Huffington Magazine Issue 58 | Page 80

Exit according to The New York Times Dining section, 2013 is year of the gin and tonic. A burst of enthusiasm for G&T’s at high-end restaurants in Spain, of all places, has inspired mixologists at cool bars across the U.S. to rethink and rejigger the classic drink using artisanal ingredients and garnishes like strawberries and cucumbers. Some even concoct their own tonic water. We certainly don’t expect you to do that. But you can also do better than the dusty, half-empty bottles of Schweppes and Seagram’s that have been moldering HUFFINGTON 07.21.13 TASTE TEST in your liquor cabinet since 2003. We conducted a taste test to find out the best recipe for gin and tonics using readily-available brands of gin and tonic water. We mixed up 26 different combinations of nine kinds of gin and three kinds of tonic water, adding ice and lime wedges to each one to keep things realistic, then rated each on palatability. (We used a ratio of two parts gin to three parts tonic water, if you care.) Ahead, find our favorite and least favorite gin and tonic recipes, along with some trends I noticed. THE GINS THE TONIC WATERS From left to right, with prices per bottle: New Amsterdam ($14 for 750 mL), Hendrick’s ($41 for 1 L), Gordon’s ($24 for 1.75 L), Plymouth ($36 for 1 L), Brooklyn ($42 for 750 mL), Georgi ($10 for 750 mL), Tanqueray ($30 for 1 L), Bombay Sapphire ($35 for 1 L), Beefeater ($28 for 1 L) From left to right: Canada Dry ($1.59 for 1 L), Q ($6 for 750 mL), Fever Tree ($7 for four 6.8 oz bottles)