GIN & TONIC
50ML/2OZ GIN
150ML/6OZ TONIC
SLICE OF LEMON, WEDGE OF LIME OR PERHAPS
A FINE STRIP OF CUCUMBER
THE VERY MAKING OF A G&T is an act to make the spirit soar. The clink-clink-clink of ice cubes tumbling into a spotless glass, the satisfying twist of opening the bottle then the glug-glug as the gin goes in. ‘Psst’ goes the tonic in an inviting manner when you open it, then the joyous bubbles cascade, tickling our noses when we get up close. Add an invigorating spritz of citrus and it’s like liquid music in transparent form.
There is good reason that the gin and tonic could be said to be the apogee of aperitifs: not only is it a thing of great aesthetic beauty, it ticks all the physiological aperitif boxes as well. The alcohol in the gin cleans the tongue of lunch’s debris while the underlying bitterness of its botanicals sets off alarm bells in our brains to get digestive juices flowing sharpish, and along with that comes the frisson of subconscious danger and its accompanying endorphin high. Tonic’s quinine bitterness only intensifies the hit. Then come the bubbles – their tickling sensation on the tongue also encourages salivation – while the acidity of citrus makes it a hat trick.
There is a fashion, coming from the gin-loving Spaniards, to serve G&Ts in big, goldfish bowl-shaped glasses. They certainly can look impressive, but I have my reservations. Firstly, they’re quite hard to hold. You end up clutching them with all your fingers and possibly some palm, which transfers heat and thus warms the drink. Plenty of ice is essential to mitigate such damage and you want it to last until you’ve reached the bottom of the glass, so we’re talking serious volumes of ice here compared to that of liquid. In addition, the wide mouth of these goblets makes the bubbles of the tonic dissipate more quickly, and the fizz is most definitely part of the fun. Also, the Spanish are far more generous when it comes to their measures – not for them the use of a jigger; they free-pour gin with gusto, unlike the uptight and law-abiding Brits whose G&Ts made in this fashion will almost certainly mean their miserly measures of gin will be beaten into submission by the quantities of ice and tonic used to make the drink look right.
In a bar I want the drink made in front of me, with the glass filled with ice first and the gin poured on top. I like to be asked what garnish I prefer – usually lemon, though lime is more modish, occasionally a twirl of cucumber skin. If the flesh of the citrus is rubbed around the rim before being dropped in the glass, so much the better.
My tonic should always be served in a small bottle or, even better, a can – never, ever those hateful guns – and I don’t mind the bartender adding a little tonic to the glass then leaving the rest of the bottle alongside, but WOE BETIDE anybody who has the audacity to pour in the tonic up to the top of the glass. How very dare they assume they know how I like my dilution? It’s very easy for the gin to be overpowered by the tonic; I like to taste it first as a one-to-one mixture then add extra tonic as I see fit.
And yes, I might (or might not) like a straw, perhaps two, instead of an irritating plastic stirrer that just gets in the way after it’s done its job. (Having said that, I was once served a superlative G&T in George Clooney’s suite in a smart hotel in the Italian alps. Tragically, George was not there at the time but the drink came with an exquisite stirrer, a long droplet of clear Murano glass that was an utter joy to use, first to stir the drink and then to lick before laying it down gently on the linen napkin. Reader, I stole it.)
The straw allows for gentle stirring and subsequent sipping, but a word of warning here: over-stirring will make the bubbles disperse quickly and flatten the tonic so use your straw and/or stirrer with caution.
At home I favour small cans of tonic (and yes, for me, it has to be Schweppes), over the larger individual bottles. These cans contain 150ml, which is just about right with a 50ml shot of gin. Large bottles of tonic just lose their fizz too quickly, and anyway seem flatter to start with than tonic from a can or small bottle. They may seem a cheaper option but unless you’re serving six G&Ts at a time, they’re generally a false economy.
