TNT (Tequila ‘N’ Tonic)

classic cocktail

Mar 1

TNT (Tequila N Tonic) cocktail — TNT (Tequila N Tonic)

Having once again contributed to mankind’s ultimate salvation, I felt a celebratory toast was in order. For no particular reason I chose a tequila and tonic, an effervescent highball in the same family as the gin and tonic. Highballs are the ubiquitous cocktail and can be as high, or low, brow as you want. Pick your favorite spirit and soda and you’re done. Maybe add a squeeze of lemon or lime. Of course, bartenders have elevated the highball to an artform in some cases. Take the Japanese whiskey highball, for example, which can be perfected down to the exact number of rotations of the stirring spoon.

I actually made a whiskey highball for one of Dee Dixon’s original puzzle boxes, Where’s My Hammer, many moons ago. This time I turned to tequila, with a simple recipe found on Difford’s Guide, which was itself found in the original pages of Victor Bergeron’s Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide, 1972 revised edition. The TNT, like it’s cousin the Texas Ranch Water (soda water in place of tonic), is a great warm weather drink that can be stretched or modified with a little of this or that, depending on how the resistance is going. Cheers!