The Dutch may have invented the gin (in its earlier form, genever), the British added the tonic, but it was the Spanish who perfected the garnish and elevated the drink to the level of art. Nowhere in the world can you find better gin and tonics than in bars in Spain.
I have loved G&Ts for a long time, but it only occurred to me that what I had to come to see as the 'right way' to serve a G&T was actually the 'Spanish way' when I went to a cocktail bar - Amor y Amargo - in New York that had 'Spanish-style' G&Ts on the menu.
As Cognac-Ferrand president Alexandre Gabriel, quoted in an article about gin and tonic, says: "Only Spain knows how to make a gin and tonic."
So what makes a Spanish gin and tonic so perfect? Find out here: How to Make the Perfect Gin and Tonic
See also:
Where to Get the Best Gin and Tonic in Spain
Gin and tonics are everywhere now in Spain. Even a middling cafe-bar will have a good selection of gins and will probably stock Fever Tree tonic. Not every bar will have the varied garnishes, but not everyone in Spain goes in for that, as you'll see below. The bars below are just some of the G&T bars I've discovered in Spain that are worth a mention.1. Gin Tonic Bar, Malaga
Image: (c) Damian Corrigan
Gin Tonic Bar in Malaga was my introduction to the perfect Gin & Tonic, Spanish style. My favorite was the London Gin No.1 garnished with a sprig of fresh coriander.
The house special is the premium Beafeater 24 with pink grapefruit, mint and juniper berries. The pink, yellow, black and green among the jingling ice cubes and effervescent liquid is perhaps the most beautiful drink I have ever seen.
With sixty types of gin, eight types of tonic water and more than a dozen types of garnish, the half-sized glasses they offer will come in handy as you work through the 6,000-plus combinations on offer here. The prices are very fair too, making this the perfect bar for the perfect G&T.
Address: c/ Sancha de Lara 4, Malaga AND c/Arenal, 8.
The house special is the premium Beafeater 24 with pink grapefruit, mint and juniper berries. The pink, yellow, black and green among the jingling ice cubes and effervescent liquid is perhaps the most beautiful drink I have ever seen.
With sixty types of gin, eight types of tonic water and more than a dozen types of garnish, the half-sized glasses they offer will come in handy as you work through the 6,000-plus combinations on offer here. The prices are very fair too, making this the perfect bar for the perfect G&T.
Address: c/ Sancha de Lara 4, Malaga AND c/Arenal, 8.
2. Ohla's Boutique Bar, Barcelona
Image: (c) Damian Corrigan
The excellent cocktail bar at the Ohla serves a mean G&T with well selected garnishes, but the craft cocktails by Italian mixologists Max La Rocca and Giuseppe Santamaria are the bigger attractions here.
See pictures from the Ohla Boutique Bar.
Address Via Laietana, 49, Barcelona
3. Úbeda, Barcelona
Image: (c) Damian Corrigan
Javier Úbeda put the fastidious into the gin and tonic. Always five cubes of ice, made from mineral water and stored at -20C. Always Fever Tree tonic, slightly shaken to reduce the amount of fizz, because Señor Úbeda doesn't like too much tingle on his tongue. The barman uses only lemon peel - none of the adventure of the other bars on this page - with every trace of pith meticulously cut out and squeezed with the bar's patented rolling pin (which you can buy as a part of their Úbeda Gin Kit for 29€). The house gin is a homemade creation.
There is an extensive gin menu, but the descriptions or 'tasting notes' are more like you would see on a wine bottle. The pretensions of wine-tasting are excusable when faced with the difficulties of trying to describe the nuanced flavors of fermented grape juice, but unforgivable when all of the interesting ingredients that have been added to the gin are left off the menu in favour of the barman's attempts at poetry.
The G&T at Úbeda is mellow, with a lot more tonic (or less gin) than I would normally put in it. Úbeda takes a lot of the fun out of Spain's approach to gin and tonic, but what he does do, he does well.
There is an extensive gin menu, but the descriptions or 'tasting notes' are more like you would see on a wine bottle. The pretensions of wine-tasting are excusable when faced with the difficulties of trying to describe the nuanced flavors of fermented grape juice, but unforgivable when all of the interesting ingredients that have been added to the gin are left off the menu in favour of the barman's attempts at poetry.
The G&T at Úbeda is mellow, with a lot more tonic (or less gin) than I would normally put in it. Úbeda takes a lot of the fun out of Spain's approach to gin and tonic, but what he does do, he does well.
Ubeda has three branches of his gin-tonic-tapas bars:
Addresses c/Córcega 339 AND Avda. Josep Tarradellas 133 AND C/ València 202
4. San Telmo, Barcelona
Image: (c) Damian Corrigan
San Telmo is the complete opposite of Úbeda (above). It seems the owner of San Telmo bought every fruit or spice he could find at the Boqueria market and randomly dropped them into various types of gin. This bar has the most garnishes I have ever seen in a Spanish gin-and-tonic bar and not all of them work. Choose wisely, though, and you will have yourself an adventurous G&T in Barcelona. Unfortunately, this bar only stocks Schweppes tonic.
Address c/Buenos Aires, 60
Address c/Buenos Aires, 60
5. Gin Tonic Bar, Marbella
The Marbella branch of the above Malaga bar.Address: Pablo Casals, 8
6. Bobby Gin, Barcelona
The new and very much in vogue Bobby Gin's of Barcelona stocks over 60 gins and has some extremely elaborate 'Ginfonk' cocktail/G&T hybrids.Address: Francisco Giner 47, Barcelona
7. Cassette Bar
G&Ts, great music and free tapas at this cool bar in the Raval, not too far from the seafront in Barcelona.Address: 11, Calle l’Est, Barcelona
