Gin & Tonic FAQ

Nikki and her pal Amber were over last night and queried me on the secret of my superior gin and tonics.

Making an ideal gin and tonic is a dirt simple but wildly misunderstood process. People think it's some mystical process, like turning lead into gold.

The end result is certainly an alchemical triumph- gin is pretty rough on its own, ditto tonic, it's the combination that makes magic.
But it's not something you need a well stocked laboratory and a library of ancient tomes bound in eerily familiar leather to make.

Start with quality ingredients.

GIN
Not necessarily the best available gin, but something solid. Gordons, Tanqueray, Beefeater, Segram's Extra Dry, all make an excellent drink, and all taste very different. Try out a couple of different gins to find your preference.

TONIC
The quality of your tonic is just as crucial.
Schwepps is my preferred tonic, although Canada Dry is fine. Don't go for Hansens (way too sweet), don't go for the 2 liter bottles of the generic stuff at the supermarkets. You can make a passable gin and tonic with cheap gin and good tonic, but nothing drinkable blossoms from crummy tonic.
If you're buying for a party get the liter bottles, if otherwise get the six packs of little glass bottles (even though they're twice as expensive). Nothing's worse than flat tonic, and flat tonic is inevitable unless you use it all right away.

LIME
You must use fresh limes.
Those fruit-shaped plastic bottles taste like perfumed gasoline.
For a party, make up a bowl of lime quarters. For personal use, just keep a couple in the fridge and cut up as needed.

GLASSES
I prefer squat, heavy crystal Old Fashion glasses. Appearance is left to your discretion.
Lately I use these lovely examples from Denby (in purple and green, not blue).


THE MIX
This is the simplest and most problematic element.
Unscientifically, use a lot of tonic and a little gin.
This is where nearly everyone goes wrong, with the perverse notion that a vast amount of alcohol somehow improves a cocktail.
Nonsense. If I wanted a shot, I'd order a shot.
Making a good cocktail is like baking bread, if you don't observe proportionality the result is indigestible.

I put about 1/4" of gin in the bottom of the glass then fill it up three quarters of the way with tonic.
Gently add the ice after you combine the gin and tonic, squeeze in the lime and mix the drink by carefully poking the ice cubes around- you want it mixed without bruising the gin.

And voila, you're done.