Gin cocktail guide: The SEVEN best gin cocktails to make for World Gin Day tomorrow

World Gin Day is a global celebration of the spirit also referred to as Mother’s Ruin. Marked n the second Saturday in June, the date celebrates all the gin distillers around the globe who help to make on of our favourite tipples. And what better way to enjoy the celebration by mixing your own gin cocktails this weekend. Express.co.uk has put together this list of SEVEN delicious cocktails to try on Saturday.

Strawberry Gin Fizz

Jim and Tonic’s Head Bartender & Mixologist Seb Stefan says: “Nothing says summer more than fresh seasonal mouth watering strawberries. Just add gin lemon and soda to the equation and you got yourself a fizzy, bright colored, citrussy cocktail with a fruity character.

“Strawberry Gin Fizz is a simple twist on a classic Tom Collins, a cocktail which predates prohibition times, which was first mentioned by the father of bartending Jerry Thomas in 1876.

“The original cocktail follows a classic recipe pattern of spirit, sweet sour and fizz that inspired future generations of bartenders to create numerous variations and twists on.

“You can enjoy this cocktail all year round by using any fruits in season, although we find that fruits with acidity like strawberries, raspberries or passion fruit, work best to create that lovely citrus zing.”

Ingredients:

  • 50ml of gin
  • One lemon
  • 20ml agave nectar
  • Fresh strawberries
  • Soda Water

Method:

Start off by cutting one lemon in half and using the Mexican elbow go ahead and juice half of it. Pick two to three medium-sized fresh strawberries and using the muddler, squash them at the bottom of the tin.

Measure 25ml of fresh lemon juice and 20ml of agave nectar and add them to the shaker (you can substitute agave nectar for honey syrup or simple sugar syrup).

Now it’s time to add the gin. Seb said: “The original recipe calls for Old Tom Gin, which is a sweeter variety of gin. But my personal favourite in this drink uses our Jim and Tonic ‘Mercato’ Mediterranean gin distilled with fresh rosemary, thyme and basil. This gin brings an extra layer of flavour adding a botanical rosemary hint to the fruity character of the drink, whilst still carrying sweetness from citrus.”

Measure out 50ml of gin and add it to the shaker. Add ice to the shaker and close it tight. Give it a quick shake (5 seconds max), but be mindful that you will be adding soda later on, thus creating more dilution.

Next open the shaker and using the fine strainer, strain the liquid into a highball glass (fun fact: a specific highball glass is also known as a Collins glass).

Next add cubed ice to the glass and top up with soda. Finally the garnish: a fresh tall spring of rosemary to complement the gin and a lovely half strawberry next to it.

Last word

Ingredients:

  • 20ml London Dry Gin – try 
  • 20ml Green Chartreuse
  • 20ml Maraschino Liquor
  • One lime

Method:

Also put together by Jim and Tonic’s Seb Stefan, he explained his favourite way of making this delicious cocktail.

First add some ice and water to your Coupe or Nick & Nora glass and leave it on the side to chill.

Next grab the fruit peeler and make a long beautiful lime peel and set it on the side (this will be our garnish). Cut the peeled lime in half and using the Mexican elbow squeeze 20ml of fresh lime juice into the shaker.

Next measure 20ml of maraschino liquor and 20ml of Green Chartreuse and add them to the shaker. Measure 20ml of good quality London dry gin and add it to the shaker – you can play around by swapping the gin to a different spirit to create variations (one of my favourites is with mezcal, but you can use rye or single malt whiskey for example instead)

Add ice to the shaker, close it tight and give it a firm shake for about 10 to 15 seconds. Open the shaker and using the fine strainer, strain the liquid into a Coupe or Nick & Nora glass (using the fine strainer we stop all the small ice chips from landing into your drink causing further water dilution).

All that’s left is to add the garnish. Grab the lime peel you’ve set aside in the beginning and using a fruit knife carve the edges then just curve and twist the peel gently and drop it into the glass.

Cotswolds Dry Gin, who launched their new Wildflower Gin last month, also has a host of recipes to try featuring easy to get hold of ingredients – essential during a lockdown!

Mint Rickey

Ingredients:

  • 50 ml Cotswolds Dry Gin
  • 25 ml fresh lime juice
  • 15 ml sugar syrup
  • 12 mint leaves
  • Soda water

Method:

Lightly bruise the mint leaves in the base of a glass, add gin, lime and sugar.

Half fill the glass with ice and stir with a spoon, fill glass with more ice, top up with soda.

Stir and serve. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

If you don’t have all the fancy equipment, don’t worry! There’s still a cocktail out there for you this weekend.

Whitley Neill, who will be hosting a live distillation and virtual tasting session on Saturday, prepared these recipes to share with Express.co.uk readers.

Yorkshire Lass

Ingredients:

Method:

Build in a highball glass over cubed ice and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Gooseberry Fool

Ingredients:

Method:

Build in a highball over cubed ice. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Spritz en Provence

For something extremely decadent, Mirabeau gin provided Express.co.uk with this beautiful cocktail recipe to match their Rosé gin.

Ingredients:

Method:

Add all ingredients except La Folie to an ice filled shaker. Shake to blend flavours.

Fill a wine glass/spritz glass with ice. Strain mixture into glasses.

Crown with La Folie, stir gently again. Garnish with lavender sprigs/rose petals and a slice of lemon. Enjoy!

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source: express.co.uk