Easy Gin & Tonic Recipes for Fall
“Summer is over. Does that mean I have to stop drinking gin & tonics?” -You, probably
“No, don’t be ridiculous.” Us, with conviction
BY: JOSHUA GANDEE
Beverage Director, Watershed Kitchen & Bar
Just because you started wearing wool socks with your Birkenstocks and started typing the word ‘spooky’ in front of everything doesn’t mean you have to give up everything you loved about summer. Introducing fall flavors into some of your warm-weather favorites just takes a few changes, and you might even learn something about yourself along the way. Let’s think about what a G&T is in the first place, then we can break down the recipes together.
Gin is a botanically infused spirit made with at least 51% juniper. That means you have 49 other percentage points to play around with. For us here at Watershed, we decided to stack the deck with citrus peels, hence our flagship gin being named, ‘Four Peel Gin.’ It has juniper, yes, but it isn’t a pine bomb like a lot of London dry gins. We use lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit to bring a bright floral expression to drinks. In turn, it drinks a little sweeter and a little crisper, and can easily turn people onto a category of spirits they used to be afraid of.
Even if you hold the knife incorrectly, you can’t go wrong with a Four Peel Gin & Tonic
What the heck does that mean for my G&T?
Wow, great question. Pairing tonic with gin means you are adding a bittersweet component to your drink with some sort of effervescence. Typically made from quinine which finds its origin story in cinchona bark, tonic is inherently bitter. But, when matched with a touch of sugar, it makes friends with flavors that are crisp, refreshing, and bring their own subtle sweetness to the relationship. A G&T with London dry is going to taste piney and bitter with a hefty pinch of lime, usually unbalanced. The citrus found in Four Peel Gin avoids any need to be overly aggressive with lime juice and lets the true flavors speak for themselves.
If you are using tonic water, those little bottles already have carbonation in them, meaning it’s your basic two-ingredient cocktail perfect when, “It’s been a week.” However, if you aren’t familiar, more and more people are using tonic syrups. These are a deeper concentration of tonic flavor that is added in like a simple syrup would be into a cocktail, often awoken by fresh citrus, then topped with bubbles of your choice. One of the recipes I recommend will call for this.
Now we have gin and tonic, but where can variations come into play with something so simple?
Wow, incredible question, is someone feeding you these? The variations really come down to your choice of tonic, gin, and garnish. A splash of something here, a pinch of something there will open your countertop to a new world of bar possibilities. If we are supplementing in some fall flavors with our favorite drink, the G&T, just think about what’s available this time of year. Apple cider, pumpkin spice, coffee, candy… The list goes on and on, but this is a recipe blog, not a Pinterest compilation, let's get back to the goods.
Adding in a little something different to your mix isn’t difficult, and just means adding a splash of things that are already around your house, or things we sell in our curbside bottle shop. Feel free to use these recipes as a jumping-off point, and as always, please tag us in your creations so that your drinks may inspire the rest of the G&T community!
APPLE CIDER TONIC
2oz Watershed Four Peel Gin
1oz Apple Cider
4oz Tonic Water
Build in a Collins glass over ice, and gently stir to combine ingredients. Garnish with an apple slice, or a caramel apple sucker, why not?
This cocktail starts as your tried and true favorite, but the simple splash of apple cider brings it more into the role of Autumnal Appreciation. For a further fall kick, do 1oz Four Peel Gin, 1oz Watershed Apple Brandy.
COFFEE G&T
2oz Watershed Bourbon Barrel Four Peel Gin
4oz Fever Tree Aromatic Tonic Water
Coffee Ice Cubes
Build first two ingredients over coffee cubes and stir to combine. Garnish with a lemon peel.
You’ll notice a gin change in this one, as it call for a barrel aged gin. The time spent in the barrel brings out lovely orange and vanilla flavors that go well with bittersweet tonic. To make the ice cubes simply make a batch of cold brew coffee, or let hot coffee cool before adding them to an ice cube tray and letting your freezer do its thing. As the ice begins to melt, a delicious dose of coffee will become infused in each sip. To further bridge the gap, feel free to add a couple dashes of your favorite bitters like angostura, or lavender, but keep in mind the Fever Tree Aromatic Tonic already has a nice cinnamon and baking spice backbone.
STIRRED AND TONIC
2oz Watershed Guild Gin
.5oz Tonic Syrup
.25oz Fresh Lemon Juice
.25oz Fresh Orange Juice
Dash bitters
Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass until well chilled. Strain over new ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with a lemon and an orange peel expressed over top.
The Guild gin has a lovely chamomile flavor that brings a wonderful soothing florality to a cocktail. Paired with fresh citrus and bitters, this brighter expression will bring about light flavors that will remind you of taking in a little sun as a crisp air flows through the trees. Make sure you juice the citrus yourself, or the flavor will be lacking.
You may not be sipping these cocktails poolside anymore, but what better bridge between summer and fall than a nice crisp cocktail. The G&T has stood the test of time for a reason. If you make any changes to these, or have suggestions as to what has worked for you, please tag us on instagram so we can share your creations with the world. Happy Mixing!