I’ll admit that for a long time gin and tonics were a strange thing my parents liked to drink when we were on vacation. They never drank them at home and I started out drinking far more fruity and sadly unbalanced drinks with lots of pineapple rum in college. Luckily my boyfriend David, who loves a good classic martini, has turned me on to the wonders of Beefeaters, Hendricks, and Tanqueray.

Making a good gin and tonic is partly about glass selection. Since you add measured ingredients and then fill to the brim with the tonic, the larger the glass the weaker the drink and flavor of the gin. A classic would be a small highball glass, around eight ounces. Since we don’t have highball glasses, I’m using an Old-Fashioned glass that holds eight ounces as well. I should also mentioned my new favorite bar tool, the jigger.

A jigger is a wonderful two-sided measuring device for mixing up cocktails. The big side is roughly 2 ounces (56mL) and the other side is half that. This makes measuring for most cocktails as simple as flipping over the jigger with a flourish (and I do flourish!). This makes good (strong) drinks and has quickly become my favorite as an amateur bartender.

Now for the drink! Take a lime and cut it in half, in half again, and that half once more. Squeeze the juice from this little wedge into the bottom of your glass and add the wedge to the glass as well. Pour in two ounces of your favorite gin. All of this can be done before hand with no rush. Add two or so large ice cubes to the glass and pour tonic water to fill up to brim.

Ingredients for one drink:

1/8 of a lime
1 large jigger gin (2 oz.)
2 large ice cubes
Tonic water (schweppes preferably)

Enjoy!