Food & Drinks

THIS IS HOW YOU ALWAYS MAKE THE PERFECT GIN & TONIC

Kendall Jenner makes cocktail

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: This is how you always make the perfect gin & tonic.

A G&T is one of the easiest drinks to make. After all, it's just gin and tonic... Right?

Yes, but pouring the two together without a thought with a few ice cubes and slices of cucumber is, according to the experts, not done. Because even with this cocktail, it's all about perfecting it. You do this by choosing the right tonic to go with the gin. You do this by playing with the botanicals of the gin and the type of tonic.

Accentuate
Now there are more than 300 different gins, each with its own flavor, so that's quite a task. Fortunately, they can all be divided into three main categories: floral gins, spicy gins, and gins with citrus flavors. A good tonic should always accentuate the gin, according to professional bartenders.

Matching
For a spicy gin like Gin Mare, Copperhead, or Gillemore, a somewhat spicy tonic, such as Fever-Tree's Mediterranean tonic with notes of rosemary and lemon thyme, is a good match. For a gin like Hendrick’s or Sylvius, which are a bit more floral, an Elderflower tonic matches perfectly. Gins with citrus flavors, such as Bulldog, Bobby’s, V2C Orange, and Bombay Sapphire, match best with a tonic that has flavors like mandarin, orange, and grapefruit.

Always good
Golden tip: from now on, take a look at the back of the gin bottle to see which botanicals it is made with and base the tonic on that. If you’re unsure, go for an Indian tonic. This is the basic tonic with a subtle flavor that goes with every gin. And pay close attention to the ratios: one part gin to three parts tonic.

DIY: the perfect G&T in 5 steps

  • Take a large glass;
  • Fill the glass to the brim with ice cubes;
  • Pour in 50 ml of gin (for the ultimate balance, use one part gin to three parts tonic);
  • Pour 150 ml of tonic down the side of the glass, this way the bubbles stay at their best;
  • Garnish. Not for decoration, but because it accentuates certain flavor notes. Mint, basil, and coriander go well with a spicy gin, while grapefruit, lemon zest, and cucumber go well with a floral gin. Equally important: don’t overdo it! Excess is harmful.

Image Credit: Sophie Sahara