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Making the perfect gin and tonic

June 16, 2018 | Michael Turtle | 39 Comments

FOOD AND DRINK

This guide to making the perfect gin and tonic is direct from one of the best cocktail experts in Spain's Catalonia region.

  • ONE: THE GLASS
  • TWO: THE ICE
  • THREE: THE GIN
  • FOUR: THE TONIC
  • FIVE: THE GARNISH

Gin and tonic recipe

I call it a β€˜gin and tonic’. The Spanish call it a β€˜gin tonic’. Who needs conjunctions when they taste so good?

In the north east of the country, deep into Catalonia, gin tonics have become the fashionable drink. People sit outside on the street tables drinking them. Some bars serve only gin and nothing else.

How to make the perfect gin and tonic

One of them is Els Cacadors in the small town of Ribes de Freser. It’s a family business that also has a restaurant and a hotel – but, of course, it’s the drinks I’m most interested in.

The good news is that one of the owners, Ramon Pau, has offered to teach me how to make the perfect gin tonic and let me taste a few different types.

β€œTen years ago in Spain people drink wine, now it’s the same with gin tonic,” he explains. β€œGin tonic is now a different category and it is a gastronomy.”

How to make the perfect gin and tonic

He would know. The bar has been in the family for four generations and he’s seen the change in the scene. I settled on to a stool at his bar, gladly accepted the first of the gin tonics and started to ask him to spill his secrets.

Here, now, I share how to make the perfect gin tonic.

The glass

The glass needs to help open up the flavours. The worst thing you can do is drink the gin tonics from a skinny glass.

I know it’s the popular thing in most bars and clubs you might go, but the experts prefer the bigger and rounder glasses. It’s all got to do with the ice, apparently.

Ramon uses two glasses to demonstrate his point. Have a look at the photo below: The skinny glass held three bits of ice while the larger one held eight.

How to make the perfect gin and tonic

The ice

Ramon looks at me seriously when he makes this next point. β€œWater is the enemy of the gin tonic,” he says, as though discussing a lethal toxin that can’t be touched.

The aim here is to stop the ice from melting. So the bigger the pieces, the better. The more compact (as in, closer to each other), the better. The more you can fit in, the better.

The gin

β€œIs there a best gin in the world?” Ramon asks himself. β€œNo, there’s no such thing.”

But choosing the right gin for you is very important. He serves 50 types of gin at Els Cacadors and when he opens his new bar later in the year he’ll have about 100 on offer. Each gin has its own strength, its own fruit influences, its own bitterness.

My two favourites were a German gin called β€˜Monkey 47’ and a British one called β€˜One Key’.

How to make the perfect gin and tonic

The tonic

The standard for every gin tonic is a plain Schweppes tonic.

β€œThat’s my reference,” is how Ramon puts it. It will work with everything… but then you can try some other tonics to see if you like them better.

β€œYou can compare it with something more fun, more exotic, more botanic,” Ramon says.

For strong and dry gins, he recommends using the β€˜azahar lavender’ tonic. For flowery gins (or β€˜lady flavours’, as he calls them), Ramon suggests the β€˜pink pepper’ tonic. And for cinnamon gins, try a ginger ale.

How to make the perfect gin and tonic

The ratio

There isn’t too much room for flexibility here. The gin portion of the drink should be between 30 and 50 millilitres and the tonic should be about 200 millilitres.

β€œNot too much gin because the mixer must be friendly,” Ramon says. Originally I had found it a bit weird that he kept personifying the ingredients of the drink. Now it seems quite natural. I’m sure I wouldn’t be the first person who has spent an evening talking into my glass.

The garnish

This is where I’ve always made the biggest mistakes. I’ve traditionally always used a wedge of lime in my gin tonics but Ramon looks at me with disgust when I tell him this.

“The acid of the lime or the lemon kills the gin,” he admonishes. He uses slivers of lemon rind as the main addition to the liquids. If you want to get a bit fancy, he says you can also use juniper berries, strawberries and mint leaves.

How to make the perfect gin and tonic

We’re on to our third glass of gin tonic by now. Actually, let me rephrase that. I’m on to my third gin tonic. Ramon has maintained a peculiar degree of professionalism through all of this. That’s because, for him, this is something serious. It all makes sense when I ask him to share his most important tip.

How to make the perfect gin and tonic

He smiles. There’s no hesitation – he knows the answer immediately. “The most important thing is the company and the friends.”

Too true.

>> More info about the gin bar at Els Cacadors <<

Time Travel Turtle was a guest of the Costa Brava Pirineu de Girona tourism board but the opinions, over-written descriptions and bad jokes are his own.

Reader Interactions

    Comments Cancel reply

  1. T.W. Anderson @ Marginal Boundaries |

    October 9, 2012 at 10:59 pm

    Reply

    Gin and tonics have long been a favorite of mine, along with a dry vodka martini. I’m mostly a wine drinker but when I do order a “drink” while out and about, it’s usually gin and tonic first, dry vodka martini second, and if I’m feeling festive I’ll go for my third choice, mojitos πŸ™‚

    Good stuff!

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 22, 2012 at 12:03 pm

      Reply

      Well, I hope this helped then. Although you might want to be careful giving a bartender advice on how to make your drinks. I’ve discovered they don’t really appreciate that! πŸ™‚

  2. Steve |

    October 10, 2012 at 2:24 am

    Reply

    MMM I love gin and tonic!! Awesome article–bookmarked and saved for libation time!

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 22, 2012 at 12:04 pm

      Reply

      Let me know how you go and if you notice a difference from using some of these tips!

  3. Cristina Garcia |

    October 10, 2012 at 3:47 am

    Reply

    You cannot use Schweppes tonic on a Gin and tonic. This brand uses too much sugar. The perfect tonic (for me anyway) is Fever tree tonic. It is super amazing. Mix it with Hendricks, lemon peel and lemon verbena. Awesome

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 22, 2012 at 2:15 pm

      Reply

      Ooohh… controversial!! πŸ™‚
      I guess the choice of tonic is a personal decision for some people. It’s probably worth trying a few options to see what works for you.

    • Mark Christenson |

      September 3, 2014 at 12:54 am

      Reply

      Cristina–not sure where you are writing from. If you’re talking about Schweppes tonic from the US, then you are correct–avoid at all costs. However the Euro Schweppes is a different formula and worthwhile. In the US I heartily agree–Fever-Tree is the only/best option! Also a brief note to Michael–the German gin is Monkey 47, not just Monkey–killer stuff for sure!

    • Lisa |

      June 15, 2017 at 4:17 am

      Reply

      Hendricks with eldetflower tonic lots of ice and cucumber simply delicious!

  4. thetravelfool |

    October 10, 2012 at 5:08 am

    Reply

    You have to admire a professional that knows his craft.

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 22, 2012 at 2:15 pm

      Reply

      Especially when that ‘craft’ involves mixing drinks! πŸ™‚

  5. Adela @FourJandals |

    October 10, 2012 at 7:23 am

    Reply

    I love gin and tonic. We did a gin tasting earlier in the year and I was amazed at how many gins are out there, and also how many different tonic combinations you can use. Interesting about the jar shape, I always assumed skinny was best.

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 22, 2012 at 2:17 pm

      Reply

      Before this opportunity, I had never thought too much about it either. I’d always assumed all gins were fairly similar and there was only one way to mix things together. It’s opened up my eyes (and made me want to try all the different types of gin…)

  6. Nicole |

    October 10, 2012 at 2:35 pm

    Reply

    Um, yes please πŸ˜‰ Baby B is asleep so a gin and tonic sounds wonderful.

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 22, 2012 at 2:47 pm

      Reply

      Ha ha – I’m sure you deserve it!! πŸ™‚

  7. Micki |

    October 10, 2012 at 4:02 pm

    Reply

    Mmmm… Excellent post. I’ve become a fan of the gin and tonic in the last couple of years, though I admit to enjoying it with a slice of lime (apologies to Ramon).

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 22, 2012 at 2:49 pm

      Reply

      I’ve always had it with lime myself. I always thought that was fine… but you can really taste the difference if you take his suggestions!

  8. Natalie |

    October 10, 2012 at 4:05 pm

    Reply

    I like gin but unfortunately I think it does not like me!!

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 22, 2012 at 2:54 pm

      Reply

      Oh no – that sounds like possibly the worst thing in the world! How could gin mistreat you so?

  9. D.J. - The World of Deej |

    October 10, 2012 at 10:43 pm

    Reply

    I’m actually not a fan of gin tonics, but MJ loves them and I make them for her all the time. I’ll have to remember these tips:)

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 22, 2012 at 2:56 pm

      Reply

      I hope you impress her and she notices the difference! It will have made this post all worthwhile! πŸ™‚

  10. TONI ARNAU |

    October 11, 2012 at 12:58 am

    Reply

    Great Gin Tonic from “La Cerdanya”, Catalonia. We are the new spanish Tuscany region with many things to discover if you comes.

    Thanks to TBEX Congress you know Catalonia and we are enjoying your faboulous articles.

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 22, 2012 at 2:57 pm

      Reply

      Excellent, thanks for the info! And you’re right about Catalonia having just as much to offer as Tuscany… except for maybe the museums of Florence.

  11. Andrew |

    October 17, 2012 at 7:56 am

    Reply

    I really like Gin-Tonic, but definitely do not have much of a palette. I am quite happy with cheap gin and whatever tonic is around. I just like the way it makes me feel. πŸ™‚

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 23, 2012 at 2:47 pm

      Reply

      Oh, don’t say that! That’s how I used to think… but then I had an enlightenment. Now that I’ve tried such a variety of amazing gins, I’m not sure I could ever go back to the simple ones…

  12. Lisa Joy |

    November 4, 2012 at 8:22 am

    Reply

    Ya no wot, Turts? Every few weeks I catch up on your blogs but every time I log on, I go to the map on the front page and look at all those upside down red teardrops.

    You’ve been away for almost 18 months now and the teardrops hardly make a splash. There is still so much green to explore. We really are insignificant, aren’t we?

    Here’s to lots more upside down teardrops, adventures, and spreading the word and the world. πŸ™‚

    • Michael Turtle |

      November 4, 2012 at 1:12 pm

      Reply

      Oh, thanks Lisa. You’ve described it so well and make the journey seem a lot more romantic than it actually is!
      But, yes, you’re right. There is still a lot of green on that map. Gradually it’s being replaced by red but you can’t rush these things or you don’t experience them properly!!

  13. Manuel |

    June 15, 2013 at 3:12 am

    Reply

    Do you know something about the “BotΓ‘nicos para Gin tonic”?,
    What do you prefer?
    Regards!
    http://www.tododelicatessen.es/blog/item/16-botanicos-gin-tonic

    • Michael Turtle |

      June 23, 2013 at 1:09 am

      Reply

      I hadn’t heard about it at all. Thanks for the tip!

  14. Shazbag |

    May 15, 2015 at 7:34 pm

    Reply

    Have recently discovered the joys of gin as well. Current fav is Caurunn (luxury Scottish gin) thin slivers of apple and schweppes tonic does it for me. In total agreement with Els, a “copa” has to be the glass of choice

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 17, 2015 at 5:40 pm

      Reply

      The thin slivers of apple is an interesting take on it. I’m not sure if I’ve ever done that. Might have to give it a go next time! Sounds healthier too πŸ™‚

  15. Bahtiyar |

    October 10, 2016 at 2:18 pm

    Reply

    WOW! Hello, Michael. Thanks for a great receipt. I have recently considered about building a good bar in my flat. Having a good Gin tonic in it would be a perfect option. Especially, while having intimate dates with girls, this drink will be tremendously effective!

  16. Mal Harris |

    January 2, 2017 at 12:55 pm

    Reply

    Just a question about the method used to add, I assume, the tonic. Why is the long skewer used? Thank you.

    • Michael Turtle |

      January 2, 2017 at 1:04 pm

      Reply

      Hi Mal. Pouring it down the swizzle stick helps keep the gas in the tonic so that the drink is more effervescent.
      (I’m not sure I would notice the difference – but that’s the logic!!) πŸ™‚

  17. Jo-Anne French |

    August 8, 2018 at 8:40 am

    Reply

    I love my Gin and Tonic, this has been an eye opener for me with the sliver of lemon and lots of ice. Many Thanks

  18. Erin Lastin |

    April 19, 2020 at 1:40 am

    Reply

    A gin and tonic is my favourite “sundowner,” preferably shared with good friends overlooking a desert, beach or jungle somewhere. Beautiful way to start the evening.

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This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.

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