DUTCH COURAGE. SPANISH FLAIR. A GOOD STORY.
A supermarket discovery. A Spanish makeover.
And a very roundabout journey to your glass.
FROM THE SPIFFY DAPPER MASTERCLASS
There’s a lot going on
behind that slice of lime.
Gin and tonic didn’t start life together. One came from Europe’s juniper spirits. The other began with a South American tree. Getting them into the same glass took a while.
THE GIN SIDE / THE LOW COUNTRIES
Before London Dry, there was genever: a juniper-flavoured spirit from the Low Countries. By 1552, a recipe had made it into an Antwerp distilling book. Gin’s family tree was already putting down roots. [01]
The old yarn has English soldiers noticing Dutch troops steadying their nerves with a nip of genever. They bring a taste for it home. A fine bar story—and best enjoyed as folklore.
LONDON / EARLY 1700s
Gin gets cheap. Gin gets everywhere. After restrictions on French spirits and easier home-grown distilling, London develops a serious thirst—and an equally serious problem.
By 1751, Hogarth’s Gin Lane is shouting about it in print. Crumbling buildings. Pawned possessions. Chaos in the street. Subtle, it is not.
This is satire with a mission: make gin look like a city’s downfall. Licensing laws, rising grain prices and shrinking incomes eventually help cool the craze. [03][04]
The familiar story goes like this. British officers in India are taking quinine against malaria. It’s fiercely bitter, so in go sugar and water. Then someone reaches for the gin. A grim duty becomes a rather more appealing evening ritual.
That’s the lore. The paper trail puts a named gin and tonic at the races in Lucknow in 1868. Either way, by then the two are keeping company. [08]
FROM BITTER BARK TO BOTTLED FIZZ
Erasmus Bond patents tonic water in 1858. Schweppes adds Indian Tonic Water in 1870. You no longer need to be an officer—or an amateur apothecary—to get your hands on the mixer. [08][10]
Meanwhile, cleaner base spirits help gin move towards the crisp, dry style we now think of as the classic. By the early 1900s, London Dry has taken centre stage. [07][11]
A printed jenever recipe appears in Philippus Hermanni’s Antwerp distilling book. The juniper habit is already in print. [01]
Genever is gin’s older cousin. Early recipes could start with wine spirit; the modern grain-spirit styles came later.
Cinchona enters European trade from the Andes. Kew credits Quechua, Cañari and Chimú peoples with recognising its medicinal properties. [02]
The precise first discovery is not established. Calling cinchona a European discovery erases the Indigenous knowledge at the beginning of this story.
Restrictions on French spirits and easier domestic distilling helped gin grow in England. The Gin Acts tried to curb consumption; grain prices and falling incomes also mattered. [03][04]
A £50 retail licence in 1736 encouraged evasion. Further controls arrived in 1751, the year of Hogarth’s Gin Lane. That famous print is campaigning satire, not a neutral portrait of every Londoner.
Sweetened English gins included the style known as Old Tom. Its later place in the Martini and Gin Fizz connects today’s cocktail culture to a sweeter past. [05]
Old Tom is a historical style with variation between producers. The famous black-cat origin story should not be treated as established fact.
Pelletier and Caventou isolate quinine from cinchona bark. The bitter ingredient at the heart of tonic now has a name and a purified form. [06]
Quinine is one compound in cinchona bark. Bark preparations, purified quinine, carbonated tonic water and the mixed drink are four different things.
Aeneas Coffey’s continuous still helps make highly rectified spirit practical. Cleaner base spirits support the later development of drier gin styles. [07]
Cleaner base spirit gives juniper and the other botanicals more room. London Dry develops over time, rather than arriving with a single invention.
Cinchona plants and seeds move to colonial plantations in India and Java. Quinine’s supply becomes entangled with empire, plantation labour and control of land. [08][09]
Kew’s own history acknowledges its role in these transfers. The story includes the people and landscapes behind the commodity.
Erasmus Bond patents tonic water, marketed as a digestive and restorative. Bitter bark has made its way into the fizzy-drinks business. [08]
Kew’s researchers identify the earliest known named gin-and-tonic reference: racegoers in Lucknow, India, call for the drink in the Oriental Sporting Magazine. [08]
A day at the races, a gin and tonic: the drink is already part of social life by this point.
Schweppes dates its Indian Tonic Water to 1870. Commercial tonic carries a complex botanical history into an increasingly everyday refreshment. [10]
By the early twentieth century, London Dry is gin’s predominant style. A drier, juniper-led profile becomes the reference point for generations of drinkers. [11]
London Dry describes a style and production rules. It does not require the gin to be made in London.
A DRINK WITH A SOCIAL LIFE
The next chapter takes us through small stills, a famous chef’s kitchen and a Spanish bar. Things are about to get a lot more colourful.
Follow the comebackLondon Dry was a classic. Then a new generation started asking what else gin could be. The answer came by a wonderfully roundabout route.
California had a growing craft-distilling spirit. France put Cognac know-how to work on gin. Scotland arrived with rose and cucumber. This was a whole new set of reasons to look twice at the bottle.
Back in London, Sipsmith’s big idea was wonderfully small: a 300-litre still, proper copper distillation and a fresh take on a very old style. In 2009, after a long licensing battle, it was finally time to make gin. [42]
ST. GEORGE / A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING
Jörg Rupf starts St. George in California making eau-de-vie: fruit brandy with the character of the fruit turned right up. The distillery’s gin comes later. First comes the craft instinct—start with something wonderful, then find a way to bottle it. [40]
MEANWHILE / THE MIXER WANTS A WORD
Tim Warrillow and Charles Rolls saw the opening. If people were getting excited about what went into gin, why was the mixer an afterthought? Fever-Tree launched in 2005, giving tonic a story of its own. [22]
Then an artist went shopping.
The artist spots Fever-Tree at Waitrose. He likes it enough to send a bottle to his friend Ferran Adrià, via a journalist heading to see the chef.
Adrià’s team asks for more. The tonic becomes a granita at elBulli: an unexpectedly glamorous destination for a supermarket discovery. [34]
The connection gives Fever-Tree a spectacular introduction to Spain—just as the country’s gin-tonic culture is finding a bigger audience. [35]
The feature that sent us down this rabbit hole: The Observer, 2015.
SPAIN / MAKE SOME ROOM ON THE TABLE
Spain already had its own love affair with the gin-tonic. Chefs and bartenders treated it as something worth lingering over, not just knocking together. An after-dinner drink could become an evening.
By 2010, a first-person account of José Andrés’s serve describes Hendrick’s and Fever-Tree with lime, a long lemon peel and a red flower. That modest slice of citrus had clearly been promoted. [37]
Out comes the big balloon glass. In goes a generous pile of ice. Then the aromatics: citrus peel, herbs, flowers, peppercorns. The garnish becomes part of the drink’s personality—and the whole thing arrives with a little theatre. [36]
Fever-Tree didn’t invent that culture. It found a very good home in it.
YOUR TURN / GIVE IT A SPANISH ACCENT
Pick a garnish or two. Think of this as dressing the drink: enough to give it character, without losing the gin underneath.
No garnish is a perfectly good place to begin. Pick one above and see what it brings.
A balloon glass. A curl of citrus. A tiny garden. This drink was ready for its close-up.
Social media gave the spectacle another stage. By 2019, Martin Miller’s social-media team was talking about influencer campaigns, drinkers recreating bar serves at home, and strawberry-and-black-pepper G&Ts catching attention online. [38]
Instagram didn’t invent the Spanish gin-tonic. It was a very good place to show one off.
AND THEN / EVERYWHERE
Once gin can taste like a place, the map opens up. Singapore, Japan and Australia all have something to bring to the glass.
Vanilla orchid and amchoor join traditional gin botanicals. [24]
Sakura flower and leaf, yuzu, sencha, gyokuro and sansho form six Japanese botanicals. [25]
Queensland lemon myrtle and Tasmanian pepperberry leaf sit alongside other local and imported botanicals. [26]
THE OTHER HALF OF THE STORY
Tonic brings bitterness, sweetness, acidity, carbonation and aroma. Product names such as “Mediterranean” describe styles rather than regulated categories.
A quinine-led tonic with citrus aromatics is a useful reference point. Fever-Tree’s version is one example, not a definition of every brand. [29]
Some Mediterranean-style tonics add herbal notes. Fever-Tree names rosemary and lemon thyme. The label alone does not tell you every product’s quinine level. [30]
Elderflower adds another aromatic layer. Compare it with a simpler tonic to hear what it changes in the gin. [31]
“Light” need not mean sugar-free. Check the bottle: this UK cucumber-tonic example uses fruit sugar, and recipes can differ by market. [32]
Juniper is the family resemblance. The rest is where distillers get to have fun: citrus, roots, herbs, flowers, spice. Pick a style and get to know it.
Fermentation produces alcohol. Distillation concentrates it; a highly rectified base gives botanicals room to define the spirit.
Juniper provides the defining character. Citrus peels, seeds, roots, herbs and spices build the rest of the flavour.
Producers may steep botanicals, use vapour infusion, or combine techniques. Some gins are compounded with flavourings.
In the EU, gin must be predominantly juniper-flavoured and at least 37.5% ABV. “Distilled gin” and “London gin” have additional production rules. [12] Great Britain uses a separate retained framework; Northern Ireland follows the EU regulation. [13]
STYLES & LABELS YOU’LL ENCOUNTER
Same family.
Different personalities.
These labels overlap. They are not five mutually exclusive legal categories.
Botanical flavour is introduced through distillation. Colouring is prohibited, and sweetening is limited to 0.1 g per litre, expressed as invert sugar. London refers to the production rules, not the distillery’s address.
Try it to understand the classic juniper-led reference point.
No. The EU rules require the natural plant materials to be present during distillation; they do not require every botanical to be submerged. Vapour infusion can be used. Bombay’s own London Dry is a concrete example of vapour infusion. [14] [12]
Start with one part gin to two parts tonic. Then have a play. More tonic? A splash of soda? A different garnish? Your taste gets the final vote.
01 / FIND YOUR BALANCE
Start with a 50 ml measure of gin.
50 ml gin + 100 ml tonic
Before ice melt, a 1:2 serve is two thirds mixer. Its flavour matters.
50 × 40 ÷ 150 ≈ 13.3% ABV
Approximation assuming additive liquid volumes and alcohol-free mixers. Ice itself is excluded until it melts. Dilution changes concentration; the amount of alcohol from the gin stays the same.
02 / FOLLOW THE FLAVOUR
What do you notice first: pine, citrus, flowers, herbs or spice? Follow that thread. There’s no answer sheet.
A restrained Indian tonic.
A small lemon peel.
Compare with and without the peel. Does it lift the aroma or crowd the gin?
WHY A SPLASH MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Alcohol has a taste and a burn of its own. One reason is TRPV1, a receptor involved in heat and irritation. Adding tonic changes that experience. [15]
Water also changes how aroma compounds behave. There isn’t a magic percentage that unlocks every gin; try a little, smell again, and notice the difference. [16]
Keep the gin, glass and temperature the same. Change just the tonic or ratio. Smell first, take a small taste, and notice sweetness, bitterness, aroma and finish.
03 / PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Start with a chilled mixer and plenty of fresh ice. Temperature is part of the experience.
Try 1:2, then adjust to your taste. Asking for tonic on the side makes comparison easier.
A peel, a sprig, a peppercorn. Start with one good idea, then taste before planting the whole garden.
Old prints, distillers’ stories, a supermarket discovery and a little science. Here’s where we went looking—and where you can keep reading.
HOW THIS GUIDE WAS RESEARCHED
Museums and archives for the old stories. Interviews and distillers’ own accounts for the revival. Original studies for the science. The soldiers’ tale stays in the bar-lore corner, where it belongs.
WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND
History rarely comes with a tidy invention date. We’ve kept the useful distinctions in the notes and the tasting suggestions in the spirit of experimentation. Follow any numbered link for the source.
THE MARKET / EVIDENCE, NOT A BOOM NARRATIVE
ASIA PACIFIC · ALL GIN
Annual change across the region, reported by IWSR in June 2025. [17]
UK · PREMIUM-AND-ABOVE GIN
Volume compound annual growth rate, reported by IWSR in August 2025. [18]
GLOBAL TRAVEL RETAIL · FLAVOURED GIN
A specific channel and subcategory, reported by IWSR in August 2026. [19]
Read these separately: different geographies, segments, periods and measures. They are not directly comparable or a complete global market estimate. Research checked 3 October 2026.
Country & Town House · founder interview · Hamilton, Adrià and tonic granita
Elite Business · founder interview, 2013 · Fever-Tree’s Spanish introduction
José Andrés · 15 April 2026 · balloon glasses, garnish and the Spanish serve
Gerry Dawes · first-person 2010 account, later republished
Gin Foundry · 21 January 2019 · social-media interview
Ed Cumming · 2015 · supplied reading
Producer history · founded in 1982 making eau-de-vie
Producer account · 2011 release; Douglas fir, bay laurel and sage
Producer account · the 300-litre still and 2009 opening
Maison Ferrand · Cognac stills and the road to gin
Producer account · two stills, rose and cucumber
William Hogarth, Gin Lane, 1751. British Museum, S,2.121. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Cinchona officinalis, Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen, 1897. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; scan cleaned by CarolSpears.
J. Schweppe & Co., advertisement, 1875. British Library Mechanical Curator collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Scene in a London Gin Palace, artist unknown. The Working Man’s Friend and Family Instructor, 25 October 1851. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen · museum history
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · Indigenous knowledge, botany and tonic
London Museum · historical interpretation
Dr James Nicholls · evidence to Parliament, 2010
David Wondrich · The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails
Achan et al. · Malaria Journal, 2011 · historical review
Linde Lunney · Dictionary of Irish Biography, Royal Irish Academy
Kim Walker & Mark Nesbitt · Kew, 19 October 2019 · archival research
Townsend Middleton · University of California Press, 2024 · publisher synopsis
Brand-authored history · 1870 Indian Tonic Water milestone
The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails · historical reference
The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails · invention-myth correction
EUR-Lex · Annex I, categories 20–22 · gin definitions
DEFRA · updated 25 July 2025 · Great Britain / Northern Ireland distinction
Producer product page · London Dry and vapour infusion
Trevisani et al. · Nature Neuroscience, 2002 · experimental receptor study
Foods 12(6), 1276 · 2023 · whisky study; not a universal gin result
Nolden & Hayes · 2015 · primary human sensory study, abstract
IWSR · 12 June 2025 · reports 2024 volume change
IWSR · 13 August 2025 · includes UK and Japan 2020–2024 data
IWSR · 20 August 2026 · reports 2025 travel-retail data
Maison Ferrand · brand-authored 1996 launch history
Hendrick’s · brand-authored 1999 history
Fever-Tree · brand-authored 2005 launch history
Sipsmith · brand-authored 2009 opening history
Tanglin · producer botanical list · Singapore
Suntory · Roku’s six Japanese botanicals
Four Pillars · producer botanical list · Australia
Pernod Ricard · producer description and Navy Strength example
Fever-Tree · product example, Australian market
Fever-Tree · product example, UK market
Fever-Tree · product example, US market
Fever-Tree · product example, UK market · contains fruit sugar
Adapted from The Spiffy Dapper’s Gin & Tonic Masterclass. Research checked 3 October 2026. Hero still life: AI-generated. Historical images: credited public-domain scans.