Gin & Tonic State of Mind — Life, Served Over Ice
I used to think a gin and tonic was a pretty straightforward drink.
Gin. Tonic. Ice. Maybe a wedge of lime.
How complicated could it possibly be? Apparently, complicated enough to inspire an entire column.
While we are on the topic of this column, can I just say how surprised AND delighted I am to be writing on this subject every week? Who knew rekindling with my cocktail of choice from my 20s would stir a passion for exploring the ins and outs of this spirit?
One of the things I’m discovering as I wander a little further into the world of gin is that the gin itself is only part of the story. What you pair it with can completely change what ends up in your glass.
And I find that fascinating.
Take one bottle of gin and pour it into two glasses. Add a different tonic to each one, and suddenly you can have two very different drinks. One might taste crisp and dry. Another softer or slightly sweeter. One tonic might bring forward the citrus in the gin, while another makes you notice something herbal or floral that you hadn’t tasted at all before.
Same gin.
Different experience.
There is something about that idea that feels very familiar to me right now.
Maybe We Don’t Always Need to Change Ourselves
September has had me thinking a lot about change.
I’ve been writing about resetting, renewing, disturbing the sameness and opening ourselves to new horizons. And perhaps that’s why this little experiment with tonic struck me as something more than cocktail trivia.
We spend an awful lot of time thinking that when life isn’t quite working, we need to change.
I’ve been telling myself that maybe I need to be more disciplined. More organized. More ambitious. More social. Less sensitive. Less spontaneous. More this. Less that.
But what if sometimes we’re perfectly fine?
What if what needs changing is what we’re pairing ourselves with?
The people around us? The places we spend our time? The routines we’ve fallen into. The conversations we keep having. The expectations we’ve carried for years without ever stopping to ask whether they still belong to us.
Change the pairing, and something completely different might emerge.
The Tonic Experiment
So I did a little experimenting.
Nothing terribly scientific. One gin, different tonics, plenty of ice—and me paying attention to what happened after that first sip.
I tried Fever-Tree and a zero-sugar tonic, and what surprised me most wasn’t simply that they tasted different. I started discovering what I actually want from a gin and tonic.
I like bold.
I want a strong, dominant flavour that hits my tongue and stays there long after I’ve swallowed. I like that lingering bitterness and the strange little pleasure of taking a breath and having the flavour seem to return in waves.
The more bitter the tonic, the happier I was.
That’s something I wouldn’t have known to say about myself before I started experimenting. I might have ordered a gin and tonic and decided whether I liked it or didn’t. Now I’m beginning to understand why.
And isn’t that what happens when we become curious?
We stop at I like this or I don’t like this far less often. We start paying attention to what draws us in.
I’m already wondering what a few drops of bitters might do. That’s an experiment for another day.
Same gin. Different pairing. Different experience.
And slowly, I’m discovering my own Gin & Tonic State of Mind.
A Gin & Tonic State of Mind
Maybe that’s what I’m really exploring with this whole project.
Not gin – well not just gin. Maybe I’m exploring … possibility.
I’m 63. I’m retired. I’m travelling. I’m writing. I’m creating new projects and trying things simply because they interest me. And increasingly, I’m giving myself permission to decide what belongs in this chapter of my life based on how it actually feels to me.
There are parts of myself I don’t particularly want to change.
I’m still curious. Still spontaneous. Still inclined to tear up the itinerary when something more interesting appears. Still interested in conversations with strangers, beautiful places, good food and experiences that make ordinary days feel a little less ordinary.
Same woman. New horizons.
Maybe this stage isn’t about creating an entirely new version of ourselves.
Maybe sometimes we just need a different tonic.
And plenty of ice.
This week’s question:
What is something in your life that might feel completely different if you changed what you were pairing it with?
Soaring Soul & Vibes
