The best G&T in a can
Pre-mixed, canned gin & tonic – also affectionately known as 'gin in a tin' – is a popular, portable booze option for festivals, picnics and train journeys. We blind-tested 15 varieties to bring you our best buys.
This page was updated in October 2020.
Gin & tonic in a can has fast become one of the most popular grab-and-go booze options, whether for train journeys, picnics, parties or festivals.
From supermarket own-brand varieties to those made by the big gin giants and smaller craft producers, the range of canned gin & tonics on the market these days is vast.
There may be plenty to choose from, but which are the best? We blind-tested 15 classic canned gin & tonics (meaning no flavoured or diet varieties) to find our favourites.
For more portable drinks, read our reviews of the best canned wines and the best canned cocktails, plus visit our review section for more buyer's guides.
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Alfie gin & tonic, £1 (250ml), 4% ABV
Not only is this one of the most 'classic-tasting' gin & tonics according to our judges, it's also the cheapest – win, win! Our judges praised this tipple for the simple fact that you could clearly taste both the gin and the tonic (that may seem obvious, but many of the others failed to deliver on this). It has a faint but not overpoweringly synthetic lime taste, and is sweet without being sickly.
Sipsmith ready-to-drink gin & tonic, £2.75 (250ml), 7.3% ABV
If you're after something a little fancier – and stronger – this option from Sipsmiths is a good choice. For the more discerning G&T lover, the flavour is more complex and unusual, with botanicals coming through strongly. Unlike many of the others tested, it has a good level of booze – in other words, you can actually taste gin.
Portobello Road gin & tonic, £2 (250ml), 5.5% ABV
London's Portobello Road gin has teamed up with premium tonic brand Franklin & Sons to create a ready-to-drink G&T that ticks a lot of boxes. It's affordable, accessible and looks seriously swanky – you'll be the envy of the train with this in your hand.
But, since we tasted completely blind, none of these elements were taken into account in our test – but this did well on taste alone. Judges praised it for having a clean, well-balanced flavour, with fresh citrus notes and no chemical after-taste. It was even described as tasting 'like it's not from a can', which is high praise indeed.
Eden Mill original gin and tonic can, £20 (for 12 cans, 250ml each), 5% ABV
St Andrews-based Eden Mill has combined its award-winning original gin (voted Scottish gin of the year at 2018’s Scottish Gin Awards) with a high-quality, light tonic to create this winning little number. Described as 'fancy' by one of our judges, it's at the premium end of the spectrum (although not the most expensive), with strong botanical flavours, a good level of bitterness and a clean taste.
Chapel Down Bacchus gin & tonic, £30.95 (for 12 cans, 250ml each), 5.5% ABV
You might not expect the world's leading English wine producer to be a dab hand at making gin & tonic, but Chapel Down took us by surprise. Its Bacchus gin is produced with distilled bacchus grape skins from the winemaking process and is infused with botanicals including juniper, elderflower, orris, orange peel and lemon.
The gin is paired with a light tonic made by award-winning mixer makers Double Dutch. The most intensely flavoured G&T we tried, this was also the most divisive of the bunch. It has a slight bitterness, notes of aniseed and a strong aroma of grapefruit, which made it the top choice for some of our judges, but it might not be for everyone.
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Are you partial to a gin in a tin? Let us know what your favourite product is in the comments below...
This review was last updated in October 2020. If you have any questions or suggestions for future reviews, or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. For information on alcohol guidelines, read our guide to drinking responsibly.
