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Gin and Tonic
The summer drink par-excellence. The supposedly humble Gin and Tonic has had quite a journey from its origins in colonial India, where Gin was used to cover the quinine tasting, super strength anti-malaria Tonic. Today's Tonic is fortunately much weaker and the Gin and Tonic survives as a wonderful thirst quencher, forever to be associated with an Englishman abroad in a hot climate. After a rocky ride in the 70s and 80s the Gin and Tonic made a big comeback at the end of the last century. With the boring Lemon replaced with a more sophisticated Lime garnish and a high quality Gin, the G&T becomes a subtle drink to savour. The garnish is of course absolutely essential to the balanced flavour of a perfect G&T. Be careful, however, not to overdo the Lime. A single slice or wedge, provides an adequate citrus edge to compliment the botanicals and Tonic. Give it a gentle squeeze to release just a few drops of juice, wipe round the edge of the glass and then drop it into the drink.
Mix
2 shots of Gin
Top up with Tonic Water
Shake
Build the cocktail in the glass, fill it with ice, add the Gin and Tonic, squeeze the lime wedge into the glass, run the wedge round the rim of the glass and gently stir.
Pour
Serve in a Collins glass and garnish with a squeezed lime wedge, wiped around the rim of the glass.
Ingredient Profile
Lime completes a mouth watering Gin and Tonic cocktail.
More on the Gin and Tonic
Nicholas Coldicott provides an excellent discussion of the finer points of G&T construction.
Kaiser Penguin on the summer essence of the G&T and a taste test for the most compatible Gins with this fabulous cooler.
David Wondrich revives a particularly evocative G&T quote from the Esquire Handbook for Hosts (1947): "The tonic is a sparkling water containing one grain of quinine. Sounds terrible, but wait until you try it! It's the drink of the tropics from the Sailors' Bar at Cartagena to the cool verandah of the Myrtle Bank Hotel at Kingston, Jamaica, and Christophe's Citadel at Milot, Haiti."
Serve with a double measure of Bombay Sapphire gin, in an Rocks glass, with lime (it must be lime) for a variation on the G and T known as Suave Juice. Created by the Cambridge Massive.
Shot by Shot Guide
PartyCocktails.com's shot by shot guide shows how to mix a Gin and Tonic cocktail. Don't forget to check out our Top Ten Tips For Mixing Cocktails
Fill the glass to the top with ice.
Top up the glass with Tonic Water.
Gently stir.
Taste the cocktail and if necessary adjust the balance with a touch of extra sugar or citrus juice.
Garnish the cocktail with a squeezed lime wedge, wiped around the rim of the glass.