The 15 best premium tonics to pair with your craft gin

As the eponymous “other half” of the G&T, choosing a tonic for your craft gin is almost as important as the gin itself! Since we started sending our boxes, we’ve always made sure to send a premium tonic that compliments the gin, and we’ve found some pretty amazing ones over the years. Here are some of our favourites…

If you are looking for that quintessential G&T experience done right then these four classic tonic waters should be at the top of your list:

Key Ingredients: Quassia tree extract

Tasting Notes: Pure and crystal clear, it has the distinctive citrusy flavour of citron topped with aromatic herbal notes and is naturally refreshing and low in sugar. A unique, fresh blend of citrus notes.

Best with: Light citrus gins mix well with this tonic for a refreshing g&t

Key ingredients: High-quality quinine
Tasting notes: Bright and crisp, with a beautiful balance of delectably bitter quinine flavours that work so well with citrus or juniper-forward gins.
Best paired with: A premium London Dry gin.

Key Ingredients: Quinine and a touch of lime juice

Tasting Notes:  Vibrant and delightfully crips, this marvellous tonic water has a delicious medley of quinine and zesty lime notes that work so well with gin.

Best with: Juniper-forward or citrus gins

Key Ingredients: Lemon Verbena

Tasting Notes: A crisp and zesty profile that balance the bitter quinine, reducing the need for additional sweeteners”.

Best with: It’s subtle flavour profile compliments juniper-forward and citrus gins

If you want to explore the wonderful world of light tonic waters then we recommend starting with these two delicious light mixers:

Key Ingredients: Lemon Thyme

Tasting Notes: A blend of the essential oils from flowers, fruits and herbs gathered from around the Mediterranean shores with the highest quality quinine from the 'fever trees' of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The reduced amount of quinine in the Mediterranean Tonic with the addition of rosemary and lemon thyme produces a much lighter, more fragrant light tonic.

Best with: Citrus and herbaceous gins.

Key Ingredient: Quinine

Tasting Notes: Low in natural sugar and full of sparkling charm and character, with a seamless blend of bright bitters and soft sweetness.

Best with: Blends seamlessly with traditionally-flavoured gins and warm rums.

When you want to branch out, flavoured tonic waters are great way to find new realms of deliciousness. Here are some of our favourite flavoured tonic waters:

Key Ingredients: Pomegranate and Basil

Tasting Notes: Herbaceous aroma with a sweet and tangy finish. The pomegranate provides a complex flavour profile that straddles sweet and tart, whilst the peppery top note of basil is a superb counterbalance.

Best with: Mezcal, vermouth and herbaceous or spiced gins

Key Ingredients: Rhubarb and Fresh Ginger

Tasting Notes: Fresh rhubarb delivers a sweet, earthy hit, tempered by the warming undertones of ginger. 

Best with: Dry or fruity gins as well as golden or spiced rums.

Key Ingredients: Savoury botanicals sweetened with honey

Tasting Notes: An explosion of lavender, rosemary and thyme make up this herbaceous tonic water

Best paired with: A juniper-led gin paired with this tonic makes for a G&T heavy with floral, citrus and herby notes

Key Ingredients: Pink peppercorn

Tasting Notes: The rich bitterness of quinine flows into the soft fruity spice of pink peppercorn. A hollow “heart” to allow the gin to shine.

Best with: Excellent with aromatic spicy gin, earthy vodka and Cognac.

Key Ingredients: Pear and cardamom

Tasting Notes: Beautiful, fruity and lightly spiced. This tonic water finds the perfect balance between orchard fruit flavours, fragrant cardamom notes and rich quinine.

Best with: Classic London Dry Gins 

Sometimes you just need a bit of pink in your life, that’s why we want to show you a couple of our favourite pink tonic waters:

Key Ingredients: Pink grapefruit and blood orange

Tasting Notes: Clean, crisp citrus blends with notes of fresh pink grapefruit, bold blood orange and lemon, finished with a hint of basil

Best with: Citrus and floral gins will shine in this layered tonic

Key Ingredients: Pomelo and Pink Peppercorn

Tasting Notes: A refreshing combination of tangy grapefruit notes, a delicately spiced pepper note and a sharp citrus and lightly bitter quinine finish.

Best with: The perfect way to enliven citrus forward gins or add a touch of the exotic to grain based vodkas, for an added pink lift.

And last but certainly not least, allow us to introduce you to a couple of our favourite citrus-forward tonic waters. They are perfect for when you want a brighter, more zesty and summery G&T, take a Look:

Key Ingredients: Valencian Oranges

Tasting Notes: Made with beautifully sweet Valencian oranges and infused with Lemongrass, this mixer is perfectly rounded with a hint of quinine for a refreshing and aromatic tonic water.

Best with: Pairs perfectly with citrus and herbaceous gins.

Key Ingredients: Grapefruit

Tasting Notes: Succulent grapefruit flavours combines with those quintessential quinine notes in this beautifully bright and zesty tonic water.

Best with: Citrus and juniper-forward gins