“The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen’s lives and minds than all the doctors in the Empire.” Sir Winston Churchill.
The simplest of drinks – gin, tonic, ice and garnish – the perfect cocktail to welcome the first rays of spring sunshine and the long days ahead.
BRIEF HISTORY
Have you ever wondered where gin comes from and how it conquered the world?
Gin gets its name from either the French genièvre or the Dutch jenever berry, which both mean “juniper”, and its popularity dates back to the Middle Ages when it started out as a herbal medicine.
Dutch Courage
Fast forward to the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) and the famous ‘Dutch Courage’ when English troops fighting alongside the Dutch noticed that the Dutch soldiers were extremely calm and courageous in battle. This bravery became attributed to the calming effects of the “genever” that they sipped from small bottles hanging from their belts.
The British troops brought it back with them and because of the relative cheap price of gin, when compared with other drinks available, gin became popular with the poor.
The Gin Act
By 1730, alcohol abuse was becoming a major problem for the poor and in order to solve this problem The Gin Act was introduced in 1736, making gin prohibitively expensive. This didn’t solve the problem as riots broke out and the law was blatantly disregarded.
The production of gin didn’t stop (on the contrary it rose by almost 50%), however, distillers simply stopped getting their licenses the official way.
In 1742 it was recognised that The Gin Act was unenforceable and it was repealed. Instead, different polices with reasonably high prices, licensed retailers and reasonable excise duties were introduced over a number of years.
Refined and Respectable
These changes made the gin production process more refined and many respectable firms were established. Gin evolved to become a delicate balance of subtle delicate flavours, and began its ascent into high society.
These days, gin is frequently enjoyed as a trendy cocktail.
With hundreds of gins and tens of tonic varieties we are indeed spoilt for choice! The inclusion of new and imaginative garnishes came hand-in-hand with a rise in new gin distilleries.
Personally, I like Fever Tree tonics, a lovely variety and available in pretty much any supermarket.
HOW TO BUILD A GIN COCKTAIL
Add ice cubes to fill ¾ of the glass
Stir gently for 15 seconds with a bar spoon or chopstick to chill the glass
Pour away any liquid from the melted ice
Top up the glass with more ice
Add the gin ensuring that you coat the ice as you pour
Add your garnish
Add the tonic water. Pouring slowly helps the tonic to keep its fizz
Rest for 30 seconds to allow the flavours to infuse with each other.
Drinks simply don’t come more refreshing or refined than a G&T. Here are a few recipes to try while self-isolating.
CONTEMPORARY GRAPEFRUIT & VANILLA INFUSION GIN COCKTAIL
The pairing of the garnishes creates a phenomena called transmogrification where two flavours – here, vanilla and grapefruit, combined create a third, unrelated flavour – here, chocolate.
50 ml Gin
150ml Tonic Water
25 ml Vanilla Vodka
Dash of Cointreau
Vanilla pods
Pink Grapefruit wedges
Rub the rim of the glass with Cointreau to add a notch of sweetness and build a drink in the glass following the instructions above.
SPICE ME UP GIN COCKTAIL
The star anise garnish combined with black pepper and olives add salinity and spice to the drink. Any classic gin will go well with this particular garnish but my favourite is the Opihr gin which delivers a spiced explosion to taste and also a discernible sweetness from the orange in the Gin. It’s a fun twist on a favourite cocktail.
50 ml Gin
150 ml Tonic Water
1-3 whole star anise
1 -3 green olives
A sprinkle of cracked black pepper
Build a drink in the glass following the instructions above.
CLASSIC GIN COCKTAIL WITH A TWIST
The rosemary sprig adds some amazing herbal aromatics.
50 ml Gin
150 ml Tonic Water
Rosemary sprig to garnish
A few juniper berries
A sprinkle of cracked black pepper.
Build a drink in the glass following the instructions above.
PECULIAR MIX OF CUCUMBER, STRAWBERRIES AND BLACK PEPPER GIN COCKTAIL
While strawberries and black pepper may seem an unusual combination, the result is a pleasant and delicious one. The pepper adds balance and a refreshing kick.
50 ml Gin
150 ml Tonic Water
2-3 strawberries
A sprinkle of cracked black pepper to garnish
Fold a slice of cucumber on a cocktail stick.
Build a drink in the glass following the instructions above.
SUMMER VIBES GIN COCKTAIL
My favourite, strawberries! When you add that sweetened berry to a cocktail like the gin and tonic, you take the drink from dry to delicious.
50 ml Gin
150 ml Tonic Water
Fresh or frozen strawberries
Dash of Cointreau
Lemon Slice
Rub the rim of the glass with Cointreau to add a notch of sweetness and build a drink in the glass following the instructions above.
If you’re looking for a refreshing cocktail to celebrate this summer be sure to try one of these delicious gems.
All these cocktails sound amazing! I would love to try the strawberry one! I have all the ingredients so will make it tonight!
Julia x
https://www.thevelvetrunway.com/
Ooh all of these look absolutely divine. I want to try the grapefruit and vanilla one for sure. I’ve been making a lot of gin + komboocha drinks lately. So delicious!
Thanks for sharing these awesome cocktails. Hope you are staying safe and keeping healthy!
Author
Thank you Jenny! I do love a G&T in the sun and the Easter weekend was a favourite opportunity to experiment with a few of them! Stay safe beautiful xx
LOVE this post! I’ve recently been a G&T convert! Thanks for sharing all these lovely recipes
Life is a Shoe
Author
you are welcome Celyn! You should try the one with anise stars, very peculiar! xx
Gin and tonics are my go to drink. These are all beautiful! XO, Ellese
Rock.Paper.Glam.
Author
Beautiful and delicious! You should try a few! xx
Thank you so much for these recipes. These cockatils look amazing as well as your photos. Thank you for sharing.
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Author
Thank you! xx
Given our current situation right now, a little bit of Dutch courage can’t hurt. I have never tried Gin. All these cocktails look delicious. I would love to try the Summer Vibes. Thank you for sharing beautiful lady. Hope you had a blessed Easter weekend.
Cheers
Nikki
http://www.nikkilivinglife.com/blog
Definitely need to try these!
Mariya | https://www.brunetteondemand.com/
Gin is my favourite! The Summer vibes cocktail is one I need to try xx
Violethollow.com
These cocktails look amazing! I especially love the combination of grapefruit and vanilla! Thanks for the inspiration!
Anna | https://atlifestylecrossroads.com
Gin and tonic has always been my favourite drink! I’ve never thought of adding to it but I love these ideas – grapefruit and vanilla, or Cointreau sound like particularly enticing flavour combinations! Yum – thanks so much for sharing. Happy Easter!
Yum!
This blog post could not come at a better time!
I never used to drink anything than variations of wine but lately get into vodka
cocktails and wonder what more did I miss.
Looking forward trying some of these 🙂
https://www.ecoislogical.com
Nathalie
I love this! Will have to try it. Drinking jin and tonic is my favorite.
http://www.fashionradi.com
Mhmm these look fantastic! Perfect for a little at-home party nowadays!
https://sundaydahlias.com
These all look really good!
Jennifer
Effortlessly Sophisticated
these all sound good!
Jennifer
Effortlessly Sophisticated
Amazing photos!
https://antonellabasile.blogspot.com/
Omg They look fantastic Thank you so much for the recipes darling Love the shoe selection Gorgeous boots Happy Easter xoxo Cris
http://www.photosbycris.com.au/?p=4708