G&T is a drink we all love, but what is the alcohol content of gin and tonic? Is it possible to define a number? Let's find out together!
Contents index
Gin and tonic grades, how many are there?
Let's go straight to the point, on average a Gin Tonic has a gradation that varies between 13 ° and 17 °. Is it a lot or a little? In reality it depends on many factors such as the amount of gin and tonic we drink, the weight of the person and other elements.
Furthermore, at the bottom of this article you will also find a particular type of gin and tonic with an alcohol content that does not exceed 0.3 degrees!
How alcoholic is pure gin?
In this table you will find the indications of alcoholic strength for the main types of gin on the market.
| Types of Gin | Gin alcohol content | Features Gin |
| London Dry Gin | 40-45 degrees | The name indicates the origin of the distillation method, juniper is the predominant botany along with angelica and coriander. If you love scented London Dry gins take a look here . |
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40-45 degrees | It is the precursor of modern gin, born in Holland in the sixteenth century, Genever is more complex on the palate, with a savory, earthy flavor and with a hint of malt. It is usually made with malt alcohol. |
| Old Tom Gin | 42-48 degrees | A sweet and fragrant gin, it is barrel aged in some cases, making it a great base for a classic Tom Collins. |
| Plymouth Gin | 42-48 degrees | A sweet gin is produced exclusively in the south of England in the Plymouth area. It is usually distilled at a slightly lower alcohol content than London Dry, which makes it very pleasant on the palate |
| Navy Strength Gin | 57 degrees |
It owes its name to its past in the British Rolay Navy which decided that each ship had to ship a certain amount of gin to help fight diseases and infections. Officers used to test the quality of gin by mixing it with gunpowder, if it had burned with a clear flame then it would have been proof that the gin was sufficiently alcoholic, that is at least 57 degrees! |
Gin tonic alcohol content, how is it calculated?
If you want to accurately calculate the alcohol content of your gin and tonic, here is the formula.
Gin and tonic alcohol content = [quantity of gin (cl) * alcohol content of gin (°)] / total quantity of drink (cl)
The number obtained indicates the strength of the gin and tonic, from this number we will subtract 10% for the dilution factor of the ice, this factor is variable according to the type of ice used and the environmental conditions, but let's not make it too complicated :)
Here are a couple of examples following the standard proportions of a gin and tonic, 1/3 of gin and 3/4 of tonic. Considering a drink with 50 cl of gin and 100 cl of tonic.
"Normal" Gin Tonic Grade
- Gin tonic content = (50cl x 42 °) / 150 ml ≈ 14%
- Final alcohol content (gin and tonic + ice factor) ≈ 13%
Gin Tonic "nice load":
- Gin tonic content = (50cl x 50 °) / 150 ml ≈ 17%
- Final alcohol content (gin and tonic + ice factor) ≈ 15%
So as you can see on average a gin and tonic has a gradation that varies between 13 ° and 17 °
How many grams of alcohol does a gin and tonic contain?
Now that we have discovered the average alcohol content of our gin and tonic it is extremely easy to calculate how many degrees of alcohol a gin tonic contains on average, just follow this formula.
Grams of alcohol in my drink = drink quantity (cl) * alcohol content gin and tonic * alcohol density
The density of alcohol is on average 0.79 as it is lighter than water and weighs less for the same volume (also in this case we do not want to make it too complicated)
Following our two examples above we get
- Grams of "normal" Gin Tonic alcohol = 150 * 0.13 * 0.79 ≈ 15 g
- Grams of alcohol Gin Tonic "nice load" = 150 * 0.15 * 0.79 ≈ 18 g
Do I get drunk on a gin and tonic?
The answer is "it depends", there are several reference factors, weight, sex, physical condition, let's see some examples taking our "normal gin tonic" as a drink that we remember having a weight of 200 ml, an alcohol content of 13% and about 15 grams of alcohol.
Let's consider that in Italy the legal limit for driving: 0.5 grams / liter, let's see how our body reacts.
ALCOHOL RATE WITH 1 GIN TONIC
| Genre | Weight | Physical condition | Estimated alcohol | Disposal times |
| Man | 80kg | Without food | 0.37 gr / liter | 2 hours, 30 minutes to completely dispose of alcohol. |
| Man | 80kg | On a full stomach | 0.22 gr / liter | 1 hour, 30 minutes to completely dispose of alcohol. |
| Woman | 65kg | Without food | 0,64 gr / liter | 4 hours, 18 minutes to completely dispose of the alcohol. Approximately 54 minutes to fall within the legal driving limit. |
| Woman | 65kg |
|
0.36 gr / liter | 2 hours, 24 minutes to completely dispose of the alcohol. |
| Genre | Weight | Physical condition | Estimated alcohol | Disposal times |
| Man | 80kg | Without food |
0.74 gr / liter
|
4 hours, 54 minutes to completely dispose of alcohol and approximately 1 hour, 36 minutes to be within the legal limit for driving. |
| Man | 80kg | On a full stomach |
0.44 gr / liter |
2 hour, 54 minutes to completely dispose of alcohol. |
| Woman |
|
Without food | 1.28 gr / liter | 8 hours, 30 minutes to completely dispose of alcohol and approximately 5 hours, 12 minutes to be within the legal limit for driving. |
| Woman | 65kg | On a full stomach | 0.72 gr / liter | 4 hours, 48 minutes to completely dispose of alcohol and approximately 1 hour, 30 minutes to be within the legal limit for driving |
Alcoholic degree non-alcoholic gin and tonic
In recent years the trend of non-alcoholic gin and tonics has been born, this type of drink is not completely non-alcoholic, it has a very low alcohol content, we are talking about gin that once mixed with the tonic do not exceed 0.3%
