Home-made Gin and Tonic day!

Paige Tucker | 9th April 2017

So it is April the 9th which can only mean one thing…THE BEST DAY EVER!

That’s right, if you haven’t guessed it from the title today is gin and tonic day, a day where you can drink from morning till noon and not feel guilty about it.

It is one of the less heard of celebrations as it is mainly for us gin lovers to have an excuse as to why we are downing the gin and tonics all day, but nevertheless it is a great opportunity to throw a party and make some home-made cocktails.

So because I have a whole bottle of Thomas Dakin’s gin and it nicely falls on the weekend, I decided to try and make some of my own gin and tonic cocktails with simple ingredients I had in my house. You can do this too by finding ingredients that you have in your house and taste testing them in your drinks to find out what works and what doesn’t.

The first one is what I called a glass of fizz. No I’m not talking about champagne, I’m talking about a shot of gin, half a shot of cointreau topped up with lemonade and prosecco and a lemon sherbet to add some extra fizz. Obviously you don’t have to add the sherbet but if you have people around and you want to make your cocktail have a little wow factor then this is a great and simple way to do it, especially if like me, you are a novice to the cocktail making world.

The next one I made was suitably named the star jar and it was actually the best one I made despite the ingredients sounding a little bizarre. All you need for this one is your own mason jar, your gin and tonic, some citrus fruits and some star anise. Mix these all together in a cocktail shaker then add some ice and there you have it a fruity aniseed gin and tonic. If you don’t like aniseed they take the star anise out and it will still taste just as good!

Finally I made a classic gin and tonic with one part gin and two parts tonic. I then added half a shot of Tia Maria to give it an extra kick. This one is perfect for people who like strong cocktails but if you are not a strong cocktail fan then just add a little bit of the Tia Maria instead. This cocktail was inspired by the Turbo gin and tonic cocktail but because I was trying to use simple ingredients I already had, I altered the recipe a little.

So as you can see making a home-made twist on a gin and tonic is so simple to do and it is also great fun, especially if you have people coming around and you are looking for something entertaining to do on gin and tonic day!

If you fancy getting yourself a gin and tonic but don’t have any at home then you are in luck! Manchester has some of the best places to get your gin craving satisfied, here are 3 places we like to go to get out gin and tonic fixes…

If you like Bombay sapphire then go and check out Banyan. Located in the Corn Exchange, Banyan have a whole drinks menu dedicated to Bombay sapphire cocktails!

To try some local gin get yourself down to the Botanist, they have a list of cocktails made with local gins they have hand picked.

Or try the Allotment Bar based in the Northern quarter, their drinks menu is full of gin perfect for your gin and tonic celebration day!

 

If you want to see more on how I made my cocktails then check out the video below!

 

 

 

 

Album 1

Gin MariaGlass of FizzStar Jar