garden's name may conjure images of floral notes, bright colors and sweet tastes, and you'd be mostly right.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Nick Zito has so much admiration for the way Go For Gin has endured the grueling Triple Crown series this spring that the trainer referred to his horse yesterday as "a New York knight in shining armor."The 3-year-old colt drew the rail and was made the 9-5 favorite yesterday when a seven-horse field was entered for the 126th running of the Belmont Stakes, being run tomorrow at Belmont Park.In addition to Go For Gin, the Belmont lineup includes Preakness winner Tabasco Cat; a pair of colts, Strodes Creek and Brocco, who finished second and fourth, respectively, in the Kentucky Derby, but skipped the Preakness; and three long shots, Amathos, Signal Tap and Ulises, a speed horse.

With its brushed-metal table tops and industrial chic atmosphere, XS is no stranger to making your dining and drinking experience as close to a nightclub as possible. One of the perks: black lights. Why? The Illuminati cocktail. The Illuminati, a citrusy version of a traditional Gin and Tonic, takes advantage of the black lights at the bar and gives the drinker something of a bonus - it glows. Quinine in the tonic water has a fluorescent effect (The More You Know), so the more tonic, the brighter the glow.

Gin Talking closed in on her rivals while under a hammerlock, found room along the rail turning for home and burst through to win the $100,000 Grade III Anne Arundel Stakes yesterday at Laurel Park. Jockey Ramon Dominguez and Gin Talking beat 10 other 3-year-old fillies in 1 minute, 50 1/5 seconds for the nine furlongs. "At the top of the lane the rail opened up, and she just accelerated by the leader," Dominguez said. "She drew off on her own courage. Robin [Graham, the trainer] has done such a magnificent job with this horse.

My mother read somewhere that vodka-soaked white raisins might be good for arthritis. She is now eating nine a day. Mom has taken quite a bit of ribbing from the family. What is the benefit from this formula? Can you provide any written details about how to prepare them and how often she should eat them, how they should be stored, etc.? We first heard about a gin-raisin remedy in 1994. Some folks tell us it is worthless, while others sing its praises. Here is just one example: "This remedy has worked for me for over two years.

Trainer Nick Zito had some somber news when he arrived at Pimlico with his Preakness starter, Star Standard. Zito's 1994 Kentucky Derby winner, Go For Gin, who was runner-up to Tabasco Cat in last year's Preakness, has been retired.The 4-year-old son of Cormorant suffered "a tear in his tendon sheath," Zito said. The injury occurred Monday during a workout at Belmont Park in preparation for the May 29 Metropolitan Mile.Go For Gin last raced on Derby Day when he was third in the Churchill Downs Handicap.

The phenomenon of the mass craze -- "an insane or irrational fancy, a mania," according to the OED -- often combines the unknown or near-unknown with what, in retrospect, seems like inevitability. Who could have predicted, say, the Hula Hoop? The Pet Rock? On the very dark side, lynchings have blighted U.S. history. A provocative foray into the phenomenon is Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason, by Jessica Warner (Four Walls Eight Windows, 264 pages, $24.95). This gin craze occurred in London, between 1720 and 1751.

Gin Talking, the reigning Maryland-bred Horse of the Year, was retired yesterday because of tendon damage in her left foreleg. Robin Graham, her trainer at Laurel Park, said an ultrasound scan revealed the damage after she noticed "different" swelling in a troublesome tendon. "The vet said this was something that might be OK," said Lou Rehak, who owns the filly with Willie White and Bob Orndorff as Skeedattle Associates. "But we just decided to retire her. She's been way too good to us to take a chance of hurting her."

Kentucky Derby winner Go For Gin got his first look at Pimlico's racetrack yesterday, and then he got a chance to check out some of his competitors for the May 21 Preakness.Trainer Nick Zito sent Go For Gin to the track for a light gallop yesterday morning, and he said he plans to do the same the rest of the week."He shipped well and looks great," said Zito of Go For Gin, who was bedded down at approximately midnight Tuesday after a van trip from Kentucky. "He ran a big race in the Derby and came out of it fine."

The best and simplest way to mark and celebrate National Grammar Day is to savor a traditional martini, a grammartini. Gin or (if you must) vodka. Straight up or on the rocks. Olive or lemon peel. Four to one, five to one, or six to one. (But if you go eight to one or higher, you might as well take your gin neat.) No need for dogmatism; this is America. For anyone requiring instruction, this traditional video should suffice .

Evoking family nostalgia with a little sparkle, the Concord Fizz at Timonium's Five: A Martini Bar, adjacent to and owned by the Christopher Daniel restaurant, is a punchy drink for the holiday season. Add in rosemary, a key ingredient to this grape- and gin-based cocktail and you even get the Christmas tree. Bar manager Eric Myers found inspiration for this unique martini in an unlikely place. "I've wanted to use grapes in a drink forever. I remembered loving my grandmother's grape jelly meatballs with rosemary; the two played really well off of each other.

Despite the fact that they all hate gin,    the members of the gang find themselves congregating in some random gin-bar in Philadelphia. Why? Because Facebook told them too. This inspires the gang, who get caught up in an infuriated rant, and decide that Paddy's needs to bump up its web presence. Hilarity ensues. Don't ever shush Dennis:  Dennis hates two things - gin and being shushed. Both of which he was served at the anonymous gin-bar. This man - aka the shusher - has really gotten under Dennis' skin.

Vespertine: being nocturnal or nightly; a popular album by Bjork; a drink created by author Ian Fleming in his first James Bond novel, “Casino Royale”; my favorite new cocktail at The Chameleon Café in Lauraville. When it comes to mixing up a quality drink, Chameleon's general manager - and self-proclaimed cocktail nerd - Matt Weaver means serious business. The drink list, created by Weaver just eight months ago, is an impressive tribute to Prohibition-era libations with a twist, or as Weaver says, “classic cocktails with character.”  Take the Vespertine, a clever spin on the Bond martini.

This spring, if you compare your food and drink menus, you might see a few striking similarities. Move over, mint. As the weather gets warmer, basil, dill, thyme and lavender — herbs once relegated to the kitchen — are popping up in mixed drinks at Baltimore bars and restaurants. Bartenders are taking chances by muddling basil and strawberries in a spiked lemonade, tossing dried thyme into martinis made with tomato-infused vodka and swapping the lime in gin and tonics for cucumber and dill.

Bad Decisions owner John Reusing made a name for himself with off beat drinks such as the Cucumber Dill Gin-and-Tonic. His inspiration? Cucumber dill happens to be the flavor of a dip Reusing likes. "I was like, ‘If it's good enough to dip potato chips in, I could probably make something delicious to drink with it,' " he said. Reusing played around with the ingredients some, searching for gins which would bring out the dill and cucumber's natural flavors. Here is Reusing's recipe for the drink: Cucumber Dill Gin and Tonic In a rocks glass gently muddle 2 sprigs of fresh dill Add three long, skinny slices of cucumber Fill with ice, then add: 3/4 oz. of Hendrick's Gin 3/4 oz. Hayman's Old Tom Gin Fill with tonic water Add two drops of Gioiello Nonino Citrus Tree Honey Spirit on top of the drink Sam Sessa

Bettors have made sixth-place Kentucky Derby finisher Tabasco Cat a surprising early Preakness Stakes choice over Kentuky Derby winner Go For Gin.Go For Gin is listed as the 2-1 favorite by Pimlico Race Course oddsmaker, Clem Florio.But after $179,627 was initially wagered on the race yesterday, Tabasco Cat is the 5-2 favorite over Go For Gin at 3-1.The rest of the early Preakness odds are: Blumin Affair, 7-2; the Robert Meyerhoff entry of Concern and Looming, 6-1; Numerous, 8-1; Silver Goblin, 9-1; Kandaly, 12-1; Powis Castle, 16-1 and Polar Expedition, 30-1.

Three consecutive victories late last year, including one against males, earned Gin Talking the title of Maryland-bred Horse of the Year. The 3-year-old filly closed out 2000 with commanding wins in the Maryland Million Oaks, Grade III Anne Arundel Stakes and Broad Brush Stakes. In the Broad Brush, Gin Talking defeated her seven male challengers by two lengths. In voting conducted by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Gin Talking also was named champion 3-year-old filly. "That was really, really cool," said Gin Talking's trainer, Robin Graham, of Horse of the Year honors.

Question: :: I read about the gin-raisin method for dealing with arthritis and decided to give it a try. None of the many medicines I had tried worked even the slightest bit. Every morning I awoke with severe swelling in my hands and arms, with the joints so stiff I couldn't touch my thumbs to my palms. The pain was excruciating. The day after eating my first daily dose of nine gin-soaked raisins, the morning swelling in my arms and hands was gone. It was probably coincidence, but I thought it was amazing that I had no pain for the first time in months.