Yes, gin.

You see, I am a marketers dream. I watch an advert for chocolate on TV, I want chocolate. I read in a magazine that Rimmel / Maybelline / Lancome have created a new mascara and I go and buy it even though at last count I had approximately 27 mascaras. I see someone talking about karaoke on Twitter and I’m on singnap Lucky Voice Home before you can say “I really don’t want to be your friend any more, you loser”.

So when the nice people at Gordon’s emailed and offered to send me a bottle of gin and some assorted goodies for some Friday funtimes, I instantly thought “Do you know what, I really fancy a gin and tonic.”

For the record, I don’t think I’ve ever had a gin and tonic in my life.

Until now.

It worked, of course. The free gin, the retro branded glasses and the Gordon Ramsay cookbook won me over, and not only can I now knock up a pretty good Friday evening beef stir fry, I am also gin convert. After years of drinking Archers and diet coke (no, really, it’s amazing) and buckets of white wine, I will now, occasionally, have a gin and tonic with a wedge of lime instead. This is partly because the people at Archers have yet to offer me free stuff, but also because gin’s actually really nice. Who knew? It’s also a slightly more sophisticated drink than the alcopops, apple sours and white chocolate Corky’s I used to drink on Friday nights in my youth.

I say ‘youth’, I mean ‘three years ago’.

We’ll be giving away the Gordon’s Friday Pack on Domestic Sluttery soon, so keep your eyes out for that if you too want free booze and the chance to ruin perfectly simple recipes. Staying in is the new going out, after all.