Pink Gin and Tonic

Gin derived from a medicinal drink and officers duly mixed it with other health-giving ingredients. Gin was often blended with lime juice, to ward off scurvy - giving British sailors their well-known designation 'limeys'. And, naturally enough, officers were soon mixing their 'tot' with Dr. Siegert's Angostura Bitters. The 'Pink Gin', a feisty, flavourful blend of Angostura and gin, became a staple of the naval officer's diet: former navy man Ian Fleming made his creation James Bond order a Pink Gin in The Man With The Golden Gun.

Indian tonic water had been invented in 1870. The aim, as with Angostura, was medicinal. The drug quinine had been synthesised from the bark of the cinchona tree as early as 1820 and was used against malaria in tropical climes. But its bitter taste made it almost unpalatable – until it was mixed into tonic water. The gin and tonic quickly became a vital part of the British officer's daily routine – and essential to civilised living in tropical British colonies.

Enter the Pink Gin and Tonic, a delicious and obvious progression. Simply a G&T with a few dashes of flavoursome Angostura Bitters.