Budget Gin & Tonic

THE BUDGET GIN AND TONIC

In the world of drinks there is decadence aplenty; maybe you fancy a £500 dram of whisky or a goblet of wine with the world's largest black pearl dissolved in it? But what about the other end of the spectrum? Can you get a quality drinks for pennies in the pound?

A staple favourite of our readers is the Gin & Tonic and, with £45-a-bottle gins and small bottles of tonic costing upto £2.50, the cost of a single double-measure serving of this beverage could quickly creep to over £4.55—and that's from the comfort of your own home, acting as your own bartender!

So I wondered, was it possible to find a very respectable (and tasty) gin and tonic for less than £1 (that's one hundred new pence). Saving the theatrics, the answer was "Yes".

Here is the solution:

The Gin

Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin (Original)—£10.99 for one litre from Aldi. (100ml = £1.09)

Bottled at 37.5%, it's a good gin and great value for money. On its own it's OK but when mixed with tonic it's a gin that competes with the best of them.

The Tonic

Waitrose Regular—£0.49 per litre (or £2.09 for a six-pack of 250ml cans). (Sometimes this is available in a 3 for 2 deal, giving you even more savings.)

This has a good balance of sweetness and bitterness, and no overbearing artificial taste like many.

So the combination: a good example of a gin and tonic, you have juniper, you have a citrus you have a bitter edge and it is very refreshing. For 60p it is a bargain and you wouldn't feel like you were one step away from the bath-tub gin or cutting your Gordon's Gin by adding more water to make it go further.