The humble gin and tonic. We see them everywhere. Whether we love them or hate them we know what they are. But have you ever questioned where your gin and tonic came from? What's the history of the gin and tonic? How to garnish them properly? Which gins to use? Or even which tonic water to use? Through this gin and tonic guide we will cover all those questions and more.

So far, we have covered the extensive history and guide to make the perfect gin martini and the complete guide to the Negroni. Two gin classic cocktails that have been around for years and years and will be around for years to come. Now it's time to take on another classic gin cocktail guide. The gin and tonic.

And what better place to start this classic cocktail guide other then the history…

Gin and Tonic History

The humble gin and tonic is the nation’s favourite. Thanks to the gin boom in 2014. It took the Gin and Tonic from your mum’s favourite tipple to a worldwide obsession. Leading to what seems like every bar and restaurant having a dedicated “Gin and Tonic Serving” Section to their drink menus.

It’s become the new normal for all of us. You may think that this simple 4 ingredient cocktail consisting of just gin, ice, tonic and a garnish may not have such an interesting history. However, you will surely be wrong.

The gin and tonic has just an interesting history of many other classics. The 2014 gin boom was not the beginning of this favourite cocktail. Nor was the earlier 00s when you stole a sip of your parents gin and tonic just to recoil in disgust at its bitterness that your young palette could not handle. (That's some-what poetic of a paragraph don’t you think?)

So where did the gin and tonic come from you ask? What’s its history? Well…

The gin and tonic is a beautifully paired balance of, well… Gin and tonic. Bitter and sweet. To figure out how they came to come together we need to first break them up.

Gin

Gin came first. Created in Holland and named Genever. Gin was a juniper infused spirit (Hence the name genever, which means juniper in dutch) thought to be a cure all medicine. During the 17th century the English got a taste of Genever and loved it. This was during the times when the English and the Dutch thought side by side against the Spanish.

The dutch drank there beloved Genever to give them a sense of courage before going into battle, which coined the phrase dutch courage. The English brought it back to England and shortened the name Genever to Gen, which became Gin. Then started a whole mess of gin bingeing. The gin craze started, creating the nickname “Mother ruin”, It tore families apart and saw the death of many English.

The story of gin is actually a really interesting story which you can read all about here in my ultimate guide to gin. I cover the full history of gin there. There is way to much to mention in this post alone. So shoot on over to the ultimate gin guide then return here to continue with the gin and tonic guide.

*Gin lane - depicting Londons gin craze.*

Tonic

Tonic has a different story but somewhat similar. Similar in the way that it was created for medical use. Hence the name tonic.

Tonic water's bitter flavour comes from an ingredient called “quinine” Quinine comes from the bark of the cinchona tree and is used as a cure for malaria. This quinine malaria cure dates back to the 17th century.

As the story goes. A South American Indian gentleman suffering from Malaria drank water from a stream that had been contaminated by the cinchona tree and suddenly like magic, his malaria was cured. Which began quinine infused water being sold as a malaria cure.

Fun fact: they nicknamed this cinchona tree the “Fever tree” due to its abilities to cure fevers. Hence the name of the popular tonic water brand, Fever Tree.

How they came together and formed the Gin And Tonic.

Once again, the British were out to colonise. In 1857 the British crown had taken over governance of India. However, British troops who were not used to the warmer climates struggled with tropical diseases such as scurvy from the long sea journeys and malaria.

The bitter tasting tonic water became a norm for Britain's colonialism. Throughout time and tired of the harsh, nasty, bitter taste, they started mixing sugar and gin with their tonic water to help the medicine go down. Soon enough they started adding lime to fight off the scurvy and created a palatable cure all. Indian tonic water for the malaria, Lime for the Scurvy and gin to remind them of home. And so the gin and tonic was born.

Enjoying this Guide to the Gin and Tonic?

Sorry to interrupt this gin and tonic guide. However, I'd like to take a second to ask you to subscribe to Smartblend with your email address below. Once subscribed you will receive weekly/monthly updates, guides and recipes from Smartblend.

I’d like to assure you of two things. Firstly, I will not spam your inbox. You will receive A maximum of 1 email a week. Averagely 1 a month. Secondly you can unsubscribe at any time by saying you would like to be removed. I will remove you as soon as possible no questions asked and I will never share your email with any other blogs or companies. That’s a promise. Thank you

Classic Gin and tonic recipe

Ingredients

50ml Gin
150ml Tonic Water
Cubed Ice
Lime

Method

Fill a tall glass with fresh, straight from the freezer cubed ice.
Pour in your gin and tonic water.
Cut a wedge of lime, give a generous squeeze in your gin and tonic and drop it in.
Stir lightly and enjoy!

Gin and Tonic pairing Guide

Now you understand the history of the Gin and Tonic, as well as the classic gin and tonic recipe. There is one more step to becoming a gin and tonic expert. And that's pairing your gin and tonic.

Now, I could list a bunch of gins and tonics that pair well together but at the end of the day it's all about the gin you like, and the tonic you prefer.

To understand gin and tonic pairing there are four aspects you need to understand; Which gin to use, which tonic water to use, which glass to use and finally, which garnish to use. Which we will cover below.

Choosing the best gin for your gin and tonic

Choosing a gin for your gin and tonic is completely a personal preference. Flavour doesn’t have an effect, it’s just what you like. Likewise price points don’t really have an affect. I happily drink £10 Aldis own gin with tonic and its delicious, on the other end I will drink £40 bottles of gin with tonic. Still delicious. With the gin there is no “That gins too cheap to mix with tonic” or “that gins to expensive to mix with tonic”

So just experiment, try new gins with your tonic water, try different styles of gin; London dry, Old tom, New world and flavour gin. Find the one you like the most. And find out more about gin styles here.

Choosing the best tonic water for your gin and tonic

Tonic water is usually something we don't put much thought into with our gin and tonics. It’s all about the gin, right? Wrong. What we should remember is although the gin is important, the gin only makes up one part of our gin and tonics. The tonic on the other hand makes up 3 parts. So the tonic water you pick is just as important, if not more important than the gin.

The tonic water industry has been going through its own craze at the moment. It was only a matter of time to be honest. With gin and tonic being the favourite cocktail for gin drinkers, it means as gin sales rise, so do tonic sales.

Meaning there is a huge influx of new craft artisan gin companies out there, as well as tonic companies coming out with new and interesting flavours to set themselves apart from other Tonic water companies. Tonic water brands are getting really innovative recently, so you have more choice for your tonic water then ever before.

When choosing tonic water, I split the category up into two different sections. Classic tonic water and flavoured tonic water.

Classic tonic water which is quinine forward and having a botanical backdrop can be recognised easily by the label. It will be labelled as classic tonic water, indian tonic water or simply Tonic water. Most popular brands being Fentimans, Fever tree and Schwepps.

These tonic waters go well with the majority of gins. Mainly classic London dry gins. Think about that classic juniper forward flavour, that's what pairs well with classic tonics.

Flavoured tonic water is different in the sense that they don’t have a quinine forward flavour. It used to be a very niche industry, The only flavoured tonic water you could get was an orange flavoured tonic and maybe a grapefruit flavour tonic.

Nowhere days the list is endless. From cucumber to pomegranate, basil and everything in between. Whatever flavour you can think of there is a tonic water flavoured with it. When pairing a flavoured tonic water with gin you don’t need to put that much focus on the gin. Like i said, tonic water makes up 3 parts of your drink, if 3 parts is infused with watermelon then it doesn't matter which gin you use because that watermelon will over power the cocktail anyway.

My suggestion would be just to pick a gin that's quite dry. As flavoured gins tend to be more sweet, so a London dry gin would work perfectly. And finally you want a gin with a subtle flavour, something soft that's not going to overpower your gin and tonic and that will take a back seat so your tonic can shine.

Last note on the guide to picking the perfect tonic for your gin and tonics

What we haven't touched on is slimline tonic and tonic with higher sugar levels such as Mediterranean tonic. I haven’t forgotten about them. That's just a complete personal preference. They pair well with any gin and any garnish. The only thing that changes is the sweetness. Which is up to you where you want that to be.

Gin and Tonic Glassware Guide

With a classic cocktail that's as simple as a gin and tonic. It’s important to get the small details right to bring out the best in the drink. That doesn't just means high quality gin and tonic, garnished and cooled to perfection. It also means putting consideration into which glassware you use. Glasses aren't just pretty vessels to hold our cocktails. They also serve a purpose. And each different glass serves a different purpose or function.

The Copa Gin glass | Also known as the balloon glass

The Copa gin glass is the classic glass you think of when you think “Gin and tonic glass”. But these glasses don’t just look pretty. They also have reasons why they are shaped the way they are and why they work perfectly for gin and tonics.

For starters, the large glass has more room for garnishing. The large brim and shape of the glass also concentrates the aroma of your g&t straight to your nose. Given gin’s have lots of complex botanicals. Having a glass that helps lift the aroma is essential.

The size of the glass also means you can fit a lot of ice inside. Keeping your drink cooler for longer and less diluted. The long stem also means you don’t have to touch the glass, so there is even less chance of dilution as your warm hands won't be heating up the glass.

The highball glass

This long and slender glass works perfectly for keeping your gin and tonic carbonated for longer. Perfect for slow drinkers.

They also fit more mixers in. So if you’re the type of person that prefers your gin and tonic with more tonic, you don't have to sacrifice gin to add more tonic. You will have enough space in the glass for 50ml of gin and a full 200ml bottle of tonic water.

The rocks glass

As with the highball being perfect for people who like their gin and tonics heavy on the tonic. Rocks glasses are perfect for people who like a stronger gin and tonic heavy on the gin.

These types of glasses are generally used for harder hitting cocktails. So if you have a more expensive gin that you want to savour, but still want that tonic water mix then these glasses are perfect.

Gin and tonic garnish guide

Gin and tonic garnishing can seem daunting at first. People tend to have this idea that it is all about tasting your gin and coming up with flavours, then pairing it with the perfect tonic and contrasting that with the perfect garnish.

However, it really isn't that difficult! Pick up whatever bottle of gin you have laying around. You don’t have to taste a single drop to figure out what flavours are in it. Just look at the label. Most gin brands will list at least a few of the botanicals and main flavours right there on the label.

Once you’ve found a tonic you like, use a garnish that will bring out one of the flavours in the gin. If the gin says it has orange peel in the mix and you want to focus on that then use orange peel. If it says it uses lemon peel then use a slice of lemon.

It’s also good to use contrasting flavours. For example, if your gin has a heavy anise flavour, try pairing it with a citrus. Or if it has a heavy citrus flavour, try sweeter garnishes such as strawberries or go the opposite contrast with something such as black pepper.

If you still can't decide, check out the official website of your chosen gin or tonic. They will have their own recommendations you can use.

Remember, although a lot of garnishes will enhance the flavour. A lot wont add that much flavour to your gin and tonic. Especially considering gin and tonics already have quite a strong flavour. The main purpose of your garnish isn’t flavour. The main purpose is to enhance the aroma and mouthfeel. Adding whole blackberries won't make your gin and tonic taste like blackberries.

They will however give a fresh berry feel to your gin and tonic that may trick your mind into tasting blackberries. They will also give your gin and tonic more of a carbonated feel as you bubbles run around the berries

Last note on gin and tonic garnish pairing. When in doubt, just use a squeeze of lime. You can't go wrong with a classic.

Looking to take your gin and tonic garnish to the next level?

Now is the perfect time for growing your own sustainable and fresh pot to glass gin and tonic garnishes. Check out the full guide on how to easily grow your gin and tonic garnishes below. (So easy you don’t need a garden to grow them)

How to grow your own Gin and Tonic

If you’ve enjoyed this post you comment below, or use the below buttons to share.