When I was about 21 I remember reading in a magazine, probably Cosmo, an article that interviewed bartenders. They asked the bartenders what drinks people should order, and the response was “Drinks with the ingredients in the title, like gin & tonic or rum & coke.” So when young Mrs. Cocktail Dork went out to bars (read: clubs) for the first time, she ordered gin & tonics and choked them down. I was young, had little money, and just wanted to party with my friends. Drinking was something you did to get drunk, not something you did to sip and enjoy (unless it was wine). Cocktails, in my mind, were ways of watering down the alcohol to make it more palatable than doing shots all night. (When a few of us girls wanted to be fancy, we’d head to The Cheesecake Factory and order the fruit flavored mojitos.) Then I grew up and drinking became less and less of a thing to do. Like most young adults, I learned that going into work hungover really sucked. I kept drinking socially, but it was always wine because that’s alcohol for sipping.

Why am I telling you this? Because it’s important to know that that was my introduction to cocktails. It’s important to know that, for a long while, I hated hard liquor and cocktails in general. I eventually found my way to good scotch, and thank goodness for that, because it was something Mr. Cocktail Dork and I bonded over immediately- literally on our first date, he took me home to taste a special scotch. It was Mr. Cocktail Dork who made me realize that cocktails aren’t the disgusting things I remember choking down in clubs, but an art that I was unfamiliar with.

There’s a lot that goes into cocktails, both making and consuming, and it can feel overwhelming at times. I still have to look up the recipe for my favorite drink (penicillin), and when I try making something of my own creation, it often ends poorly. But I’m learning. Mr. Cocktail Dork is teaching me, too, and I’m finding joy in well crafted cocktails, both at home and at the bars (bars that younger me wouldn’t have gone to). While Mr. Cocktail Dork will be pining away about a favorite classic or explaining the nuances of shaken vs stirred, I’ll be on the side, asking “wait, what goes into a Manhattan again?” I’ll be the one writing reviews, recipes, and thoughts from the perspective of a total cocktail novice. Fortunately, there’s nothing like learning by doing. Cheers!

Now for my thoughts on the gin & tonic:

I absolutely love a gin & tonic now! I’ve learned that, just like scotch, there is good gin. I’ve just started to learn that there are different types of gin: Old Tom, London Dry, and Genever. I’m finding myself partial to Old Toms, but more tasting is needed. I will write a post about my gin experiences once I’ve tasted a few more.

Tonics are also as varied as the gins. There are some that are sweeter, some herbal, and even fruit flavored tonics. Mixing and matching gins and tonics is a wonderful experiment in and of itself. What does the tonic bring out in different gins? Which gins go best with which tonics?

And finally, the splash of lime. Optional, really, but a few drops of lime juice really make a good g&t. Well, a few drops of something. I’ve also had g&t’s with lemon, grapefruit, yuzu, rosemary, peppercorn, edible flowers, and even a tea bag. Again, mixing and matching for endless possibilities.

What I love most about g&t’s is the simplicity. It’s easy to stock the ingredients in a home bar. One bottle of gin will suffice, but stocking up on a few isn’t hard to do over time. Good tonics are readily available at grocery stores, let alone liquor stores. And, best of all, I never have to look up the recipe.