Frozen Gin and Tonic

By chilling the gin mixture in your freezer before blending it up with the ice, you can achieve a frosty and incredibly refreshing version of a classic G&T.

By
Maggie Hoffman
Maggie Hoffman is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Maggie Hoffman is a longtime food and drink expert whose recipes and cocktail-making tips can be found on her newsletters What to Drink and The Dinner Plan. She is the author of  The One-Bottle Cocktail and Batch Cocktails, both published by Ten Speed Press.
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Updated October 30, 2024
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Photograph: Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • The secret to keeping the drinks slushy and cold, without diluting them with too much ice: Chill the gin mixture in your freezer before blending it up with the ice. It won't freeze solid, thanks to ample alcohol and sugar, but it will drop down in temperature significantly.

I grew up in a household with a pretty strict definition of what's proper when it comes to gin and tonics. For decades, my father marked the end of the workday with a single drink: a long pour of Tanqueray on ice and a squeezed fifth of a lime (yes, a fifth), fizzed up with Canada Dry, stirred with a single swirl of the lime-cutting knife. The piney scent is embedded in my memory.

When my older brother got engaged, my parents threw him a backyard party. There was grilled salmon. There was salad. And, of course, there were G&Ts. My boyfriend and I were appointed bartenders for the night, and at that point in my life, I'd made a drink or two, but there was no skipping Dad's gin and tonic lesson.

Wouldn't it be easier, my boyfriend suggested, to add a quarter of a lime? To cut the lime in fourths would take two quick swipes, while fifths would involve all sorts of awkward carving. Even sixths would be easier than fifths...

Dad insisted that a fourth was too much lime, and a sixth was too little. But I cannot promise that we didn't (gasp!) sneak lime quarters into the drinks when Dad wasn't looking.

Over the years, my father has relaxed his rules a bit, trying an assortment of gins and bringing Fever-Tree tonic into the mix, but I'm not sure what he'd think of the idea of this slushy frozen G&T.

If he tried it? I'm pretty sure he'd be a convert.

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This blender drink is bright and tart and oh-so-cooling, without any of the one-note sweet, fruity character that's common in old-school frozen cocktails. The balance, of course, comes from the bitter tonic, but you won't be pouring Fever-Tree or Canada Dry into your blender.

The brilliant idea of skipping the bubbles and using concentrated tonic syrup in the drink comes from Rob Krueger of Extra Fancy in Brooklyn—and the recipe is featured in Brooklyn Bartender by Carey Jones. (As I've mentioned before, the book is killer.)

At Extra Fancy, they use the stuff that you'd install in a bar's soda gun, but you don't have to be buying wholesale to make this drink. Nowadays, there's a whole aisle's worth of small-batch tonic syrups available, as well as more mass-market syrups, like the ones from SodaStream. I love the version from Small Hand Foods, which adds just the right balance of sweetness and quinine kick.

With that little trade secret in hand, it couldn't be easier to make yourself a frozen G&T. You need some gin, obviously. Krueger uses Hendrick's, but I haven't yet found a gin that doesn't work pretty well, so go with whatever you have around and like to drink.

Then there's the tonic syrup, a little simple syrup, orange bitters, and fresh lime juice. Throw it in a blender with ice—measuring the ice, ideally by weight, to make sure you're adding the proper dilution—then let 'er rip. (Our blender review can tell you more about our recommended models if you're in the market.)

Pour and drink. Slow down a little, unless you love that brain-freeze feeling.

Having people over for a barbecue and don't want to scramble with a jigger and a citrus juicer at the last minute? You're in luck. Just like in our frozen-margarita recipe, you can do all your measuring in advance, batching up the gin mix and storing it in your freezer. It won't freeze solid because of all the booze and sugar. When your guests arrive, just pour the super-chilled mix in the blender, add your ice, and you'll be just seconds away from the most refreshing G&T of your life.

July 2016

Recipe Details

Frozen Gin and Tonic Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Freezing Time 60 mins
Total 65 mins
Serves 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 fluid ounces (90ml) gin

  • 1 fluid ounce (30ml) tonic syrup

  • 1 fluid ounce (30ml) simple syrup (see note)

  • 2 dashes orange bitters

  • 1 1/2 fluid ounces (45ml) fresh juice from 2 limes

  • 12 standard ice cubes (about 270g)

  • Lime wedges and cucumber slices, for garnish

Directions

  1. Combine gin, tonic syrup, simple syrup, bitters, and lime juice in a resealable container. Seal and store in freezer at least 1 and up to 10 hours, then pour into blender.

  2. Add ice to blender and blend until smooth.

  3. Split into two glasses, garnish, and serve immediately, or store in an airtight container in your freezer up to 1 hour before serving.

Special equipment

Blender

Notes

To make simple syrup, combine 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Cool before using. Simple syrup will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
245Calories
0gFat
45gCarbs
0gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories245
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g0%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 34mg1%
Total Carbohydrate 45g16%
Dietary Fiber 1g4%
Total Sugars 29g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 16mg81%
Calcium 21mg2%
Iron 0mg2%
Potassium 62mg1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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