How to Make the Perfect Gin and Tonic

As distillers of exceptional gin, making the perfect G&T is second nature to us, but for those of you who don’t spend every day distilling gin, it may not seem as simple. So, whether you prefer a crisp London Dry or a pink gin, here are our top tips to make the perfect gin and tonic!

Gin to tonic ratio

The ratio of gin to tonic is crucial! If you add too much tonic you can drown out the aroma and flavour of the botanicals, especially the lighter aromatics in the gin. On the other hand, if you add too little tonic there won’t be enough carbonation to carry the aroma onto your senses in your nose and then your palate. We recommend a double (50ml measure) of gin to 150ml of tonic water. The 1 part gin to 3 parts tonic ratio is just the right amount to truly appreciate your chosen gin!

Glassware

Glassware can make or break the experience. We find that a large wine glass is the ideal glass for a perfect gin and tonic as the opening has a smaller circumference than the bowl of the glass. This helps trap and accentuate the aromas in the top of the glass and deliver them straight to your olfactory (smell) senses. The glass’ long stem also helps to delay the ice from melting and therefore diluting the drink. By holding the glass by the stem and not the bowl, it prevents your hands from warming the bowl and therefore the ice.

Ice

This is an area where both quantity and quality are equally important! The more ice, the slower it melts and dilutes the drink as the ice keeps the ice cold. Too little ice and the ice melts more quickly. We believe there is no such thing as too much ice in your gin as long as it is good-quality ice! We recommend using large ice cubes, ideally made using a clear ice mould at home. Try to avoid the bags of ice commonly found in supermarkets. Not only do they come wrapped in huge amounts of plastic, but you will often find that they have started melting by the time you get home and put them in the freezer. Plus, you also have to drop the bags on the floor to break up the ice to be able to use it, resulting in lots of small bits that become slushy.

Tonic

This is perhaps the most important part of crafting the perfect gin and tonic as a poor quality tonic can ruin any gin! Firstly, always keep tonic water in the fridge. This helps retain the carbonation in the tonic when you open it and the carbonation helps to deliver flavour in the G&T. Secondly, unless you are enjoying a gin and tonic with others, we recommend opting for single-serve tonic cans or bottles instead of a larger bottle. Once opened, tonic water will quickly lose its carbonation, even when kept in the fridge and the fizz won’t be as good the following day.

It then comes down to ingredients and most notably additives. A plain or regular ‘Indian’ tonic water should have nothing in it other than carbonated water, sugar, quinine, citric acid and natural flavours. You should avoid tonic waters with artificial sweeteners as they are not as effective at carrying the flavour and can distract from the gin. As for flavoured tonic water, this is a personal preference but as distillers, we prefer to let the flavours of the gin shine through without adding further or additional flavours into the mix.

Garnish

We would always recommend trying the G&T without a garnish first, as some gins really don’t need a garnish. Salcombe Gin ‘Start Point’ for example, is incredibly pure without a garnish but a slice of red grapefruit adds a splash of colour to the glass and pulls through the lead citrus in the gin. The general rule is only to use a garnish that is one of the botanicals that has been used in the distillation of the gin. We don’t recommend adding other flavours and aromas into the mix that aren’t present in the gin in the first place – the idea is to complement the gin and not mask it!