Gunner

A sophisticated British colonial mocktail dating to the 1840s—ginger beer, ginger ale, Angostura bitters, and lime create a refreshing drink without the alcohol.

The Gunner is a non-alcoholic long drink that has been a fixture of British Commonwealth social culture — from Singapore cricket clubs and Hong Kong yacht clubs to Cape Town golf courses and Caribbean officers' messes — for most of the 20th century. The drink combines ginger beer, dry ginger ale, fresh lime juice or lime cordial, and a dash of Angostura bitters, producing a refreshing, mildly spiced preparation that is both more complex than plain ginger ale and appropriately formal for the social contexts in which it is most commonly served. The name's military association — gunners are artillery soldiers — reflects the drink's documented popularity among British military officers stationed across the empire who needed a refreshing, non-intoxicating drink that could be consumed during duty hours or in situations where alcohol was inappropriate without the social awkwardness of ordering plain water or soft drinks in a drinks-serving environment. The combination of ginger beer's more assertive ginger and ginger ale's lighter, drier character produces a depth that neither alone provides, and the Angostura bitters — despite containing alcohol, added in such small quantities (a dash) that the overall drink is functionally non-alcoholic — provides the aromatic complexity that transforms a mixer into something resembling a cocktail. The Gunner persists across the Commonwealth as one of the most recognized non-alcoholic bar orders for those avoiding alcohol entirely.