Gin And Tonic

The Gin and Tonic is a classic cocktail that combines the crisp, botanical flavors of gin with the refreshing effervescence of tonic water, typically garnished with a slice of lime or lemon.

3 min
Easy
Highball glass
3 ingredients

Hero bottle: Gin →

Ingredients

Gin2 oz
Tonic water5 oz
Lime1

Method

Pour the gin and the tonic water into a highball glass almost filled with ice cubes.
Stir well.
Garnish with the lime wedge.

Pin it

What you need

Nothing fancy. Here is what to look for. We earn a small cut if you buy through these links, at no cost to you.

A long bar spoon

Long enough to reach the bottom of a tall glass, with a twisted stem.

See on Amazon ↗

Highball glasses

Tall and straight, 10 to 12 oz, with a heavy base.

See on Amazon ↗

A double jigger

Marked in oz and ml, with lines inside for the small measures.

See on Amazon ↗

The hero bottle

Gin stands as cocktail culture's most versatile spirit — a botanical-infused canvas that transforms simple ingredients into extraordinary drinks. From the elegant simplicity of a perfectly chilled Martini to the complex interplay of a Negroni, gin cocktails have shaped drinking culture for centuries.

See 112 Gin drinks

Where it comes from

The gin and tonic's origins are remarkably practical: quinine, extracted from cinchona bark, was the only effective treatment for malaria ravaging British soldiers and colonists in 19th-century India. Quinine water tasted horrifically bitter, so soldiers began mixing it with gin, sugar, and lime to make it palatable — inadvertently creating one of the world's most enduring cocktails. The original "tonic water" contained significantly more quinine than modern versions, enough for genuine antimalarial effects. Schweppes commercialised tonic water in the 1870s, making it widely available, and the G&T became the quintessential British drink of the colonial era.

For much of the 20th century, the gin and tonic was synonymous with no-frills British drinking culture: a measure of gin, a measure of tonic, ice, and a wedge of lime, served without ceremony. This began to change in the 2000s when Spain's gin culture underwent a revolution. Spanish bartenders started serving what they called "Gin Tonicas" — elaborate preparations in large copa de balon glasses (oversized balloon wine glasses) with premium gins, carefully selected tonics, and multiple botanical garnishes matching the gin's flavour profile. The movement spread across Europe and transformed what had been a simple highball into a serious craft drink.

The craft gin explosion of the 2010s further elevated the G&T. Hundreds of new gin distilleries launched globally, each with unique botanical recipes demanding thoughtful tonic and garnish pairings. Today the gin and tonic is simultaneously the world's simplest drink and one of its most nuanced — a canvas on which gin makers, tonic producers, and bartenders express their creativity.

Tips from the bar

Build in the glass, never shake or pre-mix. Pour tonic gently down the side to preserve carbonation, and stir only once after building.
Use large-format ice — a single large cube or sphere. It melts slowly, keeping the drink cold without over-diluting the tonic's carbonation.
Choose your tonic based on gin style: classic London Dry pairs with Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic; floral or delicate gins benefit from elderflower tonic; herbaceous gins work well with Mediterranean tonic.
For the Spanish copa style, add botanicals to the glass before ice: lightly press them with a muddler (don't pulverise), then add ice and build.
Serve immediately — carbonation is fleeting, and a warm G&T is a sad G&T.

Twists worth trying

Spanish Gin Tonica: Serve in a large copa de balon glass over one large ice sphere. Layer 3–5 botanical garnishes that echo the gin's flavour profile — cucumber and rose petals for Hendrick's, juniper berries and pink peppercorns for London Dry, star anise for spiced gins.
Elderflower G&T: Use Fever-Tree Elderflower Tonic instead of classic tonic and garnish with fresh cucumber ribbons and a sprig of fresh elderflower. Best with delicate New Western gins like Hendrick's or The Botanist.
Spiced G&T: Add a cinnamon stick, 2 cardamom pods, and an orange twist to a classic G&T built with an aromatic tonic like Fever-Tree Aromatic. The warming spices work beautifully in autumn and winter.
Citrus G&T: Use lemon, lime, and grapefruit twists expressed over a classic G&T with Mediterranean tonic. Three citrus peel varieties release complex, layered oils that amplify citrus-forward gins significantly.