Origin: 11th And 13th
The earliest known written reference to jenever appears in the 13th-century encyclopaedic work Der Naturen Bloeme , with the earliest printed recipe for jenever dating from 16th-century work Een Constelijck Distileerboec .
Gin’s roots can be further traced to 11th-century Benedictine monks in Salerno, in southern Italy, in a monastery surrounded by an area rich in juniper trees. These monks used a swan-necked alembic still. The monks used it to distill sharp, fiery, alcoholic tonics, one of which was distilled from wine infused with juniper berries. They were making medicines, hence the juniper. As a medicinal herb, juniper had been an essential part of doctors’ kits for centuries: the Romans burned juniper branches for purification, and plague doctors stuffed the beaks of their plague masks with juniper to supposedly protect them from the Black Death. Across Europe, apothecaries handed out juniper tonic wines for coughs, colds, pains, strains, ruptures and cramps. These were a popular cure-all, though some thought these tonic wines to be a little too popular, and consumed for enjoyment rather than medicinal purposes.
Classic Gin Cocktails Everyone Should Know How To Make
Maybe youre standing over a smoking engine. Maybe youre trying to negotiate lower loan rates for that crushing debt you have. Maybe youre trying to politely wiggle your way out of yet another office empowerment retreat. Whatever the situation may be, at some point weve all realized that a lot of what we learned in school has very little to do with certain practicalities of adulthood.
Among the many lessons we didnt learn : the cannon of classic cocktails. More importantly, how to prepare them. So we thought wed start up where school left off with a roster of some classic gin cocktails for your sipping pleasure.
We wont assume you have a full bar . And some of the ingredients below are a little esoteric, e.g., dry vermouth probably wont find a place in your weekend smoothie routine. But you can also pick and choose, learning how to make this or that cocktail while you slowly build your repertoireand bar. This is a fairly solid its not comprehensive. For obvious reasons, were not including the Gin and Tonic. We figure you got that.
Easy Gin Cocktails To Make At Home Now
Looking to gin up some new gin cocktails this fall? Whether you have a taste for Negronis, prefer a drink with a fizz, or just want a twist on an old classic, some of Americas best bartenders, brand ambassadors, and other spirits professionals are shaking up their favorite recipes.
Here are some of the best ginnovations.
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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 .
Comparing Gin Alcohol Levels Vs Other Alcoholic Beverages
Having a glass of gin and tonic to unwind after work can be a refreshing pastime for many people. However, after a couple of glasses, it can leave your head spinning, and youll feel a little tipsy already. Thats because you just drank a glass of gin that probably has quite a high percentage of alcohol. If youve always wondered just how much alcohol there is in a typical bottle of gin compared to other liquors, then this guide is for you.
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Blood Orange Elderflower Gin Cocktail
Total time: 5 minutes
The most special thing about this cocktail that you can notice at first sight is the brilliant scarlet color. As you may not know, the blood orange is a special fruit that has crimson flesh and a subtle flavor of raspberry or strawberry.
Different from the original blood orange cocktail, this recipe has St. Germainan elderflower French liquor. Overall, this blood orange elderflower gin cocktail tastes like sweet orange, with elderflower flavor and unique fruitiness.
To mix this cocktail, you dont need a cocktail shaker. According to the instructions, just simply mix all the ingredients and slowly pour the mixture with large ice cubes into a cocktail glass. Finally, you can decorate the drink with blood orange slices or fresh lemon.
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.
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What Mixes Well With Gin Is There A Perfect Gin Mixer
The first rule of drinking good gin is to use a good mixer. You can easily ruin an excellent gin by adding a sub-par mixer.
Tonic: The classic mixer
The classic mixer for gin is tonic – a drink developed by the administrators of the British Empire who drank tonic water for its anti-malarial quinine but who found it a little bitter.
They added gin and – hey presto – one of the most famous and enduring cocktails in history was born.
So tonic is the go-to mixer. If youre drinking a premium gin like York Gin, make sure you choose a premium tonic. There are some fabulous premium tonics on the market. Invest some time and effort into finding your favourite.
So-da so good
Tonic is far from the only mixer for gin.
Often, people who say they dont like gin actually dont like the taste of the tonic in a G& T.
An alternative mixer for a fizzy long gin drink is soda.
It has all the bubbles but none of the quinine that some people can find too bitter. We think gin and soda has a long and successful future ahead.
Other mixers
Lime cordial: This creates a classic Gimlet cocktail. Add Rose’s lime cordial to gin and ice for a very dry drink!
Lemonade: A sweeter alternative to tonic. Lots of people love this in the newer fruit gins that have appeared in recent years. Its great in York Gin Roman Fruit.
And finally: Try your own – some people like ginger ale or ginger beer, other fruit juices or cordials or even Coke!
Gin cocktails
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.
Read Also: How Do You Make Gin
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 :
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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What Type Of Gin Should I Buy
For this Gin Fizz, youll want to use the high quality gin! The better the gin, the better the drink. The easiest way to tell if a gin is high quality? Dont buy the cheapest gin you can find. Try to invest in a mid-price range gin: the drink will only taste as good as the gin you invest in! You could also be on the lookout for local gin, if you have distilleries in your area. Here in Indianapolis, our friends over at 8th Day Distillery make a local gin thats a fun local find.
Numerous Ways To Deal With Gin Cocktails
When you mix a cocktail or want to create a new gin cocktail recipe, remember to follow the flavor balance rules. For example, sweet can enhance salty, bitter can balance sweet, or spicy can balance sweet.
If you have not tried any alcoholic drink or gin cocktail before, remember to take small sips one by one because you can easily get drunk just after a few drops. Besides, while there are many variations of gin cocktails, you should start with those having the flavors you like.
Talking about variations, you can also classify and enjoy gin cocktails based on the weather or the seasons in the year. On the other hand, there are many drinks that are for all seasons and can taste excellent no matter how bad or good your mood is.
When youve been a gin cocktail lover, you can search for and use vintage gin in your recipes. Many vintage gin bottles are sold overseas at very high prices, and they can be decades old.
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Muskmelon Tanqueray & Tonic
The Muskmelon Tanqueray & Tonic is an ideal summer sipper. It is refreshing and unexpected and something you can sip on by the side of a pool, by the beach, or just at home with friends. Ezra Star, bar consultant and cocktail educator
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Tanqueray No. Ten
0.5 oz. lemon juice
0.5 oz. honey or honeydew honey*
2 oz. tonic water
Method: Build ingredients in an ice-filled wine glass and top with tonic water. Stir to combine and garnish with a slide of melon.
*For the Optional Honeydew Honey: Blend 23 slices of honeydew in a blender and strain to retain the juice. Add equal parts light honey and stir until dissolved into the mixture.
Alanna Hale
The 12 Best Gins To Drink Straight In 2022
We get it, its not every day people talk about gins to drink straight. They certainly dont jump to mind when you think about enjoying gin neat. It simply doesnt get the praise that sippers like scotch, cognac, or aged rums get. But thats not to say there arent some more-than-worthy gins of enjoying on their own.
- Sipsmith London Dry
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By all means, make yourself a Ramos Gin Fizz or Tom Collins cocktail and go nuts. Gin is the base of so many great cocktails, especially formative ones from the first golden era of the craft before Prohibition strolled in. But let us not look past a good gins many positive traits as an individual, from beaming aromatics to spicy, pithy, punchy flavors. Barrel-age the stuff and you can end up with something else entirely, darker in color and smooth as silk on the palate. Below is our list of the best gins to drink neat that you should very much check out.
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Best Botanicals: Ki No Bi Kyoto Dry Gin
KI NO BI is a versatile gin that is just as amazing being sipped neat as it is mixed into a cocktail, describes Jordan Johnson, Lead Bartender at The Register. Its created with Japanese botanicals such as yellow yuzu from the north of Kyoto Prefecture, hinoki wood chips , bamboo, gyokuro tea, and green sansh berries. By distilling six distinct gins separately and then blending them together to perfection you are left with a well-balanced but dynamic gin that is a pleasure to drink.
I like to think of it as the perfect gateway spirit to enjoying gin. From a Negroni to a dry martini to a classic gin and tonic at room temperature. Chilled or built into a citrus-forward cocktail or a classic gin and tonic, in my opinion, The Kyoto Distillerys KI NO BI deserves a place on your bar.
ABV: 45.7% | Volume: 750mL | Predominant Botanicals: Yuzu, oaky, earthy, ginger
Whats The Difference Between A Gin Rickey Gin Gimlet Gin Fizz And Tom Collins
Gin Rickey: gin, lime juice, and club soda poured over ice into a highball glass. Garnished with lime wedges or wheels.
Gin Gimlet: gin, lime juice, and simple syrup shaken then poured into a coupe glass and finished with a splash of club soda.
Gin Fizz: gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg white shaken without ice, then shaken with ice and poured into a fizz glass. Topped off with a splash of club soda.
Tom Collins: London dry gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, poured over ice into a Collins glass. Topped off with club soda, a lemon wheel, and maraschino cherry.
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What You Need For Making Cocktails:
A Cocktail Shaker is a must have for those ice cold mixed drinks.
Cocktail Jigger is perfect for getting the perfect measurements for all of your favorite cocktails.
Microplane Twist & Zest is my favorite for juicing and making citrus garnishes for my favorite cocktails.
Counter Top Ice Maker ~ Extravagant yes, but I seriously would love one of these! It makes ice like you get at Sonic! Perfect for cocktails.
Where Did Pink Gin Come From
Pink Gin and even pink gin cocktails have been around since 1870 when pink gins were first introduced with the addition of bitters blending perfectly with the sharp taste of gin.
The first pink gin cocktail, and for a long time what was just known as pink gin, is thought to have origins in the Royal Navy. Its said that they created pink gin by mixing Plymouth gin and angostura bitters to help with seasickness.
The drink then spread to the mainland and by the late 1800s had moved from sailors drinking establishments to some of Britains finest drinking establishments!
Despite the origin of the pink gin being a gin mixed with bitters, the amount of recipe variations that create todays pink gins has now exploded much to our delight!
The popularity of different spirits tend to come and go after a hiatus gins, pink gins and gin liqueurs have become some of the most popular selling spirits in the last few years.
Distilleries like Edinburgh Gin, Shetland Reel and Harris Gin have become household names and even are giving whisky a run for its money with Scotland producing 70% of the UKs gin!
But sometimes people are a little unsure what to do with the bottle of pink spirit they have tucked away in a cupboard, outside of the usual gin and tonic, so we decided to help and try to find you your favourite pink gin cocktail recipe. The taste testing wasnt a bonus for us of course
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