Off the Eaten Path

A Food and Travel Blog

  • recipes
  • north carolina travel
  • cookbook
  • about
    • press and publications
  • work with me
    • mentoring and consulting
    • food photography

frozen gin and tonic recipe

August 17, 2020 by Chrissie Leave a Comment

Filed Under: all, cocktails, recipes Tagged With: cocktails, recipes

Jump to Recipe

This frozen gin and tonic recipe turns the classic cocktail into a cool, refreshing summer slushie in less than five minutes!

three red and yellow cocktail glasses filled with white slushie liquid on a blue background next to whole and sliced limes

When it comes to food blogging, you always have to to be ahead of the curve when it comes to seasonality.

Even though we’re still sweating through sticky summer days, food bloggers are gearing up for all things fall (you know pumpkin spice and everything nice) and even probably flirting with some Thanksgiving ideas (Thanksgiving is the Olympics of food blogging after all.)

This means you, as a reader, don’t need to be ready to pour yourself a pumpkin beer (but there are no rules in 2020 so a pumpkin beer on a 90 degree August day could be extremely refreshing, you do you) and it’s totally fine if you aren’t sure what you’re doing next week, much less your Thanksgiving plans and menu (but if you are looking for Thanksgiving ideas already I have a Thankgiving recipe round up for you!)

I have always struggled with staying ahead of the seasonal content curve, especially when it comes to the transition between summer and fall.

In Charlotte it stays hot well into October (we went to Asheville a few years ago for our fall wedding anniversary and it was 85 the whole weekend) so its hard for me to get into a fall mood (both personally and content wise) until we don’t need to crank the air conditioning or consume a frozen beverage to cool off.

frozen gin and tonic in a red and white glass with a full lime and lime slices on a blue background

This means when it comes to content, I’m publishing recipes like Watermelon Frozen Rosé, Sparkling Raspberry Lemonade Punch, Sparkling Peach Sangria or these frozen gin and tonics in late August and well into September.

My goal was to get the recipe published by the end of summer, so at least I am ahead of the curve with this for my standards. (And actually running a little early…I have big plans for updates to my Spiked Hot Apple Cider, Pumpkin Waffles and Whiskey Old Fashioned in the next few weeks.)

Since its not fall quite yet, lets stick with summer cocktails and talk about this delish drink: a frozen gin and tonic!

What is a frozen gin and tonic?

Yes you read that right; we’re taking a simple, classic cocktail and making it in slushie form!

three frozen gin and tonic cocktails with white liquid in red glasses from overhead on a teal background with lime slices

A gin and tonic is a classic cocktail featuring just two ingredients, gin and tonic water, poured over ice. 

Did you know that it was created in the 19th century as an antimalarial for British soldiers? A history lesson for another day I guess.

Gin and tonics are my dad’s summer cocktail of choice. When we take our annual family vacation to the Outer Banks, he makes them nightly and we sip on them on the deck with a view of the ocean.

The ratio for the right gin and tonic pour is somewhere between 1 to 1 and 1 to 3, depending on the type and quality of ingredients used and how strong you like your drinks (if you’re my dad, you’re going to measure about two fingers worth of gin and then top with tonic, putting your drink somewhere in the 1 to 2 or 1 to 3 ballpark.)

And while the cocktail is just two ingredients, it is usually finished off with a squeeze of lime juice and a lime wheel or wedge garnish, so we can say for all intents and purposes, its a three ingredient cocktail.

So why a frozen gin and tonic recipe?

Well, for one…I love gin and tonics!

three red and yellow glasses of gin and tonic cocktails next to whole and sliced limes

They remind me of my dad…during our beach trip this summer, he did a drink demo on my Instagram stories showcasing his gin and tonic making abilities and it was so fun. (This is not my first Mark inspired recipe…this Blackberry Basil Gin Fizz is also inspired by my dad!)

They are also so easy and quick to make, plus super refreshing and light.

Second, as a result of my dad’s gin and tonic Insta stories, I learned there’s a restaurant in Charleston that serves frozen gin and tonics! It’s been so freaking hot in Charlotte (theme of each and every summer) and since I know I won’t be going to a restaurant in Charleston anytime soon…

I wanted to experiment and create it for myself at home!

I’ve been loving creating new cocktails at home since we haven’t been to a bar or restaurant really since March so one Saturday afternoon I got the basics out (gin, tonic water and lime juice) and started playing around (ps: if you’re looking for tons of ideas for creating cocktails at home, check out this basic cocktail recipes post!)

Lots of ice, a sweetener (I went with honey, but you could also use sugar or simple syrup) and a few spins of my blender, voila!

My new favorite frozen cocktail!

single frozen gin and tonic cocktail in a red and yellow glass with a lime next to it

What kind of tonic water should I use?

Tonic water is not something I’ve though extensively about, but it turns out people are pretty picky when it comes to tonic.

First of all, tonic water is different than seltzer water (if you’re looking for a gin and seltzer cocktail recipe, check out this Raspberry Gin Seltzer).

Seltzer water is unflavored fizzy (or bubbly) water. While tonic water is also fizzy/bubbly, it has a distinct flavor (due to the addition of quinine) making it bitter. So my first tip is to make sure you have tonic water and not just some variation of seltzer or club soda…because this cocktail only has four ingredients you’ll miss the flavor from the tonic if it’s not there!

red and yellow cocktail glasses filled with frozen gin and tonic on a blue background with whole and sliced limes

When it comes to what kind of tonic water to buy, Dad prefers Schweppes or Canada Dry, so that’s what I use. (Insert his dad joke here about how once in college he and his friends tried to drink Canada dry but only made it to Saskatchewan.)

Another popular tonic option is Fever Tree, which is a little more expensive but has less sugar and therefore less calories than some other brands.

You could also use a tonic syrup rather than tonic water (especially if you were nervous about putting fizzy water in your blender…but I didn’t have any blender explosion or big mess problems when using tonic water in my blender). You can find small batch tonic syrup online, and then rather than the 4 ounces of tonic water the recipe calls for, add about 1-2 ounces of tonic syrup to still get the right flavor.

How to make a frozen gin and tonic

In doing research for this recipe, I found there are a variety of different methods to make frozen gin and tonics at home including with an ice cream machine or maker, granita style or just with ice and a blender.

Since we don’t own an ice cream machine, that option was out.

I toyed with the idea of granita style (similar to how the lime granita is made in these Corona Floats), but to be completely honest with you, I didn’t have the patience to let a cocktail mixture freeze over a few hours…I wanted to drink my cocktail as soon as possible!

red and yellow stem glass with frozen drink on a blue background next to limes

There’s also another method where you can freeze the tonic water in an ice cube tray before blending everything together (this is so the tonic flavor is not diluted by plain ice), but again, my impatience and poor planning won so I didn’t pre-freeze the tonic into cubes. 

Add the gin, tonic water, lime juice, honey and ice directly to a blender, blend until smooth and pour into a glass. You’ll be sipping in less than 5 minutes!

Continue to Content
Yield: 4 drinks

frozen gin and tonic recipe

three red and yellow glasses of gin and tonic cocktails next to whole and sliced limes

This frozen gin and tonic recipe turns the classic cocktail into a cool, refreshing summer slushie in less than five minutes!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces gin
  • 6 ounces tonic water
  • 3 ounces lime juice
  • 2-3 tablespoons honey
  • 3 cups ice, more as needed

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Add additional ice or tonic water, as needed, to blend to desired consistency.

Notes

Add additional honey or lime juice to taste. You can also use simple syrup instead of honey in an equal amount.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 7mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 0gSugar: 16gProtein: 0g
© Chrissie Nelson Rotko, www.offtheeatenpathblog.com
Category: cocktails

Related Posts

charlotte’s best bites | elizabeth’s picks
southpark eats alternative & bleu barn bistro
out of town: mooney’s mediterranean cafe
« sparkling peach sangria
whiskey apple cider cocktail »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

chrissie off the eaten path blog
Hi! I'm Chrissie: a pizza and sushi loving, craft beer and red wine drinking, restaurant exploring and traveling home cook who's been taking pictures of my food since 2013. To learn more about Off the Eaten Path, click here!

Get in touch: offtheeatenpathclt@gmail.com

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

NEWSLETTER


Find the ultimate cheese and food pairings when you are building your own cheese and charcuterie boards at home with Off the Eaten Path's Perfect Pairings Guide!

FIND ME ON INSTAGRAM

Yay it's game day! If you're making a cheese boar Yay it's game day!

If you're making a cheese board or snack board for your football watching this afternoon (or maybe save this post as you plan for the Super Bowl in two weeks), build it in a 12+ well muffin tin and fill it with your favorite game day snacks, appetizers and cheese!

I love using a muffin tin as the surface for game day boards because it's easy to fill (and then refill) with our game day snacks, the wells are perfect for dips (no need for bowls) and it looks fun and festive. 

Deets:

(You can find most of the appetizers on this board on my blog, and a few more in my cookbook, but you can also use store bought snacks and replace these with your favorite recipes and ingredients to make it your own)

🏈 Roasted Jalapeno Poppers (we have been loving the pimento cheese jalapeno poppers also on the blog)
🏈 Pimento cheese (this is homemade but @qccheeseroyale is my fave store bought)
🏈 Buffalo Turkey Meatballs (on the blog and way less messy than wings)
🏈 Party Meatballs (because there's no such thing as too many meatballs)
🏈 Grilled Beer Brats (a @packers game day staple)
🏈 Pepperoni Bread (made into cute lil pizza rolls)
🏈 Chile con Queso
🏈 Sharp cheddar and pepper jack cheese
🏈 Carrots and celery
🏈 Tortilla Chips
🏈 Serve with ranch and blue cheese on the side

We’re sipping on some @heistbrewery IPAs today but a New Glarus Spotted Cow would also be *chef’s kiss*

Go Pack Go!

#gopackgo #gopack #gopackers #gamedayeats #gamedayfood #gameday #footballfood #footballsunday #easyentertaining #cheeseboard #cheeseboards #cheeseboardsofinstagram #cheeseboardgoals #cheeseboarding #cheeseplatter #cheeseplate #cheeseplatters #meatandcheese #charcuterieboard #charcuterieboards #snackboard #easyrecipes #jalapenopoppers #pimentocheese #quesodip #beerbrats #appetizers #grazingboard #cheeselovers
Hi to friends new and old! Whether you’ve been h Hi to friends new and old! Whether you’ve been here for six years or six hours I’m happy you’re here hanging out with me. I’m Chrissie, the gal behind the food pics and unsolicited opinions and this is my tinge of ginge husband, AJ.

I’m a blogger, badger, packer fan and public defender, cheese lover, red wine and local beer drinker, retired competitive swimmer turned cross fitter then peloton rider. 

I love pizza, sushi and Mexican food (but really am not picky, those are my faves), AJ and my family and friends. I’m an Aquarius, Enneagram 2 (I think) and can’t remember my Myers Briggs but know an E is involved. We have four cats, one dog, backyard bees (in hives with honey we got to extract last summer!) and backyard deer (that AJ has named). I have opinions and I like to share them and I also like reality tv. And last year I wrote a book!

Anything else you wanna know? 

I hope this selfie doesn’t curse the Packers this weekend. #gopackgo
★ GIVEAWAY ★  I’ve teamed up with the incre ★ GIVEAWAY ★ 
I’ve teamed up with the incrediblyyy talented @cosmiccreativ, for a New Year #giveaway!!! Her beautiful hand poured resin pieces are truly outta this world! Her pieces are one of a kind functional art (like charcuterie boards, lazy susans, serving trays & stovecovers) that will add tons of character and charm to your home (her boards are some of my favorites that I own!) Winner gets my cookbook, Stunning Spreads, and this giant hand-poured #charcuterie board featuring rose gold foil & extraaa sparkle 😍

Here’s how to win:

★ Head to @cosmiccreativ's post to get all the juicy details about entering to win (you must be following us both but enter on her post). Contest ends Thursday so click over right now!
★ While you're there, make sure you keep track of when her next batch will be launched, because even if you're not the winner of this giveaway, you're going to want one of her boards in your home.

Contest ends this Thursday evening, 1/21 at 10pm est. Winner will be announced her stories!

#cheeseboard #cheeseboardsofinstagram #cheeseboards #charcuterieboards #resinart #resinartwork #handpouredwithlove #functionalart #supportartists #supportsmallbusiness #cheeselover #grazingboard #cookbooks #cookbookclub #cookbookauthor #stunningspreads #womenownedbusinesses #womenownedbusiness #womensupportingwomen #cheeseboardgoals #custommade #handmade #easyentertaining #giftideas #cheeseplatter #cheeseplatters #cheeseplate
@leah_and_louise is hosting such a creative and de @leah_and_louise is hosting such a creative and delicious event benefiting the Charlotte community today. their pay what you can soup kitchen (with a suggested donation of $20) brought together 16 local chefs to make really freaking good soup with all proceeds benefiting @myhealcharlotte an organization "created to support dialogue and relationship building between urban youth and families, the police, other divisions of government, and community partners." They "strive to engage a diverse group of youth to create stronger neighborhoods and a better city." In the wake of the pandemic, Heal Charlotte is on a mission to provide a safer and healthier living environment for the communities they serve.

We got two orders to go, so we got our choice of four pints plus rolls from @dukesbread to take home. It was SO HARD to pick just four from so many great chefs but we ended up with celery root soup from @chefwhitneythomas, brisket chili from @lewdon4, vegan curry sweet potato soup from @chefccoleman and Virginia peanut stew from @jbarnes757.

If you're jealous of our lunch and dinner today (yes we're eating soup all day) there are a few limited walk up tickets available, so swing by @campnorthend before the event ends at 3pm. I love the kindness and creativity of the Charlotte food community! 

#soupseason #soupweather #soupforthesoul #soupoftheday #soupfordinner #soupfordays #nosoupforyou #cltfood #cltfoodcommunity #charlottefood #charlottenc #charlottecommunity #clt #queencity #givebacktothecommunity #cltfoodie #cltfoodbloggers #mlkday #soupszn #soupbowl #supportlocalrestaurants
Just in time for you to watch the playoffs on your Just in time for you to watch the playoffs on your couch this weekend ( #gopackgo ) I wrote a post all about the best wings in Charlotte 🤗

Local businesses are tagged and  leave a 🐓or 🍗 if you want me to send you the link!

#wings #buffalowings #chickenwings #buffalowing #cltfood #cltfoodie #cltfoodbloggers #cltfoodies #charlottenc #charlottefood #charlotteeats #clteats #eastcoastfoodies #eastcoastfeastcoast #eatclt #ncfoodfinds #ncfood #ncfoodie #northcarolina #northcarolinafood #dinelocal #foodiechats #supportlocalrestaurants #gamedayfood #gamedayready #footballfood #chickenwing #hotwings
  • privacy policy
  • disclaimers
  • disclosure policy

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

0shares