What mixes well with gin? Is there a perfect gin mixer

The first rule of drinking good gin is to use a good mixer. You can easily ruin an excellent gin by adding a sub-par mixer.

Tonic: The classic mixer

The classic mixer for gin is tonic - a drink developed by the administrators of the British Empire who drank tonic water for its anti-malarial quinine but who found it a little bitter.

They added gin and - hey presto - one of the most famous and enduring cocktails in history was born.

So tonic is the go-to mixer. If you’re drinking a premium gin like York Gin, make sure you choose a premium tonic. There are some fabulous premium tonics on the market. Invest some time and effort into finding your favourite.

So-da so good

Tonic is far from the only mixer for gin.

Often, people who say they don’t like gin actually don’t like the taste of the tonic in a G&T. 

An alternative mixer for a fizzy long gin drink is soda. 

It has all the bubbles but none of the quinine that some people can find too bitter. We think gin and soda has a long and successful future ahead.

Other mixers

Lime cordial: This creates a classic Gimlet cocktail. Add Rose's lime cordial to gin and ice for a very dry drink!

Lemonade: A sweeter alternative to tonic. Lots of people love this in the newer fruit gins that have appeared in recent years. It’s great in York Gin Roman Fruit.

And finally: Try your own - some people like ginger ale or ginger beer, other fruit juices or cordials or even Coke!

Gin cocktails

And then there is the whole world of gin cocktails including the classic Martini and the Tom Collins.

See our Cocktails page to start learning about the possibilities. Lots of them are easy to make, don’t require fancy equipment and can really open your eyes to the potential of gin!

And, of course, some people like to enjoy gin neat - without any mixer at all!