The perfect gin, just the tonic, a slice of lemon or cucumber… How do you have your G&T?.

The gin and tonic – simple, delicious and yet oh so divisive. First, we have the great garnish debate. Does one slip in a slice of lemon, a bit of lime, or perhaps some cucumber? Then the make of gin. With so many to choose from nowadays, which is the finest? And does it matter whether the vessel we drink it from is tall or short? In an attempt to settle these important matters, we asked five of London’s best gin makers to tell us how they like theirs.

Mr Mark Holdsworth of Half Hitch Gin

Fill the glass to the brim with ice, add gin, pour your tonic in, but don’t stir because you’ll take away a lot of effervescence – the tonic will do the mixing as you pour it in. I prefer two parts tonic to one part gin and I like a highball glass – it’s easier to enjoy, and a little bit more British. The garnish we always recommend with Half Hitch is a large peel of orange to complement the bergamot in the gin.

Mr Fairfax Hall of Sipsmith

Use Sipsmith London Dry Gin straight out of the fridge and fill a classic highball glass to the brim with ice. The more ice you have, the less it melts. Pour the gin over the ice to make it cool down. For me, you need a one-to-one ratio of gin and a good-quality tonic. Then I like a bit of lime, or sometimes just a twist of lemon – it depends on my mood.

Mr Olivier Ward of Gin Foundry

I like mine in a rocks glass because you can get your nose more involved. I use two parts tonic to one part gin. I’m statistically in the minority there – the most popular is three parts tonic to one part gin. Lots of ice is a given. I like a garnish to complement or contrast – sometimes that’s a citrus, and sometimes not.

Mr Alexander Wolpert of East London Liquor Company

Take a rocks glass, add one big chunk of ice, and then use a two- or three-to-one ratio of gin and tonic. I’d use Fever-Tree. It’s a good alternative to Schweppes and very well thought through. With our London Dry Gin, I add a lime zest to garnish.

Mr Will Borrell of Highwayman Gin

I would suggest using a really nice Mediterranean-style tonic with however many parts gin you can fit in. I like drinking from a big balloon goblet and throwing in some juniper and zesty orange peel to garnish.