Top Gin Mixers You Need to Try This Season

While a classic G&T is a strong choice for many occasions, a premium tonic is not the only pick to mix with gin. Experiment with various flavours and concoctions to match your palate as well as to enhance the gin’s natural notes rather than overpower it.

In this guide, we’ll explore the best gin mixers and flavours to try, including our top gin bottles at Cotswolds Distillery.

What Are the Best Mixers for Gin?

Finding the best gin mixers comes down to personal taste and the specific flavour of gin. To complement a quality gin, choose a mixer that pairs well with the featured botanicals. The classic choice that many gin drinkers go to is tonic water. But there are many other options to consider:

1)   Indian Tonic Water - the Classic Gin Mixer

Beautifully complementing the botanicals in a classic gin, particularly for a London Dry style, premium tonic is undoubtedly the most famous gin mixer. Its slight bitterness pairs well with juniper berries’ piney flavour, creating a balanced and refreshing drink.

Gin and tonic is the perfect drink for summer parties and celebrations. But not all tonics are created equally, so for the best taste, look at the sugar content and the brand's quality.

Indian tonic water is a traditional, more bitter style of tonic, offering a less sweet flavour profile to counteract the gin’s botanicals. It’s a common and popular choice for a juniper-forward London Dry gin.

We recommend serving our Cotswolds Dry Gin with plenty of ice, a slice of pink grapefruit, a bay leaf, and topped with Fever-Tree Premium Tonic Water.

2)   Elderflower Tonic - Perfect for Sloe Gin

Fresh, light and packed with flavour, elderflower is incredibly popular when paired with gin, whether it be cordial, liqueur or tonic water. Elderflower particularly pairs well with botanicals commonly found in gin, such as citrus and angelica root, and balances the dry, piney notes of juniper to make the gin more approachable - especially for those new to the world of gin.

An elderflower mixer pairs beautifully with sloe gin, a red-coloured liqueur that’s a fruitier, sweeter alternative to classic styles infused with sloe berries (sour, wild plums). Our take on the sloe gin style is our Cotswolds Hedgerow Gin, which combines our award-winning Cotswolds Dry Gin with the finest local fruit and berries, including an assortment of sloes, bullace, damsons and blackberries.

We recommend serving our Cotswolds Hedgerow Gin in a gin balloon glass over plenty of ice, then topping it with Fever-Tree Elderflower Tonic. Garnish with blackberries and fresh elderflower.

3)   Bitter Lemon or Lemonade

Refreshingly mature and sophisticated, bitter lemon is a good mixer for a London Dry style. It can be a citrusy alternative to a G&T. Serve in a highball glass with plenty of ice and top with bitter lemon.

Often a good mixer for beginners to gin, lemonade delivers a quick, refreshing and sweet gin cocktail and a popular alternative to the classic gin and tonic. It’s a strong choice, particularly during summer months, and to complement floral or citrusy gin flavours.

Consider a cloudy lemonade to add a deep tartness to the flavour profile. For a lighter feel, try a good quality sparkling lemonade.

4)   Ginger Ale or Beer - Balance Spice & Sweetness

Offering a perfect balance of sweetness and spice, ginger ale (or ginger beer) stands out as a delightful companion to the gin’s botanicals. The subtle heat from ginger helps enhance the drink's overall character.

This simple yet effective mixer truly showcases the versatility of your favourite spirit. For the perfect summer serve, mix one part Cotswolds Summer Cup over plenty of ice, top with two parts ginger ale and garnish with fresh mint and your favourite summer berries.

5)   Soda Water - Low Calorie & Refreshing

Highlight the gin's incredible flavours without added sweetness. Soda water is a refreshing, low-sugar, low-calorie mixer that makes an ideal summer drink. Soda water is a great mixer for gin cocktails. Consider serving gin, lime juice, and soda water to make the popular Gin Rickey cocktail.

But our pick for a gin cocktail with soda is the classic Tom Collins. Mix 50ml Cotswolds Old Tom Gin, 25ml lemon juice and 20ml sugar syrup in an ice-filled highball glass. Top with soda water and garnish with an orange slice.

However, don’t be afraid to experiment:

●       Best Mixer for a London Dry Gin: Indian Tonic Water or soda water

●       Best Mixer for an Old Tom: Soda water or ginger ale

●       Best Mixer for Flavoured Gins: Lemonade or elderflower tonic

Exploring the Best Flavours of Gin Cocktails

Citrus Gin Cocktails

One of the most popular flavours for gin cocktails, citrus helps enhance the gin’s natural brightness and botanicals. Citrus flavours, like orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit, pair nicely with a traditional London Dry style, where they lift the juniper, coriander seed and floral notes.

Our juniper-led Cotswolds Dry Gin is a blend of nine carefully chosen botanicals, including local Cotswolds lavender, bay leaves, cardamom, black peppercorn, and angelica root. For added citrus flavours, we use fresh lime and grapefruit peels rather than dried ones, for a higher concentration of essential oils. Serve our London Dry gin with premium tonic water and a slice of pink grapefruit.

Berry and Hedgerow Cocktails

Berry-led flavours bring sweetness, richness and seasonality to gin cocktails.

Combining our award-winning Cotswolds Dry Gin with local fruit and berries, the Cotswolds Hedgerow Gin is beautifully fragrant and perfect in both summer and winter. Our twist on the sloe gin style: expect incredibly fruity flavours, with cocktails like a Sloe Royale, Hedgerow Fizz, or Hedgerow Gin and Elderflower Tonic.

Sweet and Fruity Cocktails

Sweet and fruity flavours are generally more approachable to those new to gin. Flavoured gins pair well with mixers such as lemonade, cloudy lemonade, fruit juice or fresh berry garnishes, which soften the spirit. But avoid anything overly sweet that completely masks the gin taste.

Our Cotswolds Wildflower No.1 Gin is a fresh, floral and fruity gin, with a pleasantly dry finish, for a balanced flavour profile. With a blend of cornflowers, local lavender and orange layered over a classic London Dry gin, this fruity gin is perfect for cocktails like a Negroni Sbagliato, Gin Spritz and Wild Passion Cocktail.

How to Choose the Right Mixer for Your Gin

So how should you style your gin cocktail? It’s important to find the right mixer ingredients that will not overpower the botanicals and create a balanced flavour profile.

Consider the following to find the best gin mixers:

●       Start with the Gin Style: London Dry works best with a premium tonic or soda water, whereas Old Tom is great with ginger ale or soda. Look whether the gin is dry, sweet, fruity or spiced and match accordingly.

●       Match the Key Botanicals: Look at your chosen gin’s tasting notes and the botanicals featured, and either match or gently contrast them with your mixer. Citrus botanicals pair with lemon, bitter lemon, or soda, and fruity botanicals pair nicely with lemonade, fresh berries, or elderflower tonic.

●       Sweetness Levels: Gins that are already incredibly sweet (such as Old Tom or flavoured options) may benefit from a more bitter mixer, such as ginger ale or tonic. Sweet mixers may be more appropriate for those new to gin.

●       Consider the Season or Occasion: For warmer months, you may want to choose a sweeter mixer, such as lemonade, soda water, or elderflower tonic. Celebrations and parties may benefit from a sparkling mixer, like prosecco or champagne.

●       Finish with the Right Garnish - Complement both the gin and mixer with a garnish. For citrus-forward gins, try orange or lemon slices. Berry and Hedgerow gins pair nicely with fresh blackberries, raspberries or strawberries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are There Any Mixers to Avoid with Gin?

Though gin is incredibly versatile, certain mixers may overpower the spirit and its botanicals. Consider avoiding a mixer that is immoderately sweet or extremely bitter, and instead look for one that balances the juniper-forward spirit and botanicals for a harmonious flavour profile.

What Makes a Good Gin?

A good gin is defined by its balance and characterised into three qualities. The best gins feature a harmonious blend of botanicals, high-quality ingredients, and a proven effective distillation method – creating the iconic piney flavour that the versatile spirit is known for.

Read our guide to choosing the best quality gin for more advice here.

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