South African cocktail · built
Rooibos Gin & Tonic recipe
A Cape G&T — gin with chilled rooibos tea and tonic, warm amber and gently earthy.
A Rooibos Gin & Tonic is 50 ml (47 g) Gin, 50 ml (50 g) Rooibos Tea and 100 ml (104 g) Tonic Water, built and served in a wine glass. It pours to about 200 ml before ice, at roughly 10% ABV. Weighing the ingredients instead of measuring them is what keeps the balance identical from one round to the next.
- Glasswine glass
- Methodbuilt
- Pour volume200 ml
- Strength (est.)10% ABV
- Time2 min
Rooibos Gin & Tonic ingredients — in millilitres and grams
Grams are what the PourPilot coaster actually targets. They are not the same as the millilitres: a spirit is lighter than water, a syrup is heavier, so 30 ml of one is never 30 g. The right-hand column is the density we use, in grams per millilitre.
| Ingredient | Volume | Weight | g/ml | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gin | 50 ml | 47 g | 0.94 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Rooibos Tea (chilled) | 50 ml | 50 g | 1.00 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Tonic Water | 100 ml | 104 g | 1.04 | orange slice to garnish |
How to make a Rooibos Gin & Tonic
- Set your wine glass on the scale (or on the PourPilot coaster) and zero it. Every measurement below is given in millilitres and in grams, so you can use either.
- Fill the wine glass with fresh ice.
- Build Gin and Rooibos Tea straight into the glass, weighing each pour.
- Top with Tonic Water and stir once, gently, from the bottom up.
- Garnish: Orange slice to garnish.
Rooibos Gin & Tonic: the questions people actually ask
How strong is a Rooibos Gin & Tonic?
Roughly 10% ABV as poured, before the ice dilutes it — typically another 15–25% water by the time you finish stirring or shaking. Sessionable. Comparable to a glass of wine by volume.
What glass should a Rooibos Gin & Tonic be served in?
A wine glass. Fill it with fresh ice, not the ice you mixed with.
Can I make a Rooibos Gin & Tonic without a jigger?
Yes — that is what the gram column is for. Put the glass or tin on a kitchen scale, zero it, and pour to the weight. It is more accurate than a jigger because nothing is left clinging to the inside of the measure. The PourPilot coaster does the same thing without you having to watch a display: it lights up as you approach the target and tells you when to stop.
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