The history of the gin & tonic, by Sumaiyah Edwards – Global Brand Ambassador for Beefeater Gin.
The gin and tonic is the quintessence of a refreshing spirit and mixer. It is a delicious and simple serve that has been enjoyed all over the world for decades. Interestingly, we have seen the gin and tonic evolve quite significantly over the last 10 years or so.
Back in the day, you may have seen it served in a rocks glass, two or three pieces of ice that are already pretty melted and a very dry wedge of lime. To be honest, there is nothing wrong with this. However, a new style of Gin and tonics was born in Spain, the pulse and trendsetters of Gin today. Now, we see big, beautiful copa glasses, an array of different and flavoured tonics and your garnish options are endless. Let’s not forget how great these look on Instagram! 😉
I think these are just some of the reason the Gin and Tonic has fast become one of the most enjoyed spirit and mixers in the world. Firstly there is a Gin for everyone. And secondly, it is a blank canvas that you can make your own.
Personally I like mine classic and prefer to keep it simple!
My choice of gin, Beefeater London Dry Gin, of course! As I love the complex juniper and citrus notes.
When it comes to the tonic, I also go classic with an Indian tonic water. Flavoured tonic waters are lovely, however, I like to taste my gin without the introduction of other flavours. I always opt for a 1:3 ratio (i.e. 50ml Beefeater Dry, 150ml Tonic water) – Often people tend to over dilute because of the big glasses we enjoy today, therefore I tend to opt for a Collins glass. It allows me to control the dilution a bit more. Fill with ice. This doesn’t only keep your drink cold but it slows down dilution.
And when it comes to garnish, I always recommend garnishing a G&T with botanicals that are in fact in the gin, therefore I love my Beefeater Dry and tonic with a wheel or orange and lemon.
At the end of the day, the beauty of the G&T is that there are no rules. It’s there to be enjoyed- responsibly of course! 😉