about snfd
Kim and Lauren are the mother-daughter team behind Something New For Dinner. Kim develops the recipes, shoots the photography and writes the posts and weekly emails to our subscribers. Lauren is the Internet marketing guru who developed and maintains our website, leads our marketing efforts, manages our social media and keeps us on track in general.
Together we have created a website devoted to providing flavorful, nutritious meals to share with family and friends. We believe communal meals are the cornerstone for nurturing healthy bodies, promoting communication and developing strong relationships. Who doesn’t enjoy a great meal with those you love?
We invite you to subscribe to our weekly email where we highlight our latest recipes and focus on seasonal topics, nutritious ingredients, cooking techniques and meal plans. Please let us know what you think by commenting and rating our recipes or writing in with any questions you have.
In addition to our website we work with brands to develop and photograph recipes and provide food and travel related content. Please contact us here to work with us.
Spanish-style Gin And Tonic
Loading...SKILL LEVEL :
Easy and quickI'm In Love With Spanish-Style Gin And Tonics
We recently returned from a trip to Northern Spain and Southern France. While there we discovered Spanish-style gin and tonics, or "gintonics" as they say in Spain. Read my post to learn why these refreshing, botanically enhanced cocktails are so delicious.
The Gin
This recipe uses Hendrick's Gin, a Scottish small batch gin that is infused with cucumber and rose and distilled with an array of herbs, seeds, roots and fruit.
Tonic Water
Use a quality tonic water that does not have high fructose corn syrup in the ingredient list. I personally like FeverTree tonic water. FeverTree offer several styles, including Indian, Mediterranean, Elderflower and Naturally Light. FeverTree Elderflower tonic water is particularly delicious in this gin and tonic.
Note: FeverTree is a premium product and is notably more expensive than the grocery store brands made with high fructose syrup. My local grocery store does sell FeverTree, but in limited sizes and flavors. I purchase my FeverTree products through Amazon Prime, which provides the full array of FeverTree products and is cheaper than my local grocery store.*
Click to download our free e-cookbook: 3 Fabulous Turkey Recipes Guaranteed To Be Spectacular
Ice
Large ice cubes are important for making a good gin and tonic because the cocktail needs to be as cold as possible. I use these ice sphere molds and these oversized square cube trays to make large ice cubes.
Bitters and Shrubs
Bitters make a gin and tonic interesting. Think of bitters as the seasoning for your gin and tonic. Bitters are a distilled alcohol that is flavored with plant extracts. There are many kinds of bitters and good ones don't come cheaply. The good news is you only need a few drops to add interest, so one bottle will last you a very long time. The ones I use for this cocktail are: Bittermens' Hopped Grapefruit, and Angostura bitters, but you can experiment with a range of bitters.
A Gin And Tonic Bar Is A Lot Of Fun
Since returning from our trip, my husband and I have entertained our friends with a gin and tonic bar. We provide a couple different styles of gin, some good tonic water, a variety of bitters and various herbs, vegetables and fruits and let our guests concoct gin and tonics that are individualized to their own taste. We have tried this a couple of times and it has been a big hit.
Oversized Glasses
Spanish-style gin and tonics are served in large glasses packed with oversized ice cubes. We like these balloon glasses that are similar to the glasses gin and tonics are served in at La Ginotoneria, in San Sebastian, Spain.
To Get You Started On Your First Gin And Tonic
Here is a recipe for one of my favorite gin and tonic combinations. After you have made this one you can begin experimenting and making your own individualized gin and tonics.
Spanish-style Gin And Tonic
My favorite Spanish-style gin and tonic, made with Hendricks Gin, Fever-tree tonic water, lemon, cucumber, a raspberry and grapefruit and ginger bitters. Yum!
- Prep Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 7 minutes
- Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
- Category: Cocktails
- Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients
- 5 juniper berries
- 1 4″ lemon twist (strip of lemon zest)
- 1 thinly sliced strip of cucumber, about 4 ” long
- 1 raspberry
- 2 ounces Hendricks gin
- 6 – 8 ounces Fever-tree tonic water
- Grapefruit bitters to taste
- Angostura bitters to taste
Instructions
- Put juniper berries, lemon twist, cucumber strip and raspberry in the bottom of an oversized glass. Fill with large ice cubes or ice spheres.
- Pour in the gin and then add the tonic water pouring down the side of the glass or down a cocktail spoon. Stir gently and enjoy.
-
I am an Amazon Affiliate and I make a small commission when you purchase items through the Amazon links on Something New For Dinner. I greatly appreciate your support when you purchase Amazon products through my links.
I think you should be a travel writer too!Your writing and pictures combined are marvelous…I always wanted to go to San Sebastian.
Thank you Liz. For me, travel and food go together like gin and tonic! And a trip always gives me great inspiration for new recipes. If you ever decide to go to San Sebastian I’d be happy to help you plan your trip!
OMG amazing and sophisticated taste. Brought these ingredients to a Girls Night Out house party and it was the hit cocktail of the night!
Hi Mary — I am so glad your cocktails were a hit. You may want to try my Aperol Gin and Tonic. Even die-hard gin-haters can’t resist these refreshing drinks. : )
This article was extremely helpful. My wife and I were at the Gintonaria in San Sebastian just last week. We want to host a party for our friends Your article lists all of the things that I need. Thanks! One thing you did not mention was the dry ice in the tea ball. I’ll try this.
Thank you Shawn, Don’t you think Gintonaria is wonderful?! I have not taken their techniques as far as dry ice, simply because obtaining dry ice takes a lot more work than just making large ice cubes. Dry ice does make for a dramatic presentation. So go for it! Your party will be spectacular!
Thanks for the article! We just got back from Barcelona where we sampled many gintonics! Have you found a tray to make those amazing ice cubes yet? I’ve only seen large block trays, not the rounded giant marshmallow type they used in Spain.
Hi Evan, Barcelona is a Gintonic haven. Nothing like a Spanish style Gintonic! Yes, I have found some great round cubes for G & T’s. Here is the link. We have a nice twist on G & T’s coming up in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned!