Keep Cool With One Of These Refreshing Cocktails
Liquor.com / Tim Nusog
Gin is the reigning champion of summer: Its light, its botanical, and it blends with all manner of juices, sodas and, well, pretty much anything else you can think of. But the it makes for fantastic cocktails all year ’round, as well. The versatile spirit can add bracing refreshment to sours and highballs, such as the Gimlet or Gin & Tonic, or it can provide structure to boozier stirred drinks like Martinis. Its a real workhorse that deserves a spot on every home bar.
From the sweet and simple to the sublime and complex, any of the following 10 easy-drinking libations will refresh both body and spirit.
Gazpacho Bloody Mary With Pickled Shrimp
This Bloody Mary variation doesn’t use bread, or more than a little olive oil, but otherwise it’s packed with the flavors of gazpacho: summer tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, red pepper, and garlic. We also add traditional Bloody Mary flavors, like horseradish, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and pickle brine. Instead of spiking it with vodka, we match the bright, vegetal flavors with gin.
Charred Lemon Gin Sparkler
You’re probably familiar with adding lemon to cocktails, but have you ever thought to cook the lemon first? Searing lemon halves mellows their bite and gives them a deep, complex flavor. For this drink, we pair juice from charred lemons with rosemary, sparkling wine, and a botanical-rich gin like St. George Botanivore.
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The Trick To The Foam Topping: A Dry Shake
How does it all work? Bartenders have added egg whites to cocktails since the 1860s for two reasons: it adds a frothy texture the surface of the drink, and gives each sip a creamy rich flavor. Most drinks are shaken with together with ice in a cocktail shaker. But in this Gin Fizz youll do whats called a Dry Shake. Heres how it works:
- Shake the drink ingredients without ice first. This lets the protein in the egg begin to form foam, instead of being diluted by the ice.
- Then add ice and shake again. This cools the drink and strengthens the foam. Strain it into the glass and youll get a thick, white frothy layer.
This method is used with many classic cocktails, and results in a lovely white layer of foam on top. See the Boston Sour or Pisco Sour for another foam-topped drink.
With A Bottle Of Gin And A Few Groceries Youre Well On Your Way To Making These 15 Simple Gin Cocktails
There are a number of ways to stock a bar: you can go out and buy one of everything , you can go out and buy what you need for your one or two favorite cocktails , or you can wait and hope that a well stocked bar magically appears in your living room . If youve tended toward the last method, your bar might be looking a little bleak. But if youve got just one bottle, you can make drinks.
Today, well focus on the cocktails you can make with a bottle of gin. You dont need liqueurs, vermouth, or any other spirits. The rest of the ingredients can be gathered at your local grocery store or farmers marketthis list should be handy as warm-weather produce starts appearing again, but theres plenty to get you started even if you can still see snow out your window.
Some of these cocktails call for a specific type of ginthe cucumbery, floral Hendricks, for example, or robustly juniper-flavored London Dryand those gins will make delicious versions of these drinks. But the world wont end if you swap em for whatever you have on hand.
Lets get to drinking! Weve left out the gin and tonicyou guys can figure out how to make that one, right?
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The Birth Of The Gin Gimlet
The Gimlet reached its peak of popularity in the 1980s. But this simple yet delicious Gin cocktail was invented long before. The first appearance dates back to the 1860s. Again, as with many other cocktails, the British Royal Navy was involved in the birth of its recipe. Initially meant for medical purposes, they mixed spirits with citrus juice to prevent scurvy A disease caused by a lack of vitamin C.
Therefore the essential ingredient was lime juice which carries a lot of vitamin C. To extend the lifetime of ordinary lime juice, they initially mixed it with Rum. And then Mr. Lauchlin Rose invented another method to keep lime juice fresh: By mixing lime juice with sugar, Rose created the very first lime cordial. A key ingredient of every classic Gin Gimlet cocktail.
And you can imagine, sailors drinking pure sweetened lime juice isnt exactly realistic. So they continued to mix it with spirits, in many cases with Gin. Unaware that they just created one real classic cocktail recipe.
Ultimately, the cocktail first was mentioned in a cocktail book from 1923. When Harry MacElhone, a mixology legend, introduced the Gin Gimlet recipe in his book Harrys ABC of Mixing Cocktails.
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What To Make With Gin: 45 Great Cocktails
As the weather starts to warm up, I reassess my cocktail choices. I’m a brown-liquor guy at heart, but in the warmer months, I find myself mixing more and more drinks with clear spirits. And this year, that means gin. I’ve come to love its herbal flavor, and I’ve started collecting varied bottles: some classically piney and juniper-laced, some lightly floral, some herbal and anise-y and citrusy.
I also love how adaptable gin can be: It lends itself to spirituous stirred drinks it walks hand in hand with aromatic vermouth and bitter, complex aperitifs but it also finds a home in refreshing fruit- and vegetable-based drinks that celebrate spring and summer. Yes, you can mix your gin with peaches, and you can mix your gin with peaswe’ll show you how. If you want to learn more about this spirit, our guide to gin is a good place to start. If you just want to get drinking, keep reading for 45 great gin cocktails.
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Explore Gins Versatility In These Favorite Drinks
Gin is a fascinating liquor to explore. Its botanicals give it a characteristic that no other liquor has one brand can have a completely different profile from another and it is surprisingly versatile when it comes to flavor profiles. Gin is also the foundation for some of the best drinks ever made, including the iconic martini.
Though certainly not as numerous as vodka cocktails, there are thousands of great gin cocktails to explore and the list can be quite overwhelming. Some cocktails work best with a specific gin, some are for acquired tastes and others are reliable and always there for us when we need them.
If youre just starting out on your journey through the world of gin cocktails, we recommend the ones listed below as essential to your experience. All are quite popular, some more than others, and each has a different appeal that has drawn in drinkers year after year for decades.
The selections include gin at its best in the simplest of mixes as well as in the more complicated, often disputed, and finely balanced recipes. These classics are some of the most timeless drinks that you will find.
Find The Best Quality Gin
Because this gin gimlet cocktail is so simple, its all about quality here. The better the gin, the better the drink. The easiest way to tell if a gin is high quality? Dont buy the cheapest gin on the shelf. Try to invest in a mid-price range gin: the drink will only taste as good as the gin you invest in!
If you live in a city that has local distilleries, be on the lookout for local spirits! We used gin from 8th Day Distillery here in Indianapolis.
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Rosemary & Limoncello Sloe Gin Sparkler
2 rosemary sprigs, one to muddle and one to garnish
Take the leaves off one rosemary sprig and place in a cocktail shaker with limoncello.Muddle.Add ice and sloe gin, then shake vigorously until well chilled.Strain into your glass filled with ice.Top off with sparkling water and garnish with a rosemary sprig.
Add a dash of sloe gin to this classic hot chocolate recipe for the ultimate boozy winter drink
Cocktails To Try If You Like Drinking Gin
Gin is clear liquor that packs a pretty astounding amount of flavor into a small glass. It’s a neutral grain spirit distilled with juniper and botanicals that has a predominantly piney flavor, but it doesn’t stop there.
It’s similar to vodka, in that they’re both light spirits. But while vodka has no taste, gin is distinctively botanical. There are many varieties of gin, and each distiller makes its own unique take on the liquor that goes beyond juniper . For example, MKT Distillery in Katy, Texas makes a Texas gin with a dialed back juniper flavor and a citrus component featuring ruby red grapefruits, Texas mint, lime, and pecan along with juniper, of course. The result is a flavor profile that’s half citrus, half floral, and entirely unique.
Like the spirit itself, gin cocktails can be just as varied, though many feature similar flavor profiles of citrus fruits, mint, and a touch of sugar. Gin cocktails are often light, refreshing, and a little bit sweet the perfect drink for summer or, really, any time of year. Read on to find some classic gin favorites and a few new cocktails that you’ll want to try.
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How To Make A Gin Gin Mule
A Gin Gin mule is only slightly more involved than the classic version. Youll have to muddle mint, and then mix it with lime and simple syrup. Heres what to do :
Top 10 Easy Gin Cocktails
Gin is more popular than ever, so its a good time to learn some simple serving options to take it to another dimension. You dont need any fancy equipment for these speedy gin cocktails even a jam jar will do as a shaker. Its all about the love you put into the preparation.
For more inspiration, see our top 10 fruity gin cocktails and best pink gin cocktails.
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How To Make A Gin Fizz Cocktail
How to make a Gin Fizz? Youll shake together the gin, fresh lemon juice, syrup, and egg white in a cocktail shaker without ice first, then add ice and pour it into two glasses.
When you top off each glass with soda water, the carbonation combines with the egg white to make a frothy foam topping. Its like magic! And its a trick thats sure to impress all your guests.
The Traditional Gimlet Recipe
So initially, the Gin Gimlet cocktail is made with Gin and Roses lime cordial. But the problem with this traditional recipe is that its way too sweet for many: Harry MacElhone asks in his recipe for a mix of one part Gin to one part lime cordial. After stirring with or without ice, his drink was ready to be served.
To make it less sweet, I suggest tweaking the classic Gimlet recipe a bit. You can keep the ingredients classic, but at least change proportions and shake it with plenty of ice to properly cool the cocktail down. A mix of 2 parts Gin to 1 part lime juice should be sweet enough and, in my opinion, make a far better Gimlet.
In modern mixology, lime cordial only gets used rarely. Even if you use Roses lime cordial, which is the original base for the cocktail, it doesnt produce that tangy and sharp lime taste. You will only get that with freshly squeezed limes. Continue reading if you want to try a more modern recipe for a Gin Gimlet.
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Best Drinks To Mix With Gin
While there are plenty of liquors you can pick up knowing they’re super versatile and likely to work with almost anything that’s in the fridge and yes, we’re looking at you, vodka gin generally isn’t one of those. There’s a gin and tonic, and … what else?
Admittedly, gin can be tough. It has a distinctive flavor profile that can be described as anything from “botanical” to “Christmas tree,” and everything in between those two. Gin, says MasterClass, is defined in part by the use of juniper berries in the distillation process, and it’s those berries that give this popular liquor that pine-tree, evergreen taste.
For those who might skip the gin because they’re not fans of a gin and tonic, we have good news: There are a ton of other drinks you can use as a base for some truly incredible gin cocktails. Some probably have a permanent spot in the fridge already, and if some are the sort of thing you pick up on occasion, let’s be honest: These ideas are reason enough to spring for that nice bottle of gin.
Whats A Vegan Egg White Substitute For Cocktails
Now, lets say you have a vegan guest: or you eat plant-based yourself. What to use as a vegan egg white substitute in cocktails? The answer: Aquafaba. Whats that? Aquafaba is the liquid thats in a can of chickpeas. Because its so starchy, it can work as a binder similar to an egg.
Since 2 tablespoons of aquafaba equal 1 egg white, you can use 2 tablespoons of aquafaba in this recipe as an equivalent to the actual egg white. It makes for the same type of foam!
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Is A Copper Mug Required
Well, a copper mug is never required. But its just more fun! The Gin Gin Mule is often served in a glass . Because its the signature drink of a bar in NYC, its a little more free-form than the classic. But you can certainly serve it in a copper mug, like we chose to here! The copper mug is also perfect for a Moscow mule with gin. Why is it served in a copper mug? A few reasons:
- The mug turns ice cold, which gives a cool sensation on each sip. This drink tastes colder when you drink it out of the solid copper mug, which becomes cold the minute the drink hits it. It adds another sensory element to the drinking experience.
- Tradition! When youre drinking a classic cocktail, its fun to drink it the classic way. Back in the 1940s when the drink was invented, the public saw images of Hollywood celebs enjoying the drink in copper mugs. It caught on and became the classic way to drink it to this day.
Looking for copper Moscow mule mugs? The mugs we show here arent in stock, but heres a link to some similar .
What Cocktail Shaker Do I Need
Cocktail shakers are inexpensive and absolutely worth the cabinet space. A cocktail shaker quickly chills cocktails by shaking them against ice, then has a perforated lid so you can pour out the cocktail without pouring out the ice as well. Heres the cocktail shaker we use:
Whats a substitute for a cocktail shaker? Well if youre in a pinch, you can use a glass mason jar instead! Place the cocktail in the jar and fill it with ice. Put on the top and shake away! When pouring out the cocktail, youll need to use a strainer or some other mesh to keep the ice inside the mason jar.
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What Is The Best Gin For A Gin And Tonic
TMB studio
London dry gin is the go-to style for a gin and tonic. Despite its name, London dry can come from anywhere in the world. While the exact flavors vary slightly, expect your classic London dry to have juniper, coriander and citrus notes. Its clean and brightexactly what you want in a gin and tonic. Beefeater, Plymouth and Bombay Sapphire are three common brands.
That said, you can certainly reach for any gin you want or have on hand. Just keep in mind some of the more delicate, subtle gins, that arent London Style, their flavors may be covered up by a strong tonic. And since a lot of those gins come with a heftier price tag, you may want to give that some thought before opening one of those bottles. Personally, Id save those for a nice martini.
Modern Gin Gimlet Cocktail Recipe
To mix up a Gin Gimlet in a modern way, you wont need much. Gin, limes, and simple syrup are enough. To get the ratios right, it might take a bit of testing, though. Taste buds are different, and some prefer stronger cocktails than others.
If youre a fan of strong cocktails, start with a mix of 2 oz of Gin, 0.5 oz of freshly squeezed lime juice, and 0.5 oz simple syrup. This recipe is well-balanced but definitely on the more intensive side. If its too strong for you, increase the amount of lime juice and simple syrup to 1 oz each.
Either way, make sure to shake up your cocktail in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. You want your drink properly chilled to enjoy it at its best. The recipe is super simple, but still, you get one of the best classic Gin cocktails.
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