The simple secret to making the perfect gin and tonic

• The perfect gin and tonic recipe is all about high-quality ingredients and simple mixology.
• It all starts with good gin - or a gin that you really like.
• Ideally, avoid using a cheap, too-sweet tonic.

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The gin and tonic is just one of those cocktails.

Lore has it that the concoction was created by British colonists in the 1800s when they mixed antimalarial quinine tonic with gin and sugar. Over the centuries, it's become a default cocktail of summer: cool and refreshing.

Gin is essentially vodka that's flavored with herbs and botanicals, often juniper berries. This innately flowery quality caused it to fall out of favor as the base of both G&Ts and the more lordly Martini, supplanted by vodka. In recent years, however, gin has staged a comeback, with numerous premium brands hitting the market.

Like many classic cocktails, a gin and tonic is so basic that you need to focus on the ingredients. Traditionally, a gin and tonic includes gin, tonic water, lime, and ice. The problem is that the gin can be lousy, the tonic far too sweet, and the ice not added in the right quantities.

I got a chance to revisit the gin and tonic when a company called Prairie Organic Spirits sent me some gin to sample. Prairie is a brand owned by Minnesota's Phillips Distilling Company, and the focus is on obtaining high-quality organic corn from family farmers in the state. Some distillers boast about how many times a spirit is run through the still or how many times it's filtered, but Prairie seems to play it by ear.

The company also makes an organic vodka, as well as an organic cucumber vodka, both of which are tasty.

I have no problem with boldly flavorful neo-gins, but Prairie isn't one of these, and if the reactions of my gin and tonic test group over several months was any indication, the company made a good call. This is a light gin, with delicate herbal flavors and a soft, smooth texture.

This isn't the typical flavor profile for a great gin and tonic - the spirit needs to stand up to the bitter tonic.

But Prairie performs a neat trick: it integrates with the tonic, creating a pleasing whole.

The result is one of the best gin and tonics I've ever mixed - and one that countless summertime guests also oohed and aahed over.

You don't have to seek out Prairie gin - a number of high-end gins are on the market, and if you don't want to go for one of those, you can use my go-to widely available gin, Beefeater.

But here's the thing: you have to stick to my gin and tonic recipe.

Why? Because I do everything possible to up the refreshing aspect and dial back the sweetness. In practice, this means I use a good amount of lime juice, a good amount of ice, and very small amount of tonic.

The perfect gin and tonic recipe

1. Start with a stemless wine glass, which helps to get the mix right. I prefer to mix these G&Ts one at a time, in the glass, but you could use a pitcher to make them in volume. Fill it one-half to two-thirds with ice cubes.
2. Then squeeze the juice of one half to a full lime over the ice and give it a swirl. A traditional ratio for G&Ts is one part gin to three parts tonic, but I prefer two ounces of gin.
3. Now for the hard part. Add a splash of high-end tonic, like Fever Tree, which conveniently comes in small bottles. Mass-market tonic will do, but it's always too sweet for me.
4. Then you fizz it up three-to-four ounces of soda, effectively diluting the tonic, stir, and garnish with a slice or wedge of lime.

Yes, this might be more accurately described at a strong gin and tonic spritzer. But the dance of delicate gin, a touch of tonic, the bubbles, and the additional "watering" that you get from the ice takes the refreshing quotient to new heights.

We've become gin and tonic addicts at my house thanks to this libation. Prairie is available nationally, but I wasn't able to find any in my neck of the woods, so I just had my favorite local wine shop order me a few bottles ($20 for 750ml, which is very reasonable in the boutique-gin world).

The beginning of summer is supposed to spell the start of gin and tonics. But we're not opposed to getting started early.