Choose the best tonic for your gin
In a high ball glass, pour 60 ml of gin, extend with 120 ml of tonic, add a few ice cubes. Your gin and tonic, according to Melifera, is ready to taste. A mythical cocktail, the “ginto” is expressed in its greatest simplicity, without artifacts. The secret of its success: exigency. In the choice of gin, of course, but also of the tonic that accompanies it. Faced with the variety of the offer, how to not be wrong? How to choose the best tonic for your gin? Here is some ome advice to help you in your selection.
Origins of the Tonic
Initially, the star is her: tonic water! Originally discovered in the middle of the 18th century, this decoction is the result of maceration in bark of Cinchona water, a small shrub native to South America and Africa. A drink that seduces for its medicinal properties, mainly against malaria in tropical regions. Less for its taste! Its bitterness, much more assertive than today, pushes consumers to find alternatives. Sugar and alcohol are added to it. And in the English colonies, it goes without saying that it is the national gin that we will happily associate with tonic. It is true that the green notes of the gin, made from juniper, blend perfectly with the bitterness of the tonic water. So when in addition we tell you that it is a medicinal drink! Why deprive yourself of it?
Tonic and gin, the major alliance
Choosing a tonic for your gin can be particularly tricky. But before going any further, a quick stop on its composition: what is a tonic? A more or less sweet
carbonated drink, based on water and quinine, the dominant ingredient that gives it its bitterness, often supplemented with botanicals such as flowers,
herbs and other spices. For gin, if the taste of juniper berries dominates, the botanicals that go into its composition, its maceration process or even its
distillation technique gives it its richness and uniqueness. This is to say all the variety and subtlety of flavors that will have to be taken into account. An infinite
playground that has boosted the imagination of the great formulators of new generation tonics, but also a real challenge for those who are embarking on the elaboration of the perfect gin & to .
Mix and match
A few simple tips. First, for the sparkling side, prefer a tonic in a glass bottle that better preserves carbon dioxide, never in a plastic bottle. Then bet on
the high quality of the selected products, natural and organic, bearing in mind that even excellence will not necessarily achieve perfection! Because that’s
where all the art of mixology comes into play. Concentrate on the aromatic profiles, both of the gin and of the tonic water, in order to best match them,
prefer a tonic that is in the same profile as your gin. Floral, fruity, sweet, spicy, bitter… the options are endless. The tonic is there to enhance certain notes of the gin, to sublimate it without extinguishing its aromas. To let your Melifera premium gin and its floral taste express itself, our advice is to opt for a neutral tonic, not too sweet nor too fragrant. To explore other sensations, only the Elderflower can add a subtle and interesting note to this immortelle gin.
But don’t forget, the art of mixology opens up a wide range of possibilities. Rely on expert advice, of course, but feel free to experiment on your own to discover the sensations that perfectly match your nose and palate.
Melifera will accompany you in this quest , by presenting you soon its favorites, from the start-up Hysope, one of its partners, which creates organic tonic waters in collaboration with the flavorists of Grasse, to the star Fever-Tree, crowned for the 7th year at the Drinks International Awards. Six houses that manufacture high-end tonics, each with its own specificities: natural ingredients, local and organic production, innovative aromatics or assumed neutrality. To discover in April on the blog of Melifera.
