Best Mixers For Spirits: What To Pair With Gin, Whisky, Rum And Vodka

Tonic gets its gentle bitterness from quinine, and it's the classic partner for gin. A standard Indian tonic suits a London Dry, while light tonics have less sugar and let the botanicals shine. Mediterranean and elderflower tonics pair beautifully with floral or citrus-led gins.

A ratio of one part gin to two or three parts tonic is a good starting point. Use small bottles or cans so every drink is freshly fizzy, and pour the tonic down a bar spoon or the side of the glass to keep the bubbles.

Ginger beer is spicy and bold, perfect with dark rum in a Dark and Stormy or with vodka and lime in a Moscow Mule. Ginger ale is lighter and sweeter, and it's a lovely match for whisky, especially bourbon.

Add a squeeze of fresh lime to any ginger drink. It brightens the flavour and balances the sweetness.

Soda water adds fizz without changing the flavour, so it's the mixer to choose when you want to taste the spirit. A Scotch and soda, known in Japan as a highball, is crisp and refreshing, and vodka soda with lime is one of the lightest long drinks around.

Because soda has no sugar, it's ideal if you're cutting back. Buy it in small bottles: half-empty large bottles go flat quickly.

Rum and cola is a classic for a reason, and a spiced rum works especially well. Cloudy lemonade is a summery match for gin or vodka, and it's the base of a refreshing Pimm's-style jug.

Try a slice of lime with rum and cola and a sprig of mint with lemonade drinks to lift them.

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Prosecco, cava and champagne make brilliant mixers. Top a measure of gin, lemon and sugar with fizz for a French 75, or add a splash of elderflower liqueur and soda for a light spritz.

A good flute keeps the bubbles lively for longer. Insulated flutes like this one keep fizz cold outdoors, which makes them perfect for garden parties.

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Warm mixers melt your ice faster and make drinks watery. Keep tonic, soda and fizz in the fridge, and keep bottles cold on the table once they're open.

An insulated cooler holds a bottle at temperature for hours without ice buckets dripping everywhere, so the last drink is as crisp as the first.

Most long drinks taste best somewhere between one part spirit to two parts mixer and one to four. Stronger, more flavourful spirits like a juniper-heavy gin or a peaty whisky can take more mixer, while delicate spirits get lost if you drown them.

Start at one to three, taste, and adjust. Measure the spirit with a jigger rather than free-pouring, so your second drink tastes like your first. Always add ice first, then the spirit, then the mixer, and give it one gentle stir to combine without knocking out the bubbles.

Garnishes matter too. A twist of citrus peel releases fragrant oils, a few fresh berries add colour, and a sprig of rosemary or mint brings aroma with every sip.

Grapefruit soda with tequila and a pinch of salt makes a Paloma, Mexico's favourite long drink. Tequila is also excellent with soda and lime, or with fresh orange juice and a splash of grenadine for a Tequila Sunrise.