The Bacchanalia Gin and Tonic at Mr. Paul’s Supper Club is delightfully over the top with Du Nord gin, tropical tonic, seltzer, flowers and a spritz of edible glitter. (Anthony Souffle, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Imagine you're at an umbrella-shaded table on a seaside terrace, being handed the largest wine goblet you've ever seen — only it's filled with a fizzy and clear liquid, and stuffed with bouquets of herbs or edible flowers. If you're lucky enough to have vacationed on the Iberian Peninsula, you might know this scene well. But even in the Twin Cities, an upgraded gin and tonic with Mediterranean flair has become the quintessential summer cocktail.

You'll find this unfathomably refreshing classic in many interesting iterations that play upon the vast flavor profiles of gins from around the world and those made locally. Where some spirits highlight pepper and spices, and others bring botanicals to the fore, tonics — many of them housemade — are equally varied. Add in garnishes, from rosemary and cucumber to lemon slices and pansies, and the combinations are endless.

"We want to make pretty things that make people smile," says Nick Kosevich, the partner and beverage director at Mr. Paul's Supper Club in Edina. Kosevich is also a partner at Earl Giles Distillery, where he crafts unique tonics for bars and hotels all over the country.

At Mr. Paul's, he created a Creole-spiced tonic syrup for the Bacchanalia Gin & Tonic, a cocktail brimming with edible flowers. "It's kind of fluid in terms of whatever is in season," Kosevich added. "In the winter it's more cucumber and citrus. Once the farms are producing for us, we're literally unloading on these drinks."

Guests at Snack Bar in Minneapolis are greeted by a "Gin Parade," a mix-and-match menu featuring 18 gins and 12 possible mixers. The five tonics on that list are made in house by bar manager Brandi Anderson. Ordering is a guided experience and servers have a cheat sheet to help suggest pairings based on the herbs and botanicals in play.

"I ask people to pick out their tonic or beverage, and then I'll pick a gin based off of what I think pairs," Anderson says. Though the Gin Parade is popular year-round, the creative combos are especially summer friendly, she says.

"They're really refreshing and very easy to drink," Anderson says. "And there's so many different things you can do with them."

Three to try

Bacchanalia Gin and Tonic
$14, Mr. Paul's Supper Club, 3917 B Market St., Edina, mrpaulssupperclub.com

Heavily adorned with edible flowers, this cocktail — with housemade Creole tonic syrup — was inspired by a New Orleans wine store with a lush patio called Bacchanal. "This is kind of reminiscent of that space, being outside in the garden and listening to good music," says beverage director Nick Kosevich.

Gin Parade
Prices vary, Snack Bar, 800 Washington Av. N., Mpls., snackbarmpls.com

You have 216 possible combinations from mixing and matching gins and housemade tonics, 3 Leche fermented beverages or juices. Bar manager Brandi Anderson's favorite combination? A hot pink hibiscus tonic with floral notes that match well with Applewood, a highly herbal Australian gin.

G&T
$16, Blondette, 427 S. Marquette Av., Mpls., blondettempls.com

This globe-glassed beverage puts a spin on the traditional gin and tonic by bringing dry vermouth into the mix — "a great way to add complexity in flavor, as well as lower the proof so you can enjoy more of them," said bar director Megan Luedtke. Another ingredient, cinchona, is also known as quinine, the medicinal bark that's essential in tonic. A side effect? It makes you hungry — perfect as an aperitif.