Gin and Tonic == Summer in a Glass

On a warm summer day there is nothing better than sitting on the deck sipping a drink that tastes like the season itself – a perfectly made G & T.

It seems like the name of this drink must contain all of the ingredients, but in fact there is much more to it.

Gin, tonic, ice, bitters, and lime

Put two cubes of ice in a highball glass. Add enough refrigerated gin to generously cover them – more or less. Refrigerating the gin keeps the drink cool and refreshing, while gin from the freezer is too cool and will take away some of the taste.

Add enough tonic to fill the glass – more or less – depending on your preferences for sweet versus strong. Now you’ve got a cool and tasty drink – but we can do better.

Add a dash (I use four drops because my OCD requires me to count everything) of Angostura bitters, to add some complexity to the flavor.

Squeeze in a quarter to a half of a juicy lime. Juicy limes – not too old. I hear that they keep better when stored in the fridge in an airtight bag, but I prefer to buy small batches and use them before they get old.

Almost ready

The final step is to take those nearly depleted lime quarters and rub them around the rim of the glass, so that before you even take a sip you have the summery smell of lime tickling your nose.

Be careful

Most hard alcohol, including most vodka and whiskey, is 40% alcohol. Yes, you can always get over proof rum at 75.5%, but normally hard alcohol seems to be pretty consistent, around these parts, at 40%.

However a lot of gins kick it up a notch, coming in at 47%. Or even (oh my!) 47.3%. So watch out.

That’s it. That’s the recipe for summer in a glass.

One can of tonic makes three drinks. Tonic doesn’t keep well, and I hate to waste it, but if I drink three G & Ts then both my blood alcohol and blood sugar levels will hit uncomfortable levels. So have a friend or two to share the result.

That’s it. Now you just need somewhere sunny to sit while you enjoy your drink.