Whiskey Tonic Cocktail Recipe

Name: Whiskey Tonic
Prep time: 3 min
Total time: 3 min
Ingredients: 2 ounces Irish whiskey; 4 to 6 ounces tonic water (to taste); Garnish: lemon wedge

Prep: 3 mins

Cook: 0 mins

Total: 3 mins

Serving: 1 serving

Yield: 1 cocktail

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The whiskey tonic is a refreshing tall drink that's perfect for your favorite Irish whiskey. It's incredibly simple and the taste is just as stimulating as its more famous counterpart, the gin and tonic.

Also called a leprechaun, this drink recipe is very easy to mix up. The drier profile of tonic water is a delicate counterpart to the smooth blends of Irish whiskey. That also makes this mixed drink a great dinner companion, pairing perfectly with whatever may be on the menu, including all the traditional Irish foods.

"Your new favorite way to enjoy tonic. As a young bartender I‘d get calls for a dark spirit and tonic that would make me cringe, this cocktail shines a new light on the two-part pairing. Tonic’s polarizing sharpness and tangy bitterness gels immensely with a mellow, dark spirit—Irish whiskey—making this cocktail a treat." —Sean Johnson

2 ounces Irish whiskey
4 to 6 ounces tonic water, to taste
Lemon wedge, for garnish

Gather the ingredients.

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Pour the Irish whiskey into a highball glass filled with ice.

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Top with tonic water and stir well.

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Garnish with a lemon wedge. Serve and enjoy.

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Tips

Though it's a simple mixed drink, you can improve the whiskey tonic by choosing high-end ingredients. Begin by choosing a premium tonic water.
For the Irish whiskey, you can go with standard favorites or top-shelf whiskeys you might otherwise not use for mixing.

Recipe Variations

Bring a little more dimension to the whiskey tonic by adding Drambuie, triple sec, and lemon juice as seen in the zesty Irishman. Tonic water is a great alternative to ginger ale in that recipe.
For a slightly sweeter Irish whiskey highball, try the whiskey ginger. That recipe pairs the whiskey with ginger ale.
You can also opt for ginger beer and create the snappy Irish ale.
Other styles of whiskey can be nice with tonic water as well. Try it with smooth Canadian whisky blends or bourbons. Tonic can also be interesting with scotch, but you'll likely want to keep the soda pour short at just an ounce or two.

How Strong Is a Whiskey Tonic?

As with most whiskey highballs, the whiskey tonic is a relatively gentle drink, which is why it's great for happy hour. If you make it with 80-proof Irish whiskey and pour the full 6 ounces, it has an alcohol content of just 9 percent ABV (18 proof), making it lighter than a glass of wine.

10 Refreshing Tonic Water Cocktails

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
386	Calories
2g	Fat
79g	Carbs
7g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories	386
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g	3%
Saturated Fat 0g	1%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 36mg	2%
Total Carbohydrate 79g	29%
Dietary Fiber 19g	67%
Total Sugars 33g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 356mg	1,781%
Calcium 177mg	14%
Iron 4mg	23%
Potassium 928mg	20%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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