Gibson (cocktail) Gibson (cocktail) The Gibson is a mixed drink made with gin and dry vermouth, and often garnished with a pickled onion. The oldest published recipe for the Gibson is found in the 1908 book, "The World's Drinks And How To Mix Them" by William Boothby. Other pre-prohibition recipes for the Gibson exist. They all omit bitters and none of them garnish with an onion. Some garnish with citrus twists. Others use no garniture at all. There is no known recipe for the Gibson garnishes with an onion before William Boothby's 1908 Gibson Recipe. Some sources persist in using other garnishment
Gin and tonic with Hendrick's Gin is typically garnished with a slice of cucumber. However, garnishes of cucumber are very rare, and garnishes of orange are rarer still. The cocktail was introduced by the army of the British East India Company in India. In India and other tropical regions, malaria was a persistent problem. In the 1700s it was discovered by Scottish doctor George Cleghorn that quinine could be used to prevent and treat the disease. The quinine was drunk in tonic water, however the bitter taste was unpleasant. British officers in India in the early 19th century took to adding a mixture