the gin and tonic cocktail recipe…a highball drink

Gin and Tonic is a highball cocktail with, you guessed it, Gin and Tonic water as ingredients. It is a drink that can be made in all different kinds of ratios. The ratio mainly depends on your taste and preference. The drink is almost always garnished with a slice of lime or lemon.

This is a very similar drink to the Classic Vodka and Tonic, which is made with Vodka instead of Gin. As with the Vodka Tonic, you can use any proportion of the ingredients so as to suit your taste and preference.

The flavor and taste of the drink will depend very much on the quality and flavor of the Gin that is used. The better the quality of Gin, the better the drink will be. The tonic provides an unique flavor to drink as well because of the quinine in it.

Ingredients

  • 3 shots of Gin
  • 5 shots of Tonic water
  • Slice of lemon or lime for garnish

Preparation

  1. Chill the glass. A highball glass is preferred.
  2. Fill the glass with whole ice cubes up to the brim.
  3. Pour Gin of your choice over the ice.
  4. Pour the tonic water into the glass to top it off.
  5. Stir with a long stirrer.
  6. Squeeze the lemon into the drink
  7. Garnish the drink with the lemon wedge
Gin and Tonic Cocktail with Lemon Wedge

Variations

  • You can vary the ratio of the Gin and Tonic to suit your taste. It is made in various proportions of 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 3:5 etc. I prefer the strong ratio of 3 to 5 but you should experiment with different proportion to find yours.
  • Vodka and Tonic: Similar drink made with Vodka instead of the Gin.

Tips

  • You can add a spring of mint instead of the lemon wedge as a garnish. Citrus flavors go well with the drink.
  • Though lemon or lime works as the garnish with most Gins, if you are using the Hendricks Gin a cucumber slice would be more appropriate.
  • The tonic water used to be a lot more bitter in taste than what we get today. If you like to recreate the same taste, add a few dashes of bitters to the drink.
  • Always use the tonic water. Do not substitute with soda. It is the quinine in the tonic that makes the drink which is missing in soda.
  • You can try ice cubes made with tonic water instead of regular ice cubes