Cocktail bar: Pink gin iced tea

Cocktail bar: Pink gin iced tea (Photo: iStock)

The Pink Gin Iced Tea does not have a single, definitive origin story, but rather several intertwined narratives. The modern cocktail borrows from the classic British “pink gin” and from iced tea’s own rich history.

In the mid-19th century, sailors in the British Royal Navy would mix their daily ration of gin with Angostura bitters, a tonic prescribed to combat seasickness. The addition of bitters made the spirit more palatable and gave it a pinkish hue; thus, the original “pink gin” was born. The contemporary version, however, is far sweeter: a fruit-infused spirit typically flavoured with ingredients such as strawberry or raspberry, which is the base for most Pink Gin Iced Tea recipes today.