Wow your guests with this deliciously refreshing cocktail and learn how to choose the best tonic water!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- This perfect G&T is super refreshing for summer
- Personalize the flavor profile or fit your budget by using your favorite type of gin
- A play on the classic gin and tonic, this drink looks fancy but is easy and quick to prepare
Elevate your home bar with a new signature cocktail for summer!
Whether you prefer to kick your feet up on the patio or lounge in a pool floatie, this simple recipe helps you make the best gin and tonic ever!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Add your favorite kind of gin to a highball glass.
- Pour in some blue curacao.
- Add a squeeze of lime.
- Top with as much tonic water as you prefer.
🥫 Storage
Since tonic is a type of carbonated water, it will go "flat" after opening. I don't recommend making these drinks in advance.
Plus, with a cocktail this good, your guests will want to slurp up every last drop!
However, you can make a pitcher of the gin, curacao, lime, and garnish a few hours ahead of time. Refrigerate until serving.
Then, simply pour in an ice-filled glass and top with tonic water to serve.
📖 Variations
- Garnish with a slice of lemon and some blueberries to pair with more herbaceous gins.
- Supplement the lime wedge with bitter orange slices for a different variety of citrus notes.
- Add a drop more of blue food coloring to enhance the curacao color. Or, use red food coloring to mix with the blue and make a purple drink for a floral gin!
- Use club soda, soda water, or lemon/lime soda in a pinch if you don't have tonic water.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: When mixing your G&T, use a long, thin bar spoon to gently lift from the bottom up. This way, you preserve the carbonation and keep all of those fizzy little bubbles intact!
- Fresh limes have the brightest, best flavor. So, for the perfect gin and tonic, pick a firm, heavier lime.
- There are lots of different types of gin, but if you're standing in the neverending liquor section at your local grocery store, don't fear! A good indicator of taste is price, so don't necessarily grab the cheapest one. Feel free to splurge a little.
- Some experts say that Bombay Sapphire is the best gin for a G&T because it has some unique aromatic botanicals that make it stand out from other London dry gins. At the end of the day though, it all comes down to personal preference!
- Pop your bottle of gin in the freezer to give it a slushy texture. The water content will start to freeze, but alcohol doesn't, creating a yummy, cooling summer beverage.
- The ratio of gin to tonic varies depending on what you like, but most prefer to aim for anywhere in between 1 part gin to 2 parts tonic, or, for a slightly stronger drink, 3 parts gin to 5 parts tonic.
🍸 What's the best tonic for gin & tonic cocktails?
When choosing the best tonic to pair with your gin, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Tonic Syrups
First, tonic syrups are not the same as tonic water.
Tonic syrups are actually flavored concentrate that you then mix with sparkling water to make tonic water. I don't love using them, because they add another ingredient and step to the recipe.
I'm all for the easy, here!
Flavored tonic waters
Then, there are flavored tonic waters.
You may have heard of elderflower tonic water to pair with herbal gins or even pre-flavored lemon tonic.
While these are okay options, they can sometimes overpower the authentic flavor of the gin. (And, if you splurged on good gin, why cover up its beautiful tasting notes?)
Best tonic waters
Overall, the best-all around option is either Fentiman's tonic water or Fever Tree's classic tonic water.
My family and friends prefer it to the highly competitive Q tonic brand, though all three tonics boast of using only the highest quality of quinine.
The flavors of Fentiman's and Fever Tree's tonic waters are fresh and fruity. These excellent tonic waters are a perfect balance—not at all overpowering—to the gin.
👩🍳 FAQs
A classic drink pairing the clear alcohol, gin, with carbonated tonic water. The cocktail is served over ice cubes and often garnished with lime.
Tonic water is a clear, sparkling soft drink. It contains bitter quinine, which comes from the bark of the cinchona tree. Originally designed to fight certain infections, modern-day tonic water uses less quinine in accordance with health recommendations. It's usually enhanced with some sweeteners and tangy citric acid.
📚 Related recipes
- This French Gin and Tonic has a flowery, elegant twist on a classic favorite thanks to a secret ingredient: vanilla.
- Another sweet and fun blue drink, Sex in the Driveway uses vodka, peach, and club soda—plus, you can make a big pitcher, too!
- Everybody loves the bubbles in this Fizzy St Germain Cocktail, complete with tangy flavors of ginger and Luxardo.
🍽️ Serve with...
📞 The last word
The classic gin and tonic cocktail is an iconic summer refresher. For the summer holidays add some color with blue curacao.
At it's most basic it is a highball cocktail that is make with gin and tonic water over ice. The usual garnish is a slice of lime but other garnishes such as lemon or orange show up, too.
It was introduced in the 1700s by the army of the British Easy India Company to help combat malaria in India and other tropical regions. Since quinine was used to prevent and treat malaria it was added to gin to help dilute the bitter taste of the quinine.
It's no longer a medicinal necessity so the amount of gin can vary according to taste - most often a ratio of 1:1 and 1:3 to tonic water.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Gin and Tonic Cocktail
Print Pin Recipe SaveIngredients
- 4 ounces gin, ,the best you can afford
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 cup tonic water
- 2 cups ice
- 1 ounce blue curacao
- 3 Maraschino cherries, for garnish
- lime wheels, for garnish
Instructions
- Add the gin to a glass.
- Pour in the blue curacao.
- Add a squeeze of lime and stir.
- Carefully pour in tonic water to taste.
- Garnish with lime wheels and maraschino cherries.
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published March 27, 2017. Last updated June 12 2022 for better images and instructions.
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