How to make the perfect gin and tonic: 4 recipes from Four Pillars Gin

The first gin and tonic was really just tonic. Brits sent to India would deal with the risks of malaria by drinking tonic water, made with the quinine-rich bark of the cinchona tree (quinine being a powerful anti-malarial). The tonic was bitter and hard to drink, so a slug of gin and a bit of lime made it all the more palatable. The gin and tonic was born and it was medicinal too.

I started to fall back in love with the gin and tonic (after years of being sworn off gin and tonics after a particularly bad night on Gordons) when on holiday in Lombok with one of my great mates and his family in 2013. Every evening, after a day of swimming in the pool and dodging the epic heat and humidity, we would park the kids in front of a movie and make a round of gin and tonics for the adults.

The gin and tonics were classically made: a big slug of gin in a tall glass, a long pour of Schweppes tonic and a slice of lemon. I distinctly remember how brilliantly refreshing the first couple of sips were – that pine needle sharpness of the gin and the quinine-y bittersweetness of the tonic. But, by the end of the glass, I’d had enough and didn’t want to go back for a second.

Eight months later when tasting my first Four Pillars Rare Dry gin and tonic, the experience was completely different. Cameron had created a gin that was still built on a canvas of juniper, but his use of lemon myrtle and fresh oranges, combined with the use of spice and heat from the Tassie pepper and star anise, had created a gin that was dangerously drinkable and moreish.

Shifting to Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic (softer and less bitter than regular Indian tonic) also made a massive difference, as did garnishing the drink with a wedge of fresh orange to bring out the orange notes in gin. Suddenly, the gin and tonic was transformed for me, and I’ve never looked back.  The challenge became to remind myself how quickly two or three gin and tonics could disappear on a hot Australian evening!

Since making our first Rare Dry Gin, I’m often asked the question: “How does it go in a gin and tonic?” Here are four of my favourite gin combinations, including the recipe for a perfect gin and tonic.

1. Perfect gin and tonic

• 30-45 ml Rare Dry Gin
• 90-120 ml tonic
• Orange
• Ice

Pour Rare Dry Gin into a glass. Add tonic (I favour Fever-Tree’s Light Mediterranean Tonic).

Stir a few times, then fill the glass with as much good ice (small, sad flaky shards of ice will melt far too quickly in your drink) as you can lay your hands on.

Stir again and garnish with a wedge of fresh orange.

2. Bloody gin and tonic

• 45 ml Bloody Shiraz Gin
• 90 ml tonic
• Orange or lemon
• Ice

Ever since Cam first came up with his brilliant idea to combine our Rare Dry Gin with fresh local Shiraz grapes, we’ve debated the best way to drink it. Unquestionably delicious just over ice with a slice of orange or lemon, it’s also outstanding with any form of lemon mixer, from bitter lemon to lemon tonic to old-fashioned lemonade.

But I always come back to a simple bloody gin and tonic. Consider going 1:2 with your tonic to gin ratio (45ml Bloody Shiraz Gin to 90ml of tonic) because there’s plenty of naturally occurring sugar already in the gin. Add lots of ice and garnish with a slice of orange or lemon.

3. Gin and soda (or sonic)

• 30-45 ml Fresh Yuzu Gin
• 100 ml soda water
• Lemon
• Ice

Depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have, you might want to make your gin and tonic into a gin and sonic, effectively using half soda water and half tonic as your mixer (trendy bartenders coined the idea of a ‘sonic’ years ago and now everyone seems to have jumped on the lower-sugar bandwagon). This way, you get to enjoy the same long, effervescent drink, but with less sugar.

If you want to eliminate the tonic completely, we came up with a gin that we reckon works beautifully in a gin and soda. Combine 30-45 ml of Fresh Yuzu Gin with 100 ml of soda water (try to track down a yuzu soda if you want to double down on bright citrus flavours).

Fill the glass with ice and garnish with a lemon wheel.

4. Gin and ginger

• 30 ml Navy Strength Gin
• 100 ml ginger beer
• Lime
• Ginger
• Ice

My father was a big fan of the Moscow Mule (a 1941 classic that combines vodka and ginger beer in a copper tankard to keep the drink super cold), and I’ve always loved drinks mixed with ginger ale or ginger beer. It also happens that a bunch of our gins go terrifically with ginger mixers.

If you’re feeling brave, try Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin with ginger beer. It goes down far too easily, so just remember the gin you’re starting with is almost 50 per cent stronger than the regular stuff! Start with 30 ml of Navy Strength Gin and 100ml of ginger beer.

Ginger beer or ale is also our preferred mixer with our Australian Christmas Gin. In either case, top up with ice and garnish with a combination of fresh lime, a lime leaf and some fresh ginger. So good!

Tip: Ice done right

I learned from better bartenders than me to build all the liquid in a drink before adding ice. That way, you can see exactly what you’re doing and properly stir the drink before adding the ice. On tonic, there’ s no set rule on the ratio of gin to tonic, but I favour 1:3.

Remember that more ice means a colder drink and less dilution, which is what we want: an ice-cold gin and tonic, not a watery, flat gin and tonic.