Make the most out of summer with this garden gin and tonic! Featuring a medley of fresh herbs, lively burst of citrus and a bubbly finish, this gin and tonic is the ultimate refreshing sipper you need this summer.

A garden gin and tonic with a rosemary sprig garnish and fresh herbs surrounding it.

Considering how trendy farm-to-table dining is these days, why not create the same vibe for your friends and family at home with garden-to-table cocktails? Imagine trotting out to your garden, snipping fresh herbs off the vine and then mixing cocktails to serve right to your guests. I can’t think of a more impressive and fun presentation.

And if you don’t have an herb garden? No worries! You can simply pick up fresh herbs at the grocery store and pretend they came from your garden. No judgment here. You’ll still be left with an ultra summery gin and tonic that’s perfect for patio nights.

A garden gin and tonic from the side on a marble board with white flowers.

Herbs for Garden-to-Table Cocktail

For this gin and tonic, I use a combination of rosemary, thyme and basil. But don’t feel like you can’t experiment with other herbs. A gin and tonic comes with plenty of herbal, floral notes that make it a tasty canvas for all sorts of combinations.

Dill and tarragon, for instance, would also be delicious. Oh, and I love the idea of a mint, basil, parsley and cilantro combination. Growing cucumbers? Feel free to throw in a few slices. The same goes with fresh lavender.

This garden-to-table gin and tonic allows for plenty of creativity. Don’t be afraid to put your own spin on it if you’d like.

Two summer gin and tonics on a marble board with flowers and herbs on the side.

How to Make

Now that we settled on our herb combination, we’re ready to prepare our drink. To do this, we throw our herbs in a cocktail shaker with a generous squeeze of lime and lightly muddle. Usually, I make my gin and tonics right in the serving glass, but since we’re muddling, I like to be safe and use a cocktail shaker for this step.

Speaking of serving glasses, I’m partial to preparing gin and tonics in a wine glass. Highball glasses are traditional, but a gin and tonic is such a fragrant drink. That big mouth of the wine glass is perfect for showing off those scents. And considering how delicate wine glasses are, you can see why I prefer to muddle in a cocktail shaker.

After muddling, we dump the herbs and lime juice into our wine glass along with the gin, ice and tonic. We give it a gentle stir to combine and chill.

Plain tonic water works, but these days, you can get so many flavored tonics that are fun to try. I’ve made this drink with an elderflower tonic water and a Mediterranean tonic water, and both were delights. I bet a grapefruit tonic water would also be delicious and add a beautiful color.

And just like that, we’re ready to sip on summer’s perfect garden party cocktail. Fancy, huh?

An aerial view of two garden gin and tonics with white flowers tucked in the corner.

One gin and tonics with a lime slice and rosemary sprigs on a white marble board.

Perfect Pairing

You know what sounds nice? A refreshing garden gin and tonic with an herby, summery pizza on the patio. Enter my smoked salmon, avocado and pesto pizza.

Smoked salmon and gin are a classic food and drinking pairing, and all that bubbly tonic is perfect for cutting through the fatty salmon and avocado. I also love how those herbs meld with the garlicky pesto.

To make the most of summer's fresh herbs, I hope you try this garden gin and tonic.

Cheers!

Two garden gin and tonics with basil buds in front of it.

Looking down at a gin and tonic with fresh herbs from the garden around it on a white marble board.

Love Gin Cocktails?

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Garden Gin and Tonic

Herbs for Garden-to-Table Cocktail

How to Make

Perfect Pairing

Love Gin Cocktails?

📖 Recipe