A classic summer cocktail gets a fresh twist: Spanish Gin & Tonic

In Spain, the classic gin & tonic gets more relaxed, more creative, more sippably refreshing, with more garnishes and lots of ice. Recipe below.

THE CLASSIC BRITISH GIN & TONIC has been one of my summer go-tos for years. Easy to make, and crisp and refreshing to drink. Turns out Spanish bartenders have long been doing their own take on gin & tonics, amping up the drink’s classic taste with a whole range of interesting garnishes and dialing up its summeryness.

There are any number of Spanish gin & tonic recipes on the internet. I know—I’ve read a lot, lot, lot of them. But none I’ve seen has one special ingredient that is in this one. For that, I thank my friend Kevin.

Kevin knows his way around a gin & tonic. He gave me the secret to winterizing the classic summer drink to enjoy it year ’round, for instance: add a dash or two of bitters.

He also knows his way around Spain, starting with studying there in college. A professor there told him and his classmates that they could certainly go drink beer in the evening, but urged them to class up their acts and try a gin & tonic instead. A life-changing moment for young Kevin.

Recently, he and I were talking in a bar—over gin & tonics, of course—and I mentioned that I’d read about Spanish versions of the drink. Kevin is equal parts articulate and excitable; what followed was a high-speed mix of poetry, science and hand gestures.

He confirmed a lot of what I’d read about the Spanish take on the drink. It’s usually served in a stemmed glass, with a straw. It is made with lots of ice and served very, very cold. Lots of garnishes too—lemon or lime slices or peels, and numerous variations of fresh herbs (often more than one). One invariable ingredient is juniper berries—an interesting call to me, since they are what give gin its distinctive evergreen tree flavor. Especially London Dry Gins, which are most often specified for Spanish gin & tonics.

Oh, and the secret ingredient? Star anise. Kevin got these often in gin & tonics in Spain. They impart a subtle bit of licorice flavor to the drink. They also look wonderfully exotic in the glass.

This was our first shot at Spanish gin & tonics. It may well be my drink for the rest of the summer. So simple to make and absolutely refreshing to sip. If you’re day drinking or settling in for an evening of cocktails, you can use 1-1/2 ounces of gin instead of two, for a low-octane drink. Even one ounce, perhaps, but then you start to lose that wonderful gin taste.

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Spanish Gin & Tonic

In Spain, the classic gin &tonic gets more relaxed, more creative, more sippably refreshing, with more garnishes and lots of ice.

Course Drinks

Cuisine Spanish

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

• 5 or 6 dried juniper berries
• 1 star anise, optional (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 slice of lemon (see Kitchen Notes)
• sprig of fresh rosemary or other herb garnish (see Kitchen Notes)
• 2 ounces gin (see Kitchen Notes)
• 4 ounces tonic water (see Kitchen Notes)

Instructions

• Fill a stemmed glass with ice (I used one of our red wine balloons). Add the juniper berries, star anise, lemon slice and rosemary sprig. Add gin and stir gently. Add tonic, stir gently again and serve, with a straw or not.

Kitchen Notes

Star anise, yes or no? If you have it on hand, do use it. If you don't, consider buying it—there are so many Asian dishes you can cook with it. If you really dislike a very faint licorice flavor, give it a skip. Like I said, this is something I only heard about thanks to Kevin—but also like I said (and as the photo bears out, I think), it adds a nice exotic touch that will impress your guests.

Pick your citrus. Lemon? Lime? Use whichever you like, but do use some citrus for the freshness it adds, either slices or peels. I like lemon because it further distances this drink from the British classic. I also like the summery splash of yellow.

Pick your herbs. I only used one, the rosemary you see. Besides rosemary, many recipes use basil, mint or thyme—and even a combination of a couple of them. Here's another place you can get creative.

Be picky about your gin. For this drink, you want London Dry Gin. That's not a brand, but a specific style with very specific rules for its distilling. For a gin to be called London Dry Gin, according to The Gin is In, "the base spirit must be distilled to a completely neutral spirit of 96% ABV, must add all flavors through distillation in presence of 'natural plant materials,' and can have nothing added after distillation save water and a trivial quantity of sugar." It is quite juniper-forward in flavor—that classic evergreen tree taste.

Fortunately, some of the best London Dry Gins are also quite affordable. We used Bombay Sapphire. We've been indulging in so many small batch craft gins over the past few years that I'd forgotten just how good Bombay Sapphire is. Beefeater and Tangueray are also quite good.

Pick a good tonic, while you're at it. But don't go crazy. Some swear by artisanal tonics that are out there, but brands like Schweppes are perfectly fine. In fact, according to Kevin, Schweppes is used almost exclusively in Spain. Just skip the store brands.