Empress Gin & Tonic

An Empress Gin & Tonic is a lovely purple cocktail that’s flavorful and refreshing.  Perfect for Halloween—or anytime!

Another Halloween.  Another spooky cocktail.  This time an Empress Gin & Tonic, all dressed up in purple for Halloween. 

And the impetus behind this?  Well last year I needed Indigo Empress Gin for another fun Halloween drink–my Witches Brew Cocktail, which has layers of blue, teal and violet.  So, I wondered… what could I do with a mostly full bottle of leftovers?

And yes, the answer was an Empress Gin & Tonic.

Now, this colorful concoction is actually a drink that’s served all year round.  From a flavor perspective Empress gin is considered to have more botanical overtones than a standard gin.    

But the real claim to fame is the drink’s color change.  As the tonic water is added, a PH change causes it to do from Indigo blue to purple.

Just in case purple isn’t fun enough (spooky enough?) all by itself!

Why You’ll Love This!

Flavorful and Refreshing.  With botanical notes like juniper and citrus and some fizzy hydration, an Empress Gin and Tonic is flavorful and refreshing.    

Colorful.  They say you eat with your eyes first!  And who can resist a vibrant purple!

Festive.  This will be perfectly in keeping with your Halloween celebrations.  Now you just need to decide which of the Halloween recipes below to serve it with!

Step by Step Overview

Measure gin into a rocks glass filled with ice. 

Top with tonic, in front of your guest if you want to show the color change.

Garnish with a slice of lime or slice of grapefruit.

Variations

If you’d like an alcohol-free version of this, the company also makes an alcohol-free Indigo “gin.” 

Or for do-it-yourself mocktail, you might mix some concentrated butterfly pea flower tea with tonic water, a squirt of lime and a maybe even few drops of pine or juniper bitters (omit the bitters or use alcohol free bitters if 100% alcohol free is needed). 

Tips & FAQs

Empress Gin also comes in versions that are pink and also colorless, so you’ll want to be sure to grab the purple version for this.  Both colorful varieties are naturally colored–the purple tone comes from the Butterfly Pea Flower that’s also used in teas. 

I was surprised to learn that Tonic Water can contain a fair number of calories from carbohydrates.  If you’re watching either calories or carbs, Diet Tonic Water is readily available.

I did a few pictures using dry ice, but you should know that dry ice isn’t considered especially safe to use with food (see FDA bulletin).  I tossed out the drink I used for this since a hidden piece of dry ice can have devastating consequences.  So maybe using AI would be preferable, just this once (though btw, I never use AI on my blog). 

And don’t forget you can serve an Empress Gin & Tonic all year round!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Welcome to 2026’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event!

This is our 9th year doing #HalloweenTreatsWeek … has it really been 9 years? Wow!

#HalloweenTreatsWeek is a Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife every October. This event is an online, week-long event that is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats and recipes from some fantastic Halloween-loving bloggers!

Make sure to check out all of the fun Halloween recipes that we’re sharing this week!

Today’s Recipes:

• • Graveyard Boo-Nana Pudding Cups from Big Bear’s Wife

• • Chocolate Eyeball Cookies from Shoppin’ Buggy Recipes

• • Mini Melting Witch Cookie Cakes from Southern Halloween Queen

• • Empress Gin & Tonic from Art of Natural Living

• • Graveyard Brownies from Jen Around the World

• • Skull Raspberry Crumble Bars from The Spiffy Cookie

• • Pumpkin Patch Brownies from A Day in the Life on the Farm

• • Werewolf Sliders from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

• • Black Magic Beluga Lentil Salad from Magical Ingredients