Gin and tonic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gin and tonic | |
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| Type: | Cocktail |
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| Primary alcohol by volume: | |
| Served: | "On the rocks"; poured over ice |
| Standard garnish: | citrus fruit, usually lime |
| Standard drinkware: |
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| Commonly used ingredients: |
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| Preparation: | Mix and serve |
A gin and tonic is a cocktail made with gin and tonic water, usually garnished with a slice of lime or lemon and served over ice. The ratio of gin to tonic water varies from equal amounts to one part gin for every three parts tonic.
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[edit] History
This cocktail was introduced by the army of the British East India Company in India.
Tonic water contains quinine, which was used to prevent malaria. Because the tonic water consumed to prevent malaria in the 18th century was extremely bitter, gin was added to make it more palatable. Although there is less medical use today for the consumption of tonic water, the gin and tonic remains a popular drink. Tonic water available today contains less quinine and is consequently less bitter (usually sweetened). Because of this connection to warmer climates and its refreshing nature, this cocktail is more popular during the warmer months.
Lore has it that the sheer quantity of limes (for the prevention of scurvy) and quinine (for the aforementioned prevention of malaria), was so unpalatable that the only way to get the members of the British Army to consume the prescribed amount was with the addition of gin. [1]
[edit] In popular culture
The gin and tonic has gained a central place in cultural and literary life, appearing as a bit part in numerous novels. One such example is in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, where it is stated that eighty-five percent of the races in the galaxy have each independently developed drinks that are pronounced the same, but spelled differently (namely, the spelling variations were jynnantonnyx, gee-N-N-T'N-ix, jinond-o-nicks, chinanto/mnigs, and tzjin-anthony-ks), and which bear no resemblance to one another other than the pronunciation of the name and that they were all invented and named before the worlds concerned made contact with any other worlds. Also in the book Life, the Universe and Everything, Ford hallucinates and spends a few weeks "jumping in and out of a gin and tonic." When asked where he found a gin and tonic on pre-historic earth, he replies he had temporarily gone insane, had named a small lake "a gin and tonic," and had spent a few weeks jumping in and out of it. He then adds that he also had decided he was a lemon for a while.
It was the preferred drink of Mrs. Slocombe (played by Mollie Sugden) of Are You Being Served?, as she couldn't bear neat gin.
British singer Nik Kershaw's 1983 hit song I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me includes the line "Forty winks in the lobby, make mine a g&t."
In Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's song You & Me & The Bottle Makes Three Tonight (Baby) "a gin and tonic sounds mighty mighty good to me."
In the episode of The Simpsons entitled Flaming Moe's, Moe the bartender looks at a chart of cocktail drinks and says, "Gin and... tonic? Do they mix?"
In the Barenaked Ladies song "Alcohol" it is mentioned in the lyric "A malibu and coke for you, a g&t for me."
The Spiritual Beggars song "Angel of Betrayal" includes the lyrics "Gin and Tonic rules/Blood on the floor/Burn marks from cigarettes/My throat pleads for more".
Oasis' 1994 debut single "Supersonic" features the lyric "I'm feelin' Supersonic, give me gin and tonic."
It was the preferred drink of fictional character John Constantine from the comic series Hellblazer.
It is featured in the Ramones song "Somebody put something in my drink" in the line "Tanqueray and tonic/ my favorite drink/ I don't like anything/ colored pink"
It is referenced in Billy Joel's famous song "Piano Man" in the line "There's an old man sitting next to me/ making love to his tonic and gin"
Also referenced in The Fratellis' song "Flathead" in the line "Well hers is a tonic and mine is a gin"
Reverend Horton Heat have a song named "Gin and Tonic Blues" and the lyrics are just: "I need a Gin'n'Tonic water, baby/Gin'n'Tonic water feelin' better/Give me a Gin'n'Tonic/Gin'n'Tonic/I need it now! (repeat many times)"
Pete Doherty and Carl Barat of The Libertines are both very fond of gin. Carl has written a song called 'Gin And Milk'[citation needed] and Pete has written one called 'Gang Of Gin'[citation needed]. Pete sings about "met two fellas over gin and mixers" in the song "La Belle Et La Bête" and "Well, I'll confess all of my sins after several large gins" in "Music When The Lights Go Out"[citation needed]. He also refers to 'Gin in Teacups' as a favoured thought of England in his song 'Albion.'[citation needed].
Adam Sandler references it in "The Chanukah Song" in the line " So drink your gin and tonic-ah and smoke your marijuani-kah"
In the internet video/song "Star Wars Gangsta Rap," Luke compliments R2-D2 and asks for another gin and tonic on his way to Cloud City in the line, "This is a mighty fine gin and tonic, why don't you mix me up another. Things about to get ugly."
It is the 'signature' drink of Australian country music star Captain Flange.
There is a line in The World/Inferno Friendship Society song Me and the Mad Monkettes "Rod Serling said, he said, 'gin and tonics all night long'"
[edit] Similar Drinks
ginger ale
Sometimes apple juice or apple schnapps can be added to a gin and tonic. This is referred to as a GTA or Grand Theft Auto.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] External link
