Five things to do on International Gin & Tonic Day (19 October)

International Gin & Tonic Day is celebrated around the world on 19 October.

Here's an easy guide to make the perfect gin and tonic - the key is quality ingredients.

So as well as premium tonic, you need an excellent gin - buy a bottle of our London Dry gin. It's a smooth, rounded and complex London Dry gin that is the perfect gin for a G&T.

International G&T Day

This day is inspired by an old American lady whose family sneaked a G&T into hospital for her - and hid it in her tea cup.

Gin lover Mary Edith Kayburn died aged 95 on 19 October in 2010, and her friends established the day in her memory.

How you can celebrate

Here are five things you should remember to do to make the most of the day (or indeed any other day of the year).

1. Freeze large ice cubes. They melt more slowly than small ice cubes - so your G&T isn’t diluted too quickly.
2. Remember not to drown your G&T with too much tonic. You can add more, but once it’s poured you can’t take it out!
3. If you’re drinking a premium gin, don’t spoil it with cheap tonic. You really can destroy a G&T with a poor choice of tonic.
4. Garnish or don’t garnish - it’s entirely up to you. If you do garnish, best avoid the limp pickled lemon people used in the 1970s. A fresh slice of lemon, lime or grapefruit is popular and can add a zing to your drink.
5. Don’t worry about the glass you use. The copa (balloon) glasses that have become popular recently are great fun - and apparently help to release the odours of the gin. But hi-ball or Collins glasses are perfectly fine. And, if you only have a tumbler or wine glass, or even a jam jar, let’s not get hung up. As long as you have great gin, a good tonic and ice, you’re home and dry (gin).

Find out more about Gin & Tonic Day here

Watch York Gin Emma making a perfect G&T in 30 seconds