I've just had one of the best drinks of my life | How to Drink

I took the Gin and Tonic and I tore it apart and rebuilt it to make it better. A lot better. Also make sure to keep your eyes peeled for a visit from Ranger Greg! Note from Meredith: This is a drink you will want to try.

00:00 - A bold promise from Greg
00:17 - Not not talking about history
03:37 - What tonics are we trying
04:27 - Tonic Tasting Notes
09:52 - A visit from RANGER GREG!!
12:22 - Homemade Tonic Recipe
14:08 - Homemade Gin and Tonic
14:45 - Tasting Notes
16:20 - Gin & Tonics with something a little extra
17:04 - Tasting Notes - Grapefruit
18:30 - Smoked Rosemary G&T
19:38 - Tasting Notes - Rosemary
20:39 - Fresh Fruit G&T
21:33 - Tasting Notes - Strawberry
22:20 - Conclusions
23:00 - Sign off

Homemade Gin and Tonic:
Build in Glass
Add large ice cube to glass
.5 oz. -or- 15 ml. Tonic Syrup
1.5 oz. -or- 45 ml. Soda Water
2 oz. -or- 60 ml. London Dry Gin
Stir
Garnish with lime wedge (Squeeze of lime in the drink if preferred)
Variation 1: Sub lime with Grapefruit
Variation 2: Smoke rosemary into glass before making drink

Fresh Fruit G&T
Built in Shaker
Add fruit of choice to shaker
.5 oz. -or- 15 ml. Tonic Syrup
2 oz. -or- 60 ml. London Dry Gin
Add ice and shake
Strain into glass over ice
1.5 oz. -or- 45 ml. Soda Water
Stir
Garnish with fruit and lime

Tonics -
Canada Dry
Q Tonic
Fever Tree
Top Hat Syrup
Tomr's Syrup
Homemade Recipe from "The Bar Book"

Homemade Tonic Recipe:
Steep
6 grams powdered cinchona bark
5 oz. -or- 150 ml. Vodka
Strain through a coffee filter
(You have created a Quinine Tincture)
In a saucepan
Half a liter water
400 grams sugar
10 grams gentian root
20 grams Citric Acid
30 grams lemon peel
30 grams grapefruit peel
2 grams Ceylon cinnamon sticks broken up
Bring to a boil
Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes
Cool and strain into a glass bottle
Add 1.5 oz. -or- 45 ml. Quinine Tincture

Old Faithful:
Build in shaker
2 oz. -or- 60 ml. Huckleberry Syrup
Slice half a lemon and add to shaker
Leaves from 1 sprig of fresh mint
2 oz. -or- 60 ml Yellowstone Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Lightly muddle
Add ice and shake
Add crushed ice to glass
Strain drink into glass
Garnish with fresh mint and lavender

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[howtodrink]

I was genuinely blown away by how good these drinks came out. Also, I hope you enjoy the visit from Ranger Greg in this one, more of that to come!
There's a Typo in the episode: When making the syrup use 500ml of *water* like I say, not gin like the text says. Sorry!

[OBIIIIIIIII]

One of my favourite sponsored YouTube ads ever:
- Greg does dress up
- shows us a drink and how to make it, which is why we’re here
- lovely b roll of bears and nature
- product gives money to conservation projects

[davidrobinson]

I disagree Greg. I have COVID as I watch this and I think a G&T would help me immensely.

[energyfuture]

it's amazing how perfectly you crystallized what you wanted from this channel right from the get-go. Most creators have a few off sloppy videos before hitting their stride, but you nailed the formula and came out sprinting. I remember back when you were a smallish channel with a few tens of thousands of subs thinking "man this guy's production work is so far ahead of most channels with ten times his subs". It's so great to see you flourishing and having fun making these great videos.

[MsSteelphoenix]

I really appreciate that you don't gatekeep. There's a lot of bar-adjacent people who insist it can't be a 'proper' cocktail without certain ingredients and expenditure. That you don't is refreshing and so encouraging. On that note - the ALDI dupe for Fever Tree (don't know the name, you know what I mean though) is just as good - I think their elderflower one is actually better. It's an excellent widely-available tonic. Greenalls is my favourite gin for G&T, but that's not widely available outside the UK.

[Jm-kisu]

i'm gonna be real, Greg's advertisements are actually worth sitting through

[viperousone]

I absolutely love your show, but I have to limit myself to no more than 3 episodes per day or I start feeling an overwhelming urge to visit a liquor store and start mixing :D

[jegger]

Honestly love videos like this, taking a 'simple' drink and showing just how variable they can be is just fascinating to witness.

Also, you've officially sold me on getting a drinkmate. Been needing a new machine for a while and you've finally worn me down, so thank you for emptying my wallet slightly my good man.

[Baby_boodle]

I really adore your ad spots lately where you make cocktails. The one in this episode made me smile a bunch and it was really fun. You have a knack for making most anything an entertaining treat, and I appreciate that skill of yours very much!!

[johnmiskella]

God I love how Greg will integrate sponsers into the episode and make a drink, so cool

[Carlos-Mora]

Also, if you don't wanna mess with quinine dosage/can't get cinchona bark, Quassia bark I found is a good substitute. It has no actual quinine, but it's active compound quassine has that same astringent bitterness you're looking for. It is a lot stronger though, so I'd substitute it in a 1:10 ratio in the syrup recipe, give or take.

[thatnickwalker]

I loved you description of the forest in the gin and tonic. I grew up in a forest in Michigan with juniper bushes and cedar trees, once I turned drinking age I fell in love with gin cuz it taste like home. my favorite is the local Knickerbocker Gin made in Holland

[mollieherlocker]

Would you ever consider doing a G&T matrix like you did for margaritas and manhattans? I'd be curious to see if there is an actual difference between the gin and tonic combos. The margarita video is so interesting to me. (Also I desperately want an Old Faithful cocktail of my own...)

[ObligatoryReference]

If you're looking for another twist - I went to a London distillery and was served a G&T with a chamomile syrup (or maybe tea bitters?) included. It was incredibly refreshing, especially after a long day of walking around the city.

[AttemptedHumility]

Careful about grapefruit and quinine.

There are drug interactions between compounds in grapefruit that slow the catalytic breakdown of quinine and many other medications. Although the effective amount for large differences is often referenced at about one grapefruits worth of ingestion, that does not mean it has no effects at lower amounts.
Just at least check estimated amounts of each in your own circumstances in planning to make these, and how much of them you drink.

[kristagrant]

My husband and I watch these videos together and the ad read is this episode is our favorite kind. Where we kinda get a free mini episode in the middle of the big

[Alexm]

I’m a huge fan of the show, and also a huge fan of a good G&T. I’ve made a couple batches of Morganthaler’s tonic (using his earlier blog post version), and there’s one awesome aspect that would’ve been cool to show off on camera: quinine fluorescence! If you’ve got a black light, tonic water will glow pale blue under UV illumination. It’s lovely to see the tincture go from non-glowy vodka to an absolute light show once the quinine is extracted.

[camasallison-bunnell]

I was born and raised in Montana and the old faithful will be the REAL drink of the summer now

[theshrabster]

I love the 'deep dive' episodes into certain drinks, replete with science and history. I think my favorite episode so far was the history of rum.
Hope to see more of these in the future!

[kimberly]

Greg should put all of these videos into a playlist titled "The Quest for the Drink of Summer" 🤣
But really, G&T is one of my favorites and I'm fascinated by the idea of making my own tonic! And I think you've finally convinced me I need that book.