Lillet Cocktail

Everyone loves this refreshing Lillet cocktail: the Lillet G&T! Bubbly and botanical, it’s a gin and tonic made with the crisp fortified wine.

Here’s a memorable cocktail that’s botanical and bubbly: the Lillet G&T! This Lillet cocktail features the popular fortified wine dressed up as a Gin and Tonic. And man, does it deliver! The flavor is perfectly crisp, with floral and herbal notes from Lillet Blanc and the gin. Top that off with lots of bubbles, and you’ve got a refreshing cocktail that works not only for summer afternoons but evening happy hour in any season. Here’s how to make it!

How to make a Lillet cocktail

You need only three ingredients for this mashup of Lillet Blanc and the classic Gin and Tonic. The great thing about a G&T is that it’s ultra simple: you don’t even need to juice citrus or dirty a cocktail shaker. Here’s what’s in this Lillet cocktail:

• Lillet Blanc
• Gin
• Tonic water

Simply stir together the ingredients in the cocktail glass, then add the tonic water. Simple as that! Speaking of the tonic water…

Tip: Pour the tonic water over a spoon!

One tip for the tonic water that we also use in our World’s Best Gin and Tonic. When you’re adding the tonic water, pour it over a spoon into the drink. This is known to make it more bubbly. Now, we don’t have any scientific proof of this! But why not?

What’s Lillet Blanc? Is it worth buying?

Lillet Blanc is a new staple in our liquor cabinet. Not to give a spoiler alert but yes! 1,000 times yes, it is worth adding to your liquor collection. Especially to make this Lillet cocktail! Here’s what to know:

• Lillet is a French aperitif: a fortified wine that’s flavored with herbs and citrus. There are are several types of Lillet made of different wines: Lillet Blanc, Lillet Rosé and Lillet Rouge.
• How to pronounce it? It’s French, so there’s no hard “et” on the end. It’s pronounced “Li-lay.” 
• What does Lillet Blanc taste like? The flavor of Lillet Blanc is light, with subtle floral and herbal notes. It’s similar to a dry white vermouth, with a more intriguing herbal flavor.
• Why is it so great? It has an incredible light and refreshing flavor, and it’s super versatile. Use it to mix up this Lillet G&T on repeat, or other Lillet cocktails (see below).
• How to store it? You can keep a bottle of Lillet in your fridge for about 3 months.

What gin to use?

For this Lillet Cocktail: the better the gin, the better the drink! Some cocktails can cover over sub-par gin, but not here. The gin flavor will shine through. Here are some things to know about types of gin:

• Every bottle of gin tastes a little different and has different botanical flavors. Experiment to find your favorite!
• We like Malfy gin, so that’s what we used here.
• Steer away from Tanqueray gin: in our personal opinion, it gives a strong floral quality.

More Lillet cocktails

Got a bottle of Lillet Blanc to use up? We’ve got answers. Here are all our favorite Lillet cocktails:

• Lillet Spritz Light and breezy, the Lillet spritz is the ideal summer drink! It’s bubbly and refreshing with lemon and soda water.
• White Negroni The White Negroni is a fun Negroni variation! The bright yellow color and light floral flavor come from Lillet Blanc and Suze.
• Vesper Martini The classy Vesper martini is cool, crisp and herbal: an intriguing spin that’s shaken, not stirred! Invented by James Bond, it’s become a true classic.

When to serve this Lillet cocktail

The Lillet G&T cocktail is bubbly and refreshing. It’s great for serving as a:

• Happy hour drink
• Dinner party drink
• Signature cocktail
• Summer drink
• Before dinner drink (aperitif)
• Cocktail hour drink

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More gin cocktails

Gin is the star in so many of the great cocktails! Here are some great gin cocktails:

• Gin Fizz Super classic, this drink is sweet, tangy, and has a frothy egg white foam topping.
• Gin Gimlet A classic cocktail made of lime juice, simple syrup and gin. Totally refreshing!
• Tom Collins Light, bubbly, sweet tart, and just plain fun.
• Gin Gin Mule A gin-based spin on the Moscow mule.
• Red Snapper This is the gin-based version of a Bloody Mary.
• Clover Club Tangy and bright pink, with raspberry or grenadine, gin, and an egg white foam on top.