What Is The Best Ratio Of Gin To Tonic
A gin and tonic should be crisp and refreshing, never boozy or heavy. After doing some research, ratios can vary. Some enjoy equal parts gin to tonic, others reduce the gin and double the tonic. For us, we liked it right in the middle, which kept the drink light and crisp, but still aromatic from the gin.
What Is A Gin And Tonic
A gin and tonic is a deliciously refreshing highball drink consisting of gin and tonic water. Most recipes call for ice as well, but we skip that in this drink .
The gin to tonic water ratio can differ greatly based on personal preference and type of gin used.
Traditional gin and tonic recipes use regular tonic water, which is basically sugary carbonated water with a small amount of quinine in it for the iconic bitter taste.
This gin and tonic recipe, however, substitutes the regular tonic water for a diet version, eliminating the sugars and carbs while keeping the drink delicious!
Is Gin And Tonic A Healthy Drink
While any alcohol you consume should be in moderation, a gin and tonic is one of the healthier cocktails you can choose. And since it only has two main components , a gin and tonic doesnt rack up the calories like more complex cocktails. Calorie counts vary depending on the brand of tonic water, expect a G& T to come in at about 190 calories. If youre watching your calorie count, you can switch regular tonic for diet, or cut down to 1-1/2 ounces of gin.
Plus, juniper berry, the major flavor behind gin, boasts several important health benefits. These small blue-hued berries can aid digestion and reduce bloating. They are also rich in antioxidants, which may have immune boosting and anti-inflammatory properties.
That said, alcohol is alcohol and too much isnt a good thing. You can have your gin and drink it too, just dont go overboard.
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The Surprising Reason Gin And Tonic Was Invented
Is there any better summertime drink than a gin and tonic? A classic cocktail of juniper-infused gin and astringent tonic water, G& T’s are usually served with fresh lime over lots of ice and are the ultimate refresher when it’s hot and humid.
If you enjoy gin and tonics, you may already know about their origin story. According to Escape, this story has its roots in some unlikely historical events. Used by locals for the prevention of malaria, the bark of the cinchona, or quina-quina, tree was introduced to Jesuit missionaries in South America back in the 1630s . Later, in the early 1800s, quinine taking its name from the tree was extracted from the bark and purified into a powder this purified version went on to largely replace the use of the bark and was what British soldiers were given during the colonization of India in the 19th century. Slate notes that by the 1840s, Britain was sending about 700 tons of cinchona bark to India for its British citizens and soldiers. And, it would be this antimalarial that would spark the idea of creating a “tonic water.”
Who Invented The Gin And Tonic
Gin and Tonic is currently enjoying a surge in popularity amongst the British public. In recent years we have seen a number of gin brands, including our own, come onto the market and gain favour with the G& T enthusiast. At the same time, there has also been a surge in tonic water brands, giving the shopper more variety than supermarket own-makes and the pub-standard Schweppes. Therefore, weve never had more choice in how we take our glass of G& T.
But before we pour ourselves another, lets think about how this world-renowned drink first came into being. Who invented the Gin and Tonic? Where did it originate? Lets take a look…
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Start With Quality Ingredients
There are plenty of opinions about what makes the gin and tonic perfect, but I think everyone will agree that you need to begin with a quality gin and a quality tonic water .
Like any cocktail, it will only be as good as the sum of its parts, and poor quality ingredients can ruin the entire experience. This doesnt mean that you need to spend a lot of money, but dont use bottom shelf gin or store brand tonic water. Tip: if your gin or your tonic water are packaged in plastic, chances are theyre not the best choices.
Calories In Gin: How Does Alcohol
Gin is often a drink of choice for those of us watching our waistlines thanks to its slightly lower number of calories per serving when compared with other alcoholic drinks.
Those looking to cut down on their alcohol intake will be pleased to discover that they can also significantly cut their calorie intake when drinking Gordons Alcohol Free 0.0%.
- A 50ml measure of Gordons Special Dry London Gin contains 104 calories, which is roughly the same as two ginger nut biscuits.
- A 50ml measure of Gordons Alcohol Free 0.0% contains six calories, which is roughly the same as half a crisp.
Those amounts dont account for the calories in your preferred tonic water, of course, but the vast majority of the calories in your G& T unavoidably comes from the alcohol.
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What Cocktail Glass Is Used For A Gin And Tonic
What cocktail glass is used for a gin and tonic? For versatility, highball glasses are recommended as theyre ideal for both G& Ts and cocktails, while copa glasses are best if youre looking for a new way to serve a G& T and show off its botanicals. For martini aficionados, its best to stick to the trusted martini glass.
What do gin glasses look like? Theyre round glasses on long stems and usually have a large capacity, like a bulbous wine glass. When dining out, youll often be served your G& T in one of these, because they can be packed full of ice and garnishes.
What glass would gin be served in? Traditionally, gin and tonic is served in a Tom Collins glass. With its long shape, this glass can easily hold your favourite G& T. However, the problem with the Tom Collins is that the glass shape can melt the ice more quickly which dilutes the taste.
What size should a gin glass be? An ideal gin glass should be able to hold about 10-20 oz.
Can I Make Tonic Water At Home
Many types of soda are fun to make at home. However, tonic water is one that should always be purchased from a reputable manufacturer. Due to the serious side effects of cinchonism, it can be harmful to make your own tonic syrup from cinchona bark because it is impossible to control the amount of quinine. It is generally safe to purchase a premade tonic syrup if you follow the companys recommended dilution to make tonic water. As an alternative, you can make quinine-free tonic syrup at home.
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Gin & Tonic Glasses Which One To Use
We would recommend a Spanish-style copa glass to enjoy your G& T in. The shape of the balloon glass means the aromas of the gin are trapped to give a better taste to your G& T 80% of taste is down to smell, which makes this glass style perfect. The size of a copa glass allows you to add a good quantity of ice and will also stop the ice cubes from melting as quickly as they do in a standard Collins glass.
How To Make The Perfect Gin And Tonic
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The Gin and Tonic is a quintessential summer cocktail. At its simplest, this classic drink requires just two components. But choose high quality ingredients and finish with some thoughtful garnishing and you can make this simple gin cocktail truly extraordinary. Often regarded as just a warm weather drink, with a few tweaks, this refreshing G& T transitions easily to fall and winter happy hours.
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Gin & Tonic: 3 4 Drinks
Assuming its made with 2 ounces London Dry gin to four or five ounces tonic, three or four of these is the average amount a bartender suggests for an enjoyable night out.
Any more than two definitely means youll be a bit drunk, which is fine. Those serving amounts are pretty standard, Elena explains. Keep in mind, if a standard drink or serving contains one and a half ounces of distilled spirits, which is about forty percent alcohol, that means a gin & tonic youd get at the bar is already more than a serving.
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Choosing The Right Tonic For Your Favorite Gin
In recent years, the number of different tonic waters available worldwide has grown. They differ in various respects, in particular in the amount of quinine and sugar, they contain, which determines the bitterness or sweetness of the tonic. Other ingredients also contribute to the flavor of a tonic, such as various citrus fruits, the most common of which is lemon.
The palette of flavors contained in tonics continues to expand, with elderflower, chamomile and rose being some of the latest additions. Karttunen gives advice to every gin and tonic enthusiast: “First, identify the style of your own favorite gin, and the dominant flavors in it.”
In the case of clear-cut classic gins, the juniper berry is very pronounced, and so its important to choose a classic tonic water that respects this character of the gin. This type of gin doesnt go very well with tonics that have a pronounced citrus or flowery taste. Gins with a more diverse palette of flavors, on the other hand, invite experimentation with more flowery tonics to accentuate the rich variety of flavorings. The easiest combination is a classic gin with a classic tonic water. A more multi-dimensional style requires some experimentation.
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In Another Study Look What They Have To Say About Alcohol Particularly Beer Consumption:
In a study published in The Lancet medical journal this spring, researchers followed over 47,000 male medical professionals with no history of gout for up to 12 years. By the end of the study, close to 2 percent of the men had experienced attacks of gout. Men who drank the most alcohol daily had twice the risk of developing the disorder as men who did not drink. Beer drinkers increased their risk by 50% for every daily serving, while those who drank hard liquor increased their risk by 15% for each drink. Men who drank wine did not appear to increase their risk for gout, although few men had more than two glasses of wine daily so these results are less conclusive.
The researchers believe beer consumption leads to gout because of its high purine content. Through the process of digestion, the purine compound breaks down to form uric acid. Normally, uric acid leaves the body through urine. But if the kidneys are unable to process all of the uric acid, levels in the blood become too high. The uric acid may then form crystal deposits in the joints. These deposits are the cause of gout. Beer was more likely to be associated with gout than spirits, and spirits in turn more than wine. 2
Also check out the other beverages we gout sufferers should try and avoid or at least limit their consumption like soft drinks which Ill talk about in more detail in a future post:
But If The Gin Is Good Surely Thats All That Counts
Premium small-batch tonics are pleasantly bitter, much less sweet and bonus! lower in calories. These pared-down flavours allow for the profile of whichever gin youre drinking to really shine through. It wont matter what top-shelf gin youve bought if youve matched it with a budget tonic, all youre going to get is .
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If You Drink Gin Every Night Will You Look Younger
The fountain of youth is full of gin, yall. Well, sort of. Cleverly named brand Anti-aGin promised consumers a younger appearance upon drinking their gin. According to a statement by the U.K. brand , Anti-aGin is distilled with collagen and other anti-aging botanicals in order to help people look younger whilst having fun .
Anti-aGin continued, The ingredients were specifically chosen due to their revitalising qualities, including healing sun damage, being rich in minerals, inhibiting scar formation and to help smooth cellulite. The gin also contains aromas of chamomile and tea tree, with a spicy hit formed of nettle, witch-hazel and gotu kola complementing a classic base of juniper, coriander and Angelica root with a cardamom finish. Well, it sounds interesting enough.
While this brand does add some look-good, feel-good ingredients to its gin, all gin contains juniper berries and juniper berries have been scientifically proven to have anti-aging potential. So maybe deciding to drink gin every night could keep you looking youthful though we wouldnt base your whole skincare regimen on this and wed definitely recommend avoiding skincare mistakes that make you look older.
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Gin Is A Dutch Innovation
Gins long history goes back to seventeenth-century Holland, when a gin-like liquor called jenever was distilled. Jenever derives its name from the juniper berry. Over time, the Dutch word became anglicized and abbreviated to gin.
The ethanol on which gin is based is most often distilled from cereal, and the juniper berry remains the main flavoring. To a large degree, gins are classified according to the classic gin styles, such as London dry gin, which is produced with all the flavoring ingredients being included in the distillation. Distilled dry gin is similar to London dry gin, but the flavorings can be added as separate distillates.
The gins of today can also include aromatic substances or extracts. In addition to the juniper berry, the most commonly used flavorings in gin are coriander seeds or fennel seeds. Aquavit, the Nordic variant of gin, is also characterized by the addition of cumin and dill.
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The Importance Of Ice
Ice is key to any cocktail and the Gin and Tonic is no different. I really cant stress enough how important it is to use quality ice. This generally doesnt mean ice made in your standard tray. Its too small. We want big ice the bigger, the better!
Ive tried various permutations:
- ice made in the freezer from small and big moulds
- ice purchased from the supermarket
- clear ice made at home by directional freezing
Ice made using directional freezing is undoubtedly my favourite in terms of my enjoyment of the G& T. It produces ice thats completely clear and allows for it to be cut by hand to the size required.
You need to plan in advance for this as the whole process takes around 24 hours. Youll also need a chest cooler with enough freezer space to fit it.
If you dont have the time for this, purchasing ice from the supermarket is your best bet.
How much ice for a Gin & Tonic?
Its a common misconception that lots of ice ruins a Gin and Tonic. However, Id recommend as much ice as you can fit in the glass.
It cools your drink faster and leaves it cold for the duration of your drink. It also means the ice melts more slowly, thus reducing the dilution in your drink.
Where Did The Gin & Tonic Come From
The G& T actually started its life as a medicinal cure. Back in the 1850s as the British Crown took over the governance of India, British colonial officers faced a serious threat from mosquito-borne Malaria.
It was known that quinine a derivative of cinchona tree bark not only cured malaria, but also prevented it. The British troops were duly ordered to dose up with quinine to help fend-off the life-threatening illness.
The prescribed quinine powder was extremely bitter, so to make it more palatable, British officials started adding it to sugar and soda to create a tonic water which some bright spark soon realised tasted even better when mixed with gin and slice of lime… and so, the G& T was born!
Gin and tonics remained a traditional British staple throughout most of the 20th century, although by the 1980s they had gained a somewhat unfashionable and fusty image.
Why is gin so popular now?
Come the millennium, a whole new style of G& T hailing from Spain helped the drink reach a new generation of drinkers. The Spanish gin tonica is said to have originated in culinary capital, San Sebastian, where the local array of Michelin-starred chefs developed a penchant for mixing their after-work gin with lots of ice and tonic, in large-bowled, long-stemmed glasses, garnished with an array of botanicals.
And there a lot of those aficionados these days in 2018, Brits purchased over 66 million bottles of gin.
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Was The Gin And Tonic Really Invented As A Malaria Preventative
Per Escape, gin and tonic’s origin story goes like this: British soldiers, who were each given a daily ration of quinine powder as an antimalarial during the colonial occupation of India, at some point thought to mix in some gin. Slate explains that the soldiers first tried mixing the bitter powder with sugar and water, creating a kind of early version of “tonic water,” but then, as Escape says, the soldiers also tried mixing in gin, finding that the distilled drink further smoothed out the sharp taste and it probably didn’t hurt that the drink was inebriating as well.
The Independent reports it was actually a British man named Erasmus Bond who invented the first official tonic water in 1858, inspired by the fact that many people by that time had already started to use gin to help with quinine’s bitterness. Even Winston Churchill acknowledged the genius of the cocktail, once declaring, “The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen’s lives, and minds, than all the doctors in the Empire.”
But can a refreshing cocktail really help prevent malaria? According to Forbes, one would need to drink 67 liters of tonic water in order to reach the dosage of quinine that is antimalarial. While it’s unclear how much tonic water British soldiers downed per day, it’s quite unlikely that they reached nearly 70 liters and unclear how much of a role tonic water really had in preventing malaria. One thing we know for sure G& Ts are an antidote for? Hot, humid summer nights.