Journal

Vodka Tonic: The Simplest Cocktail Worth Making Better

The vodka tonic is one of the most ordered cocktails in most bars, and one of the least fussed over. Two ingredients, one minute, no technique required. It is the drink people order when they want ...

How Many Calories Are in a Vodka Tonic?

A standard vodka tonic made with 1.5 oz of vodka and 4 to 5 oz of regular tonic water has roughly 130 to 175 calories. The exact number depends on how much vodka you pour, how much tonic you use, a...

Rum and Tonic

Most rum drinkers think in two directions: tropical (daiquiris, mojitos, piña coladas) or dark and spirit-forward (old fashioneds, neat pours, dark and stormies). The rum and tonic does not fit nea...

Espresso Tonic

An espresso tonic sounds like it should not work. Coffee is heavy, warm, and earthy. Tonic water is cold, effervescent, and botanical. Combining them goes against everything that feels intuitive ab...

Mezcal and Tonic

Most mezcal cocktails ask you to fight the smoke. You dilute it with citrus, sweeten it into submission, or pair it with strong flavors that hold their own against it. A mezcal and tonic does the o...

Tequila and Tonic: Why It Works Better Than Most People Think

The tequila and tonic gets overlooked. People reach for the Margarita or the Gin and Tonic instead. But as a two-ingredient highball, the tequila and tonic is genuinely good: bright, a little bitte...

Gin Spritz

Most spritz drinks are defined by the aperitif you use. Aperol gives you bitter orange. Campari gives you bitter herbs. Lillet gives you citrusy French wine. But a gin spritz is defined by somethin...

Lillet Spritz

Most people who discover Lillet discover it by accident. They're looking for something lighter than Aperol, less bitter than Campari, and end up at the wine section of a liquor store holding a brig...

Aperol Spritz Calories: Why Every Site Gives a Different Number

If you've tried to look up Aperol Spritz calories, you've probably found numbers ranging from 117 to over 200. That range is not a mistake. It reflects a real disagreement about how the drink shoul...

Best Prosecco for Spritz: What to Buy and Why It Actually Matters

Most people grab whatever prosecco is on sale and call it done. That works fine. But if you're making spritzes for guests, or you've started exploring spritz styles beyond the classic Aperol, the b...