The Pink Gin & Tonic comes in two lineages that have quietly merged. The old one tints a G&T with aromatic bitters; the modern one uses a fruit-forward pink gin. Both arrive at the same place — a softly rose-coloured, faintly fruity highball.
Two pink gins, a century apart, in the same glass.
The Old Pink Gin
'Pink gin' originally meant gin stained pink with aromatic bitters — a Royal Navy drink, the bitters taken nominally for the stomach. A few dashes in a G&T is the direct descendant: it tints the glass and adds a dry, spiced, aromatic complexity.
The New Pink Gin
The modern pink gin is a flavoured gin — strawberry, raspberry, or mixed red berry — bottled already pink and gently sweet. A G&T built on it is fruitier and more approachable, which is precisely why the style has become so popular.
Garnish to the Gin
Match the garnish to whichever pink you have chosen. A bitters-tinted G&T takes an orange twist, which flatters the spice; a berry pink gin takes fresh strawberries or raspberries, which echo the fruit already in the bottle.
The Gin & Tonic Family
The classic highball — gin and cold tonic over plenty of ice, with a wedge of lime.
- 2 ozGin
- TopTonic water
- WedgeFresh lime
Spain's reinvention of the G&T — a balloon glass, premium tonic, careful garnish.
- 2 ozGin
- 6 ozPremium tonic
- GarnishCitrus & botanicals
The G&T gone autumnal — sloe gin's dark berry sweetness blushing the tonic.
- 2 ozSloe gin
- 6 ozTonic water
- GarnishLemon wedge