If you think that the gin and tonic is a simple drink, then you need to stay back after class.

In the trendiest bars in Barcelona — right now I’m sitting in the aptly named Bobby Gin — the locals are going mad for this seemingly simple mixed drink.

And it’s not just confined to Cataluña. It’s all over the rustic taverns of Madrid, the pinxto bars of San Sebastian and the jamon bodegas in Andalucía. It’s a national obsession.

I am somewhat of a gin and tonic fanatic. When people talk about their ‘go-to’ drink – their fallback – well that drink has always been the G&T. I grew up in Sydney and in January it can be oppressively hot, with the mercury reaching way above 100 degrees. I remember fondly, Sundays in particular, friends would gather over refreshing highballs of Pimm’s Cups, Moscow Mules and gin and tonics. Simple drinks that required neither contemplation nor a mixologist’s arsenal to prepare them.

Prices valid until 31 December 2015.