The correct Gin and Tonic: List 'em up Maynard.

[Buster Highmen]

That's what I was afraid of. Hoping it was something different.
Natural lime oil is where it's at bro.

Actually, I've been using the sweetened Roses Lime juice, not the cordial, recently at a friends suggestion. Before that I just used limes.

Can I get organic, free range, fair trade lime oil?

[Buster Highmen]

Sapphire. And nothing cuts the thirst on a hot day like a G&T. My wife's parents are very British and when she was growing up on the farm they always had G&T after haymaking. Having helped them hay before they retired, I quite agree. If only my Dad had been clued in. Would have made handling loose hay a little more tolerable. There's a reason hay bales were invented. Oh, yes, where were we? Sapphire.

Hmm. In the Highmen household quite often the haymaking occurs after the G&Ts. Sometimes there's even another person involved.

[PB]

The one issue I have with GnTs from July through September is that the limes around here all seem to be older and thinner skinned (less oil). Best limes are greener and thicker skinned, with max oil; need to plant my own lime tree.

[Buster Highmen]

good to see the chin up this morn, doc

It's weird how good the light feels after literally years of dark down.

[skuff]

Doesn't anyone drink fucking Beefeater anymore?

That's the old classic, right there.

+1 on the 8oz tonic bottles.

+ whatever on 8oz tonic bottles

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Uncle Val's Botanical Gin with Schweppes tonic. Uncle Val's is similar to Hendricks, but different. So it's a nice change of pace.

I'll try some of the Fever Tree and Fentimans tonic to see what I'm missing.

Val's is wonderful.

[DJSapp]

In increasing order of fancyness:

Tanq
Sapphire
Sapphire East
Junipero (go light with the tonic, or just ignore it completely)

Try a key lime instead of a regular lime wedge. Squeeze juice from one half and discard, run the other half on the rim, light squeeze and drop in. Small but significant change.

And 64th'd on the small fresh tonic bottle. Big bottles go flat 15 minutes after opening.



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[Tippster]

I don't get the whole Fever Tree hype. Good Gin (insert your favorite here,) Schweppes, double lime. Highball glass and ice. No need to overthink.

If you really want to get snooty you could use artisan Tonic Syrups and soda from a spritzer.

[KQ]

And 64th'd on the small fresh tonic bottle.

65th

I don't get the whole Fever Tree hype. Good Gin (insert your favorite here,) Schweppes, double lime. Highball glass and ice. No need to overthink.

Yup. It's a simple drink that is simply good.

[KQ]

The perfect G&T: what's the best tonic to pair with gin?


Fashions come and fashions go, in the drinks world as in most others. While we're not yet over negronis, and Old Fashioneds are anything but, we all should be grateful that banana daiquiris are now considered démodé and piña coladas, passé. But the timeless classics will always endure and the gin and tonic is surely the little black dress of the bar.

Understated but always chic, the G&T is suitable for almost any occasion. It hits a certain spot as a lunchtime sharpener or an early evening aperitif, lifting the spirit and gladdening the soul with its cheerful clunking of ice and the jolly fizz of its bubbles. Quintessentially English, the G&T has its roots in the Raj. Quinine, discovered in Peru in the 17th century, was prescribed in powdered form to the colonial troops in 1850s India as a prophylatic against malaria. They mixed it with sugar and carbonated water to mask its bitter taste and added gin to help the medicine go down even more palatably.

When commercially made tonic water was introduced in the 1870s, the G&T established itself as the drink of choice across the whole Empire and beyond, and remains the tipple of choice for many. While the Spanish are the world’s keenest consumers, the Brits still hold gin close to their hearts, with UK consumption up a whopping 18 per cent per cent in just two years. There are hundreds of different gins to choose from - Gerry's, the famous Soho booze emporium, stocks around 150 – with new brews coming onto the market all the time.

Tonics put to the test

But when it comes to the perfect mixer, which should we choose? I called together a panel of expert palates to take the tonic taste test.

The panel comprised Xanthe Clay, the Telegraph’s own food writer; Fiona Beckett, the Guardian’s wine columnist; Aurelius Braunbarth, owner of Bristol’s slickest cocktail bar, Hausbar, Jack Adair Bevan, from the Ethicurean restaurant and creator of The Collector vermouth, Jason Mead, of Bristol’s other favourite cocktail bar, Milk Thistle, and Elly Curshen, owner of the Pear Cafe and food writer for InStyle magazine.

Our methods were rigorous: seven tonics tasted alone, mixed with three different premium gins sans garnish (the panel felt that the addition of lemon or lime would mask the tonics‘ true colours), then with a classic bartender’s G&T – Beefeater with a lemon slice - to give every one a fair crack at the whip. Everything was tasted blind and spittoons were provided to avoid fuzzy-headed thinking.

The tonics we tasted were Bramely & Gage’s 6 O’Clock, 1724, Fentimans, Fever-Tree Indian, Fever-Tree Mediterranean , Sainsbury’s own label and Schweppes; the gins were Chase Distillery’s Great British Extra Dry, Tanqueray No. TEN and Bristol’s own Psychopomp Woden.

The results

Fever Tree Mediterranean’s lemon thyme and rosemary notes stood up well to Tanqueray No. TEN's gutsy 47.3 per cent ABV hit, while Fentiman’s scored highly with the Psychopomp gin, its hints of herbs and lemongrass bouncing along nicely with the gin’s grapefruity zest. Sainsbury’s own label tonic was deemed too sweet when taken alone, but sat surprisingly well with Chase’s Extra Dry gin (do the math). But the tonic that hit top marks in each round was Schweppes.

This came as little surprise to the professional bartenders amongst us. As Aurelius said, “A few years ago, bars started to take the new tonics that were coming onto the market, with Fever-Tree the hot favourite. Their marketing was very seductive, and everybody likes to be in on something ‘new’, but I’ve always preferred Schweppes to anything else, and now there’s a big move back to it.” Other old-timers of the bar world agree – Nick Strangeway and Dick Bradsell, both revered as almost god-like by London’s bar pros – choose Schweppes over all others. “It’s just what tonic water should taste like,” says Dick. “I think it’s never been bettered.”

Perhaps the reason we all preferred the Schweppes is because it is what we expect of a tonic; it’s what we’ve all been brought up with. “I actually prefer the Fentiman’s,” said Jason. “But the Schweppes just tastes more classic.” It has exactly the right sort of fizz (others were judged as having ‘the wrong sort of bubbles’, too soft and/or too fleeting); the bitter/sweet balance is spot-on. “The sound, sight, prickle and spritz are all key to making the G&T the world's favourite sundowner,” says Ryan Chetiyawardana of London’s hipster White Lyan bar. Ryan, it should be noted, is still a fan of Fever-Tree.

[PB]

I don't get the whole Fever Tree hype. Good Gin (insert your favorite here,) Schweppes, double lime. Highball glass and ice. No need to overthink.

If you really want to get snooty you could use artisan Tonic Syrups and soda from a spritzer.

Sounds like you're covering up the Schweppes with extra lime!

All you 8 oz'ers must be drinking alone.
Sad.

[Meadow Skipper]

Words, words. The only way to settle the Schweppes/Fever Tree issue is a side-by-side tasting. And if you try them both and find you like the Schweppes better, that's okay - some people prefer Bud Light.

[Flyoverland Captive]

If you really want to get snooty you could use artisan Tonic Syrups and soda from a spritzer.

I make the SodaStream diet tonic, and mix with Crater Lake gin (buy local!). Saves the hassle of lugging tonic home from the store. My wife is not a fan, but that's just more for me.

[Buster Highmen]

Turns out that UK Schweppes tonic is not the same as the US version.

http://theginisin.com/other-thoughts...-tonic-waters/
Puts the American version of this supermarket tonic water to shame. Less sweet than its US counterpoint, Schweppes is a little more accessible than the two above, simple because it has more sweetness and a little bit of a citrusy edge which makes it a little less a signifier of cocktail culture than just a good drink you can get at the store… if you’re in Europe.

Anyway, the experiment worked, but it took a long time for us to start telling one another we're wrong in matters of taste.

[PNWbrit]

Turns out that UK Schweppes tonic is not the same as the US version..

Yep..

And I always thought the French Schweppes different from the UK one.

Edit: I wonder if the British Pantry in Redmond sells British tonic?

[riser4]

Words, words. The only way to settle the Schweppes/Fever Tree issue is a side-by-side tasting. And if you try them both and find you like the Schweppes better, that's okay - some people prefer Bud Light.

And some people prefer to drink stale bongwater. To each their own.

[Buster Highmen]

And some people prefer to drink stale bongwater. To each their own.

It's awful. Trust me.

[Danno]

fresh bongwater makes all the difference.

[Buster Highmen]

fresh bongwater makes all the difference.

I'm told artisanal, free range, organic, fair trade, equiconceptual bongwater is no different than Costco. So it's probably just a freshness issue.

[Meadow Skipper]

fresh bongwater makes all the difference.

I only drink Whole Foods' bong water. Try it, you'll never go back.

Edit: Buster beat me to it.

[BS720]

I must be the only classless asshole in the world that doesn't like Hendricks. It's tastes like drinking perfume to me. Maybe I shouldn't drink my G&T's 50/50. Fever Tree is good. Not sure if it justifies the price difference, if that even matters. I can get Schweppes a block away from the apartment. Fever Tree requires a hike. I've tried all kinds of gins. Tanqueray seems like the best bang for the buck. Que to, "I'm drinking to much"...

[skaredshtles]

I must be the only classless asshole in the world that doesn't like Hendricks. It's tastes like drinking perfume to me.

My wife claims that all G&T's taste like Windex.

I'm still not sure how she knows this...

[Buster Highmen]

I only drink Whole Foods' bong water. Try it, you'll never go back.

Edit: Buster beat me to it.

Isn't Whole Foods bongwater lacto and ovo free as well as gluten free?

[highangle]

Isn't Whole Foods bongwater lacto and ovo free as well as gluten free?

Only dehydrated Vegan Extra Dry.

[TAFKALVS]

Tonic-free G&T:
3 Ice Cubes
4 Oz Gin

Pour Gin over ice in glass. Drink.