Cocktail recipe
Gin & Tonic
Crisp gin botanicals lifted by lively tonic, citrus oils and a pleasantly bitter finish.
Ingredients
- 50 ml (1⅔ oz) London dry gin
- 150 ml (5 oz) chilled premium tonic water
- 1 large lime wedge (approximately 10 ml / ⅓ oz juice if squeezed lightly)
- plenty of solid ice.
- Garnish: Fresh lime wedge or thin lime wheel.
Preparation
Chill the glass, then fill it firmly with ice. Pour gin down the side and add tonic slowly to preserve its bubbles. Lift once, gently, with a bar spoon—no vigorous stirring. Express the lime wedge lightly over the rim and settle it among the ice. The tonic should remain bright and effervescent through the last sip.
Glassware
Chilled highball glass
History
The Gin & Tonic emerged from the meeting of gin, carbonated tonic water and quinine's medicinal history, often associated with British colonial India. The familiar story that British officers invented the modern drink specifically to make antimalarial quinine palatable is more precise than surviving evidence warrants. Quinine-containing tonics evolved commercially in the nineteenth century, and today's tonic contains far less quinine than medicinal preparations. The drink's worldwide popularity owes as much to bottled tonic, ice and the highball format as to any single inventor. Modern botanical garnishes are interpretations, not proof of early practice.
Mixology View
A G&T is an exercise in proportion. Use tonic that complements the gin instead of burying it in sweetness; 1:3 is our crisp starting point, adjustable for gin strength and tonic intensity.