Port and Tonic Cocktail Recipe

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Sweet, bubbly, and delicious Port and Tonic Cocktail is a light, refreshing drink loaded with fresh citrus flavors based on the flavors of Porto, Portugal.

picture of a wine goblet with slices of citrus, ice, port, and tonic on a table

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Sparkling White Port & Tonic
What is Port
How to Make Port & Tonic
Tips to Perfect Port & Tonic Cocktails
- Recipe FAQs
Porto, Portugal
Other Easy Gin Cocktails You'll Love
Port and Tonic Cocktail Recipe

Sparkling White Port & Tonic

I love bright, bubbly, lightly sweet (but not TOO sweet) cocktails in spring and summer - less alcoholic drinks you can sip through an afternoon that are full of flavor, and pair with any meal. Port and Tonics have become my newest obsession after visiting Portugal with my friend Jessica from Savory Experiments this year - and I can't wait too share this amazingly easy and delicious cocktail recipe with you!

This port and tonic recipe is based off the amazingly delicious version I ordered at the Intercontinental Porto - one of Porto's most beautiful hotels in a fabulous location (and compared to many other European cities, Porto is much less expensive, even in a luxury hotel!) If you're looking for delicious, fresh and innovative cuisine, amazing wine and outstanding cocktails, culture, architecture that will take your breath away, great shopping, and welcoming locals - all at a great price - Porto, Portugal is a city you need to get to!

Even if you don't love port, you will love this cocktail! The light citrus flavor breaks up the sweetness in the fortified wine, making it slightly sweet. The bitter, earthiness of tonic (thanks to quinine), is perfectly balanced with fresh tangy citrus - I can easily sip these drinks all afternoon.

For our web story of this recipe, click here.

Picture of port and tonic in a wine glass in a hotel lobby bar. — Port and Tonic at the lobby bar, Intercontinental Porto

What is Port

Port is a traditional Portugese drink made from Douro Valley Region in Portugal and mixed with aguardente - a type of liquor similar to brandy.

Since port is fortified (mixed with brandy), it is sweeter, stronger, and more alcoholic - but the addition of brandy also helps to stop the fermentation of the wine.

While port is a decidedly Portugese product (port must come from Portugal in order to be called port), but owes a good part of it's history to the British.

With England and France continuously fighting in the 17th and 18th century, Brits looked to other countries for red wine instead of Bordeaux - and began mixing a bit of brandy in the bottles to keep it safe for the journey back to England. The addition of brandy became a hit, and brits helped propel the sweet, rich drink.

Portugal has always had a strong relationship to the English - making it a really easy country for English-speaking travelers to visit. Learning a couple phrases in portugese can really help - a cheerful "obrigado" lights up lots of faces!

There are four basic types oof port wine: White, Rose, Ruby, and Tawny port.

There are many different official categories of Port, but most fall under these 4 categories:

Vintage Port is a well-aged, more expensive, richer, sweeter port made from a variety of different wines from the same vintage (year), blended together. Vintage ports tend to be much more expensive.
Tawny Port is a very sweet barrel-aged port that is popular worldwide as a dessert wine - with rich notes of raisin, caramel, nut, and spice.
Ruby (Red) Port a deeply-colored red Port that is a bit less sweet than Tawny port and tastes more "fresh", with notes of raspberry, cranberry, cinnamon.
Rosé Port This is a new style of Port wine made like rosé wine with flavors of strawberry, raspberry, and honeysuckle. If you're leary of overly sweet port, try a Rosé.
White Port is made with white grapes like Portugal's Rabigato, Viosinho, Gouveio and Malvasia grapes. White port is very fresh and lighter tasting, and has notes of lemon, apple, and honey.

How to Make Port & Tonic

For this recipe we're calling for white port - or rose port in a pinch - see why:

White port. I had never tasted white port before visiting Porto - it's not very common in America, but it is lighter, less sweet, and more crisp - perfect for a bubbly, citrussy cocktail. I personally reccomend using white port in a port and tonic cocktail - though it can be harder to find in the US. White port is a very economical ingredient - you can get a high quality bottle for under $15 (and many are priced right around $10.)

Rosé port, which is crisper, fresher tasting, and lighter than tawny or ruby ports, is another good addition to a port and tonic cocktail if you can't find white port, or only have ruby port on hand.

While we're relying on the port and citrus for this drink, it is important to consider your tonic since it is so much of the beverage.

While I normally like different flavored tonics for cocktails, for this drink, I reccomend light, crisp, and neutral tonics of a good quality to let the flavor from white port shine through.

I personally prefer diet tonics - the quinine in tonic gives a perfect bitter flavor - and the citrus peel adds enough sweetness, there is no need for added sugars.

I personally use the following tonics in my port and tonic recipe:

Fever Tree Refreshingly Light
Schweppes Diet
Q Indian Tonic
Canada Dry Diet Tonic

Picture of 5 glasses of port at a wine tasting in Porto — Port tasting, Porto Portugal

Tips to Perfect Port & Tonic Cocktails

Do be careful when serving these - they go down very easy!

If planning a party, plan 8 oz port and. 16 oz tonic per person. This is a large amount of alcohol - 3 drinks worth - so don't let guests drive home, but should help you plan the right amount to have on hand for a big party.

I like to pour out my port into a pitcher or jar ahead of a party and add lemon, lime, and orange peels to the jar to soak up the citrus flavor, and then have guests pour their own drinks, top with tonic, and garnish with fresh citrus peels throughout the party.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make a big batch?

For parties, we like to combine the citrus slices and port in a large pitcher, then pour individual into individual glasses and top with tonic.
Port and citrus can be mixed and stored for up to four hours before serving - add tonic right as you drink, so you don't lose carbonation.

What citrus should I add?

I like adding lemon, lime, and orange slices to white port and tonic cocktails. You can use more or less of any citrus you like, or even try grapefruit, or mix in fresh berries!

Should I muddle citrus?

If serving immediately, lightly muddling citrus by pressing the back of a spoon against citrus slices in the glass can help release a bit of the fruit's oil and flavor. If you're letting the port and fruit sit for at least 30 minutes before adding tonic and serving, there is no need to muddle.

Porto, Portugal

Porto is a gorgeous coastal town nestled on the banks of the Douro River where it meets the Atlantic Ocean, in Portugal's north.

Porto is known for their gorgeous bridges, beautiful tile (and tiled buildings), and of course, Portuguese wine, including port!

Port is a huge part of Porto - you can find tasting bars all over, and tour numerous port wine cellars throughout Porto.

For our top picks of what to do in Porto, including easy access to museums and unique guided experiences, please click here.

Porto is a very easy and relatively short train ride from Lisbon - we loved watching the waves crash and gentle rolling hills zip along past our train car.

The train was very easy to navigate - and if you don't speak Portugese, no worries, they have plenty of employees and signage in English.

It takes just about 3 hours to ride the train between Lisbon and Porto.

Lisbon is a short very flight to most European cities (and around 6 hours from the Eastern seaboard of the US), making Portugal a very easy destination to visit!

Picture of Porto skyline — View from our room at the Intercontinental Porto

Other Easy Gin Cocktails You'll Love

If you love this easy port and tonic cocktail with fresh citrus, please check out my other favorite gin-based drinks!

You can find our complete cocktail and drinks recipe archive here.