Gin and tonic with a dried lime wheel.

The gin and tonic survives on ratio and temperature, and almost nothing else. One part gin to three parts good tonic, poured over a glass packed with ice so it dilutes slowly. Skimp on the ice and you've made a warm, flat apology.

The lime is where most people quietly let themselves down. A fresh wedge squeezed in gives you a hit of sour and then a slow leak of pith bitterness as it drowns. A dried lime wheel gives you the aromatic rind without the bitter juice, and it floats instead of sinking into the bottom like a soggy afterthought.

What you'll need

• 50ml gin (London dry or a citrus-forward one)
• 150ml Indian tonic water
• 1 dried lime wheel
• Ice, to fill

How to make it

1. Fill a balloon or highball glass right to the top with ice. A full glass melts slower than a half-empty one.
2. Pour the gin over the ice.
3. Add the tonic slowly, down the side of the glass, to keep as much fizz as you can.
4. Give it one gentle stir from the bottom, just once, to lift the gin through.
5. Float a dried lime wheel on top. Resist stirring it under; it does its work from the surface.

Why dried beats fresh here

Fresh lime is loud for a moment and then it muddies the drink. The pith leaches out, the juice tips the balance towards sour, and the wedge ends up as litter at the bottom of the glass. A dried wheel keeps the lime oil in the rind, releases it slowly as the drink warms, and never turns your clean tonic cloudy.

This is also the most forgiving way to make a round of G and Ts. Ice, gin, tonic, a dried wheel on each, done. No knife, no squeezing, no sticky fingers between glasses.

Use the Lime jar, about 25 wheels, ready whenever the tonic is.