Happy Hour: The Perfect Gin and Tonic

It's Friday, which means you need a cocktail recipe at hand to ring in the weekend. What better to celebrate the spring weather (it's turned to rain here, sadly) than the classic gin and tonic? We have been drinking them with alarming regularity since discovering the secret to the perfect gin and tonic. My parents sent Ben a mixology-inspired gift for his birthday and it included this small batch tonic from Jack Rudy Cocktail Co., pictured above. It's mixed with seltzer water to create tonic that's (probably) lower in calories and amazingly delicious. Though it was backordered for months, my mom was on top of her game and ordered in January, allowing us to enjoy this in March. We have since them become addicted and can't stop serving it to friends and are now on our second bottle. We've been able to find this online at Jack Rudy's site, but even easier? It's available in Crate and Barrel. Stock up. You'll never go back to regular tonic water!

Read on for the tonic-based recipe.

You'll need:

1 shot of gin*

3/4 oz. of Jack Rudy Small Batch Tonic (also find at Crate and Barrel)

Seltzer water

1/2 a lime

In an old-fashioned glass, add small batch tonic, the juice from half of a lime, 1 shot of gin and a handful of ice cubes. Pour seltzer water over the ice until the glass is full. Stir thoroughly, otherwise the tonic will end up on the bottom of the glass and your cocktail will be awful. Enjoy with a lime wedge for show!

*I prefer Bombay Sapphire but we tried out Crater's Lake's infused gin for this recipe and were not as impressed. It lacked some of the juniper flavor that makes gin and tonics so special