The ultimate gin garnish guide! Find the perfect garnish to pair with every kind of gin

As all of us gin drinkers will know, the garnish you choose for your favourite gin and tonic can make a world of difference to the taste (for better or worse….!). The problem is, they never taught us at school how to find the perfect gin and tonic garnish (funny, that!).

Here at Craft Gin Club, we pride ourselves on creating the Perfect G&T for our members each and every month, carefully selecting the ideal tonic to match with the Gin of the Month, and then choosing a garnish to add the final complementary touch to your gin and tonic.

And yet, not everyone can enjoy our Perfect G&Ts (yet!), and even we love to mix it up - literally - each month, and treat ourselves to tipples using other gins and mixers. And so, we’re left asking ourselves: what garnish goes with rhubarb and ginger gin? Is there such a thing as the perfect garnish to pair with sloe gin? What on earth should I garnish my new parma violet gin with?

Well, wonder no more! To celebrate the launch of our fabulous range of dried gin garnishes on our online shop, Craft Gin Club is here with the ultimate gin garnish guide: behold, our fabulous gin garnish wheel!

The experts here at Craft Gin Club HQ have pooled all their ginny expertise and come up with a super-handy guide to help you discover - at a glance - what garnish to pair with each type of gin.

Whether you prefer a citrus gin, a classic gin, or a spicy, herbaceous or floral gin, you’ll find our suggestions on the right garnish to complement the flavour of your gin and tonic.

In fact, you can use the garnish flavour wheel in multiple ways: as ideas for what garnish to pair with a certain type of gin, based on the gin’s botanicals, or for ideas as to what two different garnishes you could put together with your gin!

So, let’s say you’re looking for flavour pairings for your fruity gin - perhaps a spirit using apple as one of the botanicals. The garnish wheel says you can use lemon or lime as your base garnish - but maybe you could jazz it up and add a second garnish: a sprig of mint, or some muddled sage, or a warming touch of star anise? Take a look at the botanicals in your gin to experiment and pull out what you think sounds delicious based on the flavour pairings in the wheel!

Head on over to our online shop to stock up on your favourite gins, tonics and the perfect garnish to pair with them - we’ve got beautiful, large packs of lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit, so whatever type of G&T you choose for your gin o’clock tipple, you’ll always have the ideal gin garnish on hand!

Not sure what gin botanicals or secondary garnishes will taste good with your shop-bought gin garnish? Check out our garnish wheel above! Alternatively, below are a few of our favourite flavour pairings for each of the four classic gin garnishes - lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange:

Pair your LEMON slices with gins or garnishes containing these botanicals/flavours:

Apple, Basil, Blueberry, Chamomile, Coriander seed, Dill, Fig, Ginger, Juniper, Lemon balm, Olive, Raspberry, Blackberry, Rhubarb, Rose petals, Rosemary, Sage, Strawberry, Thyme

Pair your LIME slices with gins or garnishes containing these botanicals/flavours:

Apple, Apricot, Blueberry, Cardamom, Chilli, Coconut, Coriander leaf, Cucumber, Ginger, Juniper, Mango, Mint, Passion Fruit, Peach, Pink Peppercorn, Raspberry, Blackberry, Szechuan Pepper, Tomato, Watermelon

Pair your ORANGE slices with gins or garnishes containing these botanicals/flavours:

Cinnamon, Cloves, Cocoa nibs, Coffee Beans, Juniper, Kiwi, Mango, Maraschino cherries, Marigold, Passion fruit, Pineapple, Rosemary, Saffron, Star Anise

Pair your GRAPEFRUIT slices with gins or garnishes containing these botanicals/flavours:

Black peppercorn, Blackcurrant, Caraway Seeds, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Elderflower, Juniper, Lavender, Melon, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Redcurrant, Rose, Sage, Lemon verbena