You Could Lose Weight If You Choose To Drink Gin Every Night As Opposed To Other Drinks
If losing weight is your goal, choosing to drink gin every night isn’t likely to sabotage your efforts. In fact, it may just help. “I typically tell clients to choose their indulgence … if you’re trying to lose weight, you may not want to go for the dessert and the alcohol every day, but you definitely can make room in your diet for one or the other,” Amy Gorin, registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Amy Gorin Nutrition in New York, explained to Women’s Health. But what you drink or rather how you drink it matters.
“Almost all shots of alcohol are about the same nutritionally it’s what we have with it that makes a difference in the drink,” registered dietician Keri Gans revealed. For the most part, gin and tequila are equal. A martini and a margarita, however, are not.
According to the publication, a gin martini is one of the best low-calorie alcoholic beverages you can have as it contains zero sugar and zero carbs and is just a smidge above 100 calories.
Most People Have Never Tasted A Proper Gin And Tonic
I would argue that most people have never tasted a proper Gin and Tonic. The fault is not their own. Many places will mix a G& T by using some cheap gin in a highball glass, add a few ice cubes, add a lemon wedge and top up with tonic from a dispenser gun. The result would look something like the below picture.
Dont get me wrong. This is just fine if you like the bitter taste of tonic diluted by water and a hint of gin mixed with lemon juice.
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Tips And Tricks For Making The Best Gin And Tonic
The honest truth here is that if you are a person who absolutely hates gin, then you may never really come to enjoy a good g& t- and thats ok. But, dont rule it out until youve tried these simple tips!
TIP- If you are more of a vodka person, follow these simple tips, simply swap the gin for vodka.
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Advice From The Cocktail
By now were all familiar with the history of the gin and tonic: first a product of necessity, the G& T made bitter and quinine-rich tonic water palatable with the addition of gin, ice and citrus. Despite its initial medicinal use, the G& T has since become a favourite of drinkers around the globe and is prized for its freshness and subtle complexity.
Its no wonder that, given its international popularity, the G& T has a number of different guises. When it comes to the eternal question of lemon versus lime, there are a few different takes on the matter. Those who argue for lime say the fruit, with its bright, punchy flavour, offers a boldness that lemon simply cant match. However, many purists argue that lemon is the only choice: as a more delicate fruit, it is less likely to overwhelm the bounty of a gins botanicals.
Try Premium Or Flavored Tonic Water
Regular tonic water isnt your only option. Companies have started to create their own craft versions of tonic water. Some of these simply focus on being higher quality, while others flavor their tonic water too.
Even without added flavoring, high-quality tonic water is worth trying out. These brands tend to rely on actual quinine rather than flavoring. They also use natural sweeteners rather than high fructose corn syrup or skip the sweeteners altogether.
Flavored tonic water is a way to add extra complexity to your cocktail. Most of the time, the tonic water only has a subtle flavor, so youre not overwhelming your drink.
The brand Fever-Tree is a great example of this pattern. Their tonic water products are specifically designed to mix with gin. Examples include elderflower tonic water, aromatic tonic water, and lemon tonic water. Its easy to see how these flavors perfectly complement the botanicals in gin.
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If You Drink Gin Every Night It Won’t Prevent You From Getting Malaria
If you’ve ever heard anyone make reference to gin curing or preventing malaria, there is some basis to the claim sort of. While there’s nothing in gin that can prevent the disease, tonic water contains a compound from the bark of the cinchona tree known as quinine. According to Healthline, quinine was first used to fight malaria and with great success. “It was crucial in reducing the death rate of workers building the Panama Canal in the early 20th century,” the publication noted. As of this writing, quinine is still prescribed in some areas to combat the disease, although it’s not really used to prevent contracting the disease.
Technically, modern-day tonic water may have some preventative abilities, but you’d need to drink a lot of G and Ts. Deb Mills, medical director of The Travel Doctor, did the math and came up with a figure of 67 liters of tonic water per day. So, 33 and a half 2-liter bottles. Don’t try this at home, folks. Maybe, if you choose to drink gin every night, don’t always use the tonic water.
Make It Your ‘it’ Cocktail
Here is some expert advice on serving a beautiful and flavorful cocktail:
- The ratio of gin to sweet vermouth varies wildly in older recipes. Some have equal parts of sweet vermouth and gin, and some even have a 4-to-1 ratio of sweet vermouth to gin. However, it is more common nowadays to see recipes where there is more gin than vermouth. This recipe is 1-to-2 sweet vermouth to gin. Feel free to change up the ratio to one that suits your taste.
- Some recipes add a dash of orange bitters, which is advisable if these are the kind of flavors you gravitate toward when ordering a cocktail.
- The odd number of cherries suggested is not just a random choice. Traditionally, you should use either one or three cherries, never an even number as it’s believed to bring bad luck.
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You Can Improve Your Heart Health If You Drink Gin Every Night
“As with other types of alcohol, there is some evidence to suggest that moderate consumption can help reduce the risk of heart attacks…,” nutritionist Jackie Lynch confirmed to Good to Know. Now, that doesn’t mean you can throw back martini after martini and expect to strengthen your heart. “This relates to one small glass per day, as studies have shown that as you increase your intake to three glasses per day the risk of cardiovascular disease increases dramatically,” the nutritionist continued. She further recommended opting for a “single rather than a double measure” of gin to be safe.
Although a nightly gin martini can improve your heart health, a gin and tonic may not, due to the added sugar. Because an excess consumption of sugar has been linked to heart disease, you’re going to want to avoid adding any sweet mixers to your measure of gin if you choose to drink gin every night.
Gin And Tonic History
This is actually quite interesting
The Gin and Tonic was brought to India by the British East India Company in the early 19th century. Due to the tropical climate faced by India and the surrounding regions, malaria became a revolving issue for all who lived there. When it was discovered in the 1700s that quinine could be used to prevent the disease, people began to drink it in tonic water. Quinine, however, has a very bitter taste.
Fast-forward to the early 19th centurysoldiers thought to add a combination of water, sugar, lime, andGINto the Quinine to make it more tolerable. It was then that the gin and tonic came to be.
Thank you, malaria
just kidding. malaria is awful, horrible, miserable.
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How Strong Is A Gin And Tonic
The gin and tonic can be as light or as strong as you want to make it. The strength is controlled by the amount of tonic you pour. With the average 5-ounce pour of tonic and an 80-proof gin, the drink weighs in around 10 percent ABV . It’s a very casual drink, which is why it’s a favorite to serve at dinner.
Why I Love This Fantastic Cocktail
If you try making your own gin & tonic, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
For more cocktail recipes check out,
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What Are Gin And Tonic
It is a low-alcohol cocktail, consisting of strong grain alcohol with spicy herbs, tonic bitter-sour refreshing soda, citrus lemon or lime, and ice.
Initially, gin and tonic were a mixture of malaria. Quinine makes the drink extremely bitter, so to soften this bitterness, people started to use gin. The medical tonic consisted of carbonated water and a large amount of quinine. Also, things to mix with gin such as sugar, corn syrup, or synthetic sweeteners were added to the drinking version.
In mass production at distilleries, rectified ethyl alcohol with juniper and lemon flavorings is added to the cocktail. In such cocktails, the alcoholic flavor is not so strong against the tonic background, and the drink itself is inexpensive. But it is much more interesting to make mixed drinks with gin at home.
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Spiced Orange & Cinnamon G& t
50ml ginFresh orange slices Fresh ground nutmegCinnamon stickPour gin and tonic into a glass over plenty of ice, add in a few orange slices, a little sprinkle of ground nutmeg and garnish with a cinnamon stick. Dont use dried ground cinnamon. Sloe gin and Christmas-spiced gin work well in this recipe.
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Spanish Gin And Tonic Cocktail Recipe
Inspired by Barcelona, Spain
- Aida MollenkampFounder and Editor-in-Chief, Salt & Wind
Its been a few years now that my friends who live in Barcelona have been all about Gin and Tonics.
They talked about how the bars there serve all sorts of gin with any number of tonics, and, frankly, it just sounded like a well-made drink to me. But when I went to Spain a few weeks ago to film Off-Menu, I totally got it. Night after night, I headed to different bars, and they all had versions of this Spanish-style G+T.
Variations Of The Gin And Tonic
Sure, each was as different as snowflakes, but they were all had a few things in common: served in big red wine glasses, piled high with ice, and just one shot of gin with loads and loads of tonic . The result is a Gin + Tonic thats so much lighter than any youve had before, but it still allows the gin to shine totally.
Gin And Tonic Twist
On my trip, I enlisted Lucy Garcia to show me some G+T spots, and my favorite was at Xixbar in Barcelona, where they took Bloom Gin and combined it with slices of mandarin and a high-quality light tonic. This gin and tonic recipe is an ode to that drink and will more than hold me over until I can make it back to Barça.
Okay, thats it! Go stock up on all your bar essentials, then head into the kitchen, make this, and share it with us by tagging saltandwind and #swsociety on social!
The Botanist Islay Dry Gin
While many modern gins veer away from juniper, The Botanist brings the attention back to gins foremost ingredient. This makes it a great choice for purists, as well as newbies looking to appreciate fine, juniper-forward gin.
The Botanist has a total of 22 botanicals all of which are hand-foraged on the Scottish island of Islay. All these botanicals come through in each step of the tasting process with a crisp, flowery, citrus flavor. This makes it one of the best gins for sipping straight, although its also great for upgraded cocktails.
Courtesy Drizly.com
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The 7 Best Gin Mixers To Have In Your Pantry This 2021
With so much time being spent in our houses, many of us are spending more time indulging in the finer things in life namely, whatever liquor weve stocked up on. If youre like some of us here at The Manual, that includes copious amounts of gin and now, days into quarantine, the fancy cocktail ingredients you may have stocked up on are most likely running out. Instead, its time to switch to basic mixers for your essential gin cocktails.
The joy of gin is that there are so many styles and botanical blends out there that you can find a flavor profile for just about any palate. That wide variety, too, means that you can utilize a number of different mixers for simple, delicious drinks. Listed below are the best mixers weve pulled together so you can stock up on for when you need a gin drink.
Gin And Tonic Glassware Options
Glassware for a G& T is all about personal preference. A classic presentation is in a tall Collins glass, or a stout double rocks glass. More modern options are a large balloon glass or perhaps a stemless wine glass.
Theres no right or wrong here, but different glass shapes will affect the drinking experience. A rounded, balloon glass will funnel the aromatics of the gin to your nose, which can make for a more flavorful drink. Large balloon glasses are also excellent for garnishing with a variety of botanicals to further emphasize the flavors and aromas of the gin.
A tall and narrow highball glass will preserve more of the carbonation, keeping your drink more effervescent for longer. Try a couple of different glasses with your favorite gin and see which works best for you.
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Red Chilli Lime & Coriander G& t
1 red chilliJuice of half a lime50ml gin125ml tonic water Coriander leaves to garnish
Slit the chilli lengthwise and scrape out and remove the seeds and pith. Slice and muddle gently in a glass. Add ice, lime juice and gin. Top with tonic and stir gently until chilled. Garnish with coriander leaves if using.
What’s The Difference Between Tonic Water And Club Soda
Tonic water is a type of soda water that is most often used in mixed drinks. The carbonated beverage includes several flavoring botanicals, including quinine derived from cinchona bark, which accounts for its dry, bitter taste. Famously poured into the gin and tonic, tonic water is a versatile, refreshing soda for various cocktails and nonalcoholic drinks enjoyed the world over.
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Tip : Add Fun Garnishes That Accentuate The Gin
Another cue we took from the Spanish gin and tonic tradition: use lots of garnishes that accentuate the gin flavor! According to this , the use of vegetables and herbs to highlight the botanicals is popular. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- Lime or lemon wedge
- Blood orange slices
- Rosemary
Try Other Fruit Juices
Some other juices can complement a gin and tonic as well. Cranberry juice is a good place to begin, as this has noticeable tartness of its own. Pomegranate can be appealing too and there are plenty of other good examples.
Including juice will involve some trial and error. While juices are a fantastic way to add to the flavor of your drink, they can also be very sweet and risk overpowering the other ingredients. Because of this, its best to start with small amounts of juice and go from there.
You might find that you only need a little juice to make your drink taste fantastic.
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