Very Berry Blueberry Gin and Tonic
This Blueberry Gin and Tonic is the perfect summer beverage for gin lovers looking for a cold, slightly sweet cocktail for a hot day. This is your drink.
The blueberry and gin cocktail is made with gin, blueberry simple syrup, and lime juice, shaken together and poured over crushed or cubed ice. Top it with tonic water, and you’re done.
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Highball cocktails
The gin and tonic is a classic members of the family of highball cocktails like the Aperol and soda, Elderflower Collins, Blue Mojito. These cocktails are often made with a base spirit and some form of carbonated water and served over ice in a highball or Collins glass. That makes the whole family full of refreshing options for summer sipping.
The classic gin and tonic is made with just gin, tonic water, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Using simple syrup allows you to make your gin highball any flavor you like.
Ingredients
About tonic water
Many people get confused by the differences between tonic water vs. club soda. You definitely want tonic water for this cocktail.
While tonic water and club soda are both carbonated, tonic water has added quinine and sugar. That gives tonic some flavor in addition to the bubbles, so they aren’t interchangeable. You can find reduced-calorie tonic waters that are made with sugar substitutes.
Tip from the wise quacker: tonic water was created as a way to deliver quinine as an anti-malarial in the 1800s, although it’s no longer in high quantities. So you can’t use modern tonic water as an anti-malarial unless you drink a lot of it.
Even then, most of the malaria around the world is resistant to quinine, so it probably wouldn’t work anyway.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations and substitutions
- Use vodka in place of gin for a blueberry vodka tonic.
- A blackberry syrup would work here too. You might want to use a fine mesh strainer to catch all of those seeds.
- Make a lavender blueberry gin and tonic by adding a tablespoon of culinary lavender blossoms to the blueberry simple syrup as it cools.
Recipe tips and tricks
Blueberry simple syrup
Making this blueberry simple syrup is, well, simple. Combine the sugar, water, and blueberries in a small pot and heat on low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the blueberries have started to pop. Let cool, mash the blueberries, and strain through a fine mesh strainer.
Making the cocktail
You can make many highball cocktails right in the glass. I like to shake the sour base, but you can also skip shaking a highball because it will quickly get chilled, diluted, and mixed from the melting crushed ice.
To make the cocktail, fill a highball glass about halfway up with crushed or cubed ice, and add your gin, blueberry simple syrup, and fresh squeezed lime juice or shake them together to mix before adding to the glass. Top with more ice and tonic water and enjoy!
Cocktail FAQs
The best gin is the one you have. We often use Tanqueray for gin and tonics in our house. You could also make a variation of this recipe with blueberry gin or infuse your own gin with blueberries.
You can store simple syrups in the refrigerator for one to two weeks.
Use them to make blueberry mini pies. Top a rainbow fruit tart or rainbow salad. Or you can just eat them by the handful like I do!
Related cocktail recipes
If you love this blueberry gin and tonic, check out other Ugly Duckling Bakery cocktail archives for other summer cocktails like:
Love cocktails and want to explore more? Read all about classic cocktails and bartender basics, check out my list of essential bar tools for cocktails at home, and join this year’s 52 weeks of cocktails challenge!
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Recipe
Blueberry Gin and Tonic
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker
Ingredients
Blueberry simple syrup
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Blueberry gin and tonic
- 2 ounce gin
- 1 ounce blueberry simple syrup
- ½ ounce lime juice
- 4 ounces tonic water
Instructions
Blueberry simple syrup
- Combine the sugar, water, and blueberries in a small pot and heat on low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved and the blueberries are starting to burst, turn off the heat and let the blueberry syrup steep for 30 minutes.½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup water, ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- Mash the blueberries and filter the syrup into a small container using a fine mesh strainer.
- Cool and store in the refrigerator for one to two weeks.
Blueberry gin and tonic
- Fill a highball glass about halfway up with ice. Add the gin, blueberry simple syrup, and lime juice to a cocktail shaker without ice, shake and strain into your highball glass.2 ounce gin, 1 ounce blueberry simple syrup, ½ ounce lime juice
- Top with more ice and 4 ounces tonic water or more to taste.4 ounces tonic water
- Garnish with some fresh blueberries or a lime wheel.
Notes
Nutrition
Note: This blueberry gin cocktail was originally published as a blueberry lavender gin and tonic made with lavender simple syrup, muddled blueberries, gin, and tonic water on April 21, 2021.
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