Gin Cocktails

White Lady Cocktail (Serves 1)

A classic and for good reason. With its lemony overtones it’s a rather refreshing cocktail – great for a summers day!..

1 coin sized piece of lemon peel

45ml gin

22.5ml Cointreau

22.5ml lemon juice

10ml sugar syrup

10ml egg white

Handful of ice

A twist of lemon to garnish

1. Squeeze the lemon peel over a cocktail shaker to express its oils and discard. Add the gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, sugar syrup and egg white, and shake with ice, then strain back into the shaker and shake again without ice (‘dry shake’).
2. Finally, strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a twist of lemon and enjoy!

Bee’s Knees Cocktail (Serves 1)

This is exactly the type of cocktail we need to take us from the Spring into the Summer. Initially you’ll taste the sweetness from the honey then there’s a slightly shocking sour finish – a real ‘sting’ , however, it’s a totally delicious sting… hence, I suppose, it’s fantastic name!

2 teaspoons honey

50ml gin

25ml lemon juice

Handful of ice

Lemon zest strip, to serve

1. Put the honey in a small cup and add 1 teaspoon of boiling water. Stir well until smooth and the honey is nicely thinned down.
2. Pour the honey mixture into a cocktail shaker along with the gin, lemon juice and a large handful of ice. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a the lemon zest.

Marsala Martini (Serves 1)

I’m partial to a martini and this is my new, absolute favourite. Even if you’re not a martini fan, I urge you to try this as it has a smoother, softer flavour!..

60ml gin

10ml dry marsala wine

10ml dry vermouth

5ml amaretto liqueur

A handful of ice

1. Stir all the ingredients together with the ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Fleur Collins Cocktail (Serves 1)

This is a great summer cocktail. It’s a take on the ‘Tom Collins’ cocktail which is simply gin, lemon and soda. The Fleur Collins has the addition of both Crème de Violette and St Germain liqueur lending it a much brighter, floral finish. It’s a keeper!..

60ml lemon juice

60ml gin

30ml St Germain liqueur

15ml Crème de Violette

30ml sugar syrup

Ice

70ml soda water

1. Combine the lemon juice, gin, St Germain, Crème de Violette and sugar syrup in a mixing glass and stir to combine. Fill a ‘collins’ glass (a tall tumbler) with ice and pour over the mixture. Top with soda.

‘Final Say’ Cocktail (Serves 1)

This cocktail with its floral flavours is exactly what’s needed to take us through the spring and into the summer. Made with gin it has a light finish; the ‘crème de violette’ creates a wonderful summery violet shade and the touch of lime subtly cuts the sweetness of the maraschino liqueur. It’s my new favourite!..

25ml gin

25ml maraschino liqueur

25ml créme de violette

25ml freshly squeezed lime juice

A handful of ice

Lime wheel and maraschino cherry to garnish

1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with the ice. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
2. Garnish with a lime wheel and a maraschino cherry.

Amaroni (Serves 1)

I’ve recently returned from a trip to Italy. Whilst there I found it difficult not to embrace their classic cocktails, namely the Negroni. Actually, if truth be told I often find the bitterness of their liqueurs a little too sharp, however as they say ‘when in Rome…’ and obviously I did! However, on my return I discovered this take on the Negroni, the Amaroni, it’s a tad sweeter, very moreish and my new favourite…

30ml London Dry Gin

25ml Amaro liqueur

20ml sweet red vermouth (rosso)

Ice to serve

Orange zest twist

1. Pour all the ingredients into a chilled ice-filled glass and briefly stir and garnish with a twist of orange zest.

Fig Leaf Martini (Serves 1)

Earlier this year we celebrated Nick’s birthday at a wonderful restaurant, Aulis (see my review here!). It was a wonderful gastronomic experience, I took home many good memories and one of those was this cocktail! It has a fresher, sweeter flavour than a ‘straight’ martini and is dangerously moreish! At Aulis they infuse their gin with fresh fig leaves, it was such a good martini that I was tempted to find some fig leaves and do the same. However, fortunately, I discovered Fig Leaf Liqueur. It’s a great liqueur not only for making this martini but also it’s pretty good with tonic or simply neat over ice. I’ve tried a couple of brands and I particularly like ‘Gibsons Organic Fig Leaf Liqueur‘.

50ml Gin

15ml Fig Leaf Liqueur (See note above)

5ml Dry Vermouth

A handful of ice

Lime peel to garnish

1. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake until the mixture is well chilled, 15-20 seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with the lime peel.

Dillusion Cocktail (Serves 1)

I recently came across this cocktail scrawled on a scrape of paper among my recipes. I was straightaway reminded of a fantastic evening many years ago at Dabbous, a restaurant (now closed) that was chef Ollie Dabbous’s first venture; he’s since gone on to bigger things with Hide, a restaurant on Piccadilly. I vaguely remember that the food that evening was very good but it was this cocktail that left its mark on me! It’s incredibly fresh made with gin, elderflower cordial, cucumber and dill – perfect for lifting a late September evening, or any other for that matter!..

2 large slices of cucumber

1 small bunch of Dill

50ml gin

15ml lemon juice

15ml elderflower cordial

1 teaspoon sugar syrup

Handful of ice

1. Crush the cucumber and dill together in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and shake together with a handful of ice.
3. Strain into a glass and enjoy!

Eastern Standard (Serves 1)

We recently visited friends in their new house. We were extremely impressed by their new digs particularly when we discovered that they had set aside one room for a very grown up ‘bar’ – it was very ‘Soho House’!.. I was even more impressed when they served this cocktail!… Summer was made for it…

3 slices of cucumber

3 fresh mint leaves

50ml Gin

12.5ml lime juice

10ml sugar syrup

Handful of ice cubes

Garnish: 1 thin slice of cucumber

1. In the base of a cocktail shaker muddle the mint together with the cucumber slices.
2. Add the other ingredients and the ice, then shake until the mixture is well chilled, 15-20 seconds.
3. Strain into a chilled glass and serve with a slice of cucumber.

Coupe de Roulis Cocktail (Serves 1)

This is an unusual French cocktail which has delicate, fruity flavours – a touch of cherry and a twist of orange. It’s particularly good on a warm spring or summer evening – very sophisticated and very drinkable!..

30ml gin

30ml dry vermouth

15ml Cointrieau

20ml Maraschino (cherry) liqueur

A dash of Angostura bitters

A handful of ice cubes

A orange twist

1. Combine the gin, vermouth, Cointreau, Maraschino liquer and bitters in a cocktail mixing glass (or a tall glass/ small jug). Add the ice cubes and stir well, until chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass.
2. Hold the orange twist over the glass and squeeze the zest so that the oils spray into the drink, then drop it into the glass as a garnish.
3. Enjoy!

Vesper Martini (Serves 1)

If you’re a James Bond fan, you will no doubt be familiar with this cocktail. It’s the martini that Bond author, Ian Fleming, invented for his infamous character. It first appeared in his book, ‘Casino Royale’, and is named after Bond’s love interest Vesper Lynd. In the book, Bond asks for ‘Three measures of Gordon’s; one of vodka; half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it over ice, and add a thin slice of lemon peel.’ Unfortunately these days it’s impossible to replicate it exactly as Kina Lillet, which adds the slightly sweet, bitter taste to the martini, is no longer available. Fortunately, there are a couple of very good substitutes – Cocchi Americano or Lillet Blanc. Recently it’s become my ‘new’ favourite cocktail, as since discovering the joy of a ‘White Negroni Twist’ (recipe below!) which requires Cocchi Americano, I’ve had an excuse to use this Italian aperitif for other cocktails, namely the Vesper Martini!!…

60ml gin (Gordons would be very ‘Bond’!)

20ml vodka

10ml Cocchi Americano or Lillet Blanc

A strip of lemon peel, to garnish

Handful of ice

1. Place all the ingredients except the lemon peel in a cocktail shaker, add a handful of ice and shake for 15 seconds until cold.
2. Strain the liquid into a martini glass and garnish with the twist of lemon peel. Enjoy!

White Negroni Twist (Serves 1)

I discovered this cocktail whilst eating at my local Italian, Maremma (review here!). I’m not normally keen on the bitterness of a Negroni but this White Negroni Twist has sweeter, subtler flavours. Apart from gin, it is made from Quaglia Liquore Chinotto which has a spicy sweet, sour flavour and Cocchi Americano which is an Italian aromatised wine (both can be bought at amazon.co.uk). It’s worth splashing out on these ingredients for a truly sophisticated cocktail!…

2 tablespoons gin

2 tablespoons Quaglia Liquore Chinotto

1½ tablespoons  Cocchi Americano

A twist of orange (optional)

1. Fill a glass with ice and pour over the ingredients, stir well, and top with a twist of orange peel to serve – how simple is that?!

Aviation Cocktail (Serves 1)

This could well be my new, favourite tipple!… Despite this cocktail being around since the 1920s, I only discovered it recently. It’s an old-fashioned cocktail from a bygone age when air travel was a glamourous luxury; it was called the ‘Aviation’ due to its pale sky-blue colour. The colour actually depends on the crème de violette you use, some have a very strong violet colour, I used Giffords. The important thing is of course the Aviation’s fantastic flavour; the floral notes of the crème de violette combined with the maraschino liqueur elegantly balance the gin base of this wonderful cocktail. One sip and you’ll feel as if you’ve stepped into the era of the Great Gatsby!…

60ml gin

15ml maraschino liqueur (here)

10ml crème de violette (here)

25ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed

A handful of ice-cubes

Garnish: a curl of lemon rind or a brandied cherry

1. Add the gin, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice. Shake for about 15 seconds until the shaker is cold.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a curl of lemon rind or a brandied cherry.

Lavender Martini (Serves 1)

I love Martinis, and this version of the classic has become my new favourite. I discovered it last year whilst we were staying at the small boutique hotel, The Grove in Pembrokeshire, where they served this Martini with Lavender Bitters. When I returned home I was on a mission to emulate it. Thanks to Amazon I was able to easily track down a small bottle of ‘Lavender Bitters’; you only need a couple of drops but it lends the Martini a subtle aroma of lavender without overpowering it.

Tip: Before you start making this Martini, make sure you put your glasses in the freezer, as you want this cocktail to be chilled to perfection.

100ml gin

1 teaspoon Dry Vermouth

3 drops of Lavender Bitters

A handful of ice-cubes

1. Put the Gin, Dry Vermouth and the drops of Lavender Bitters in a cocktail shaker, add the ice and shake until cold.
2. Strain into a frozen Martini glass.
3. Enjoy!

An Elderflower Gimlet (Serves 1)

Apparently a gimlet cocktail has its roots in British naval history. Sailors were encouraged to drink lime juice with their liquor to prevent scurvy. Naturally the recipe is more refined these days, but I suppose you could still say that it has health benefits?!..

4 tablespoons gin

3 tablespoons St Germain

1 tablespoon lime juice

A handful of ice-cubes

(Lime wedge to garnish)

1. Add the gin, St Germain and lime juice to a cocktail shaker, add a handful of ice cubes and shake until cold.
2. Strain into a glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

A Classic Martini (Serves 1)

I am partial to a Martini, one of my favourite places to have one in London is Dukes Hotel, Mayfair. It has a wonderful, sophisticated cocktail bar, reassuringly old-fashioned, where it serves the finest Martinis, prepared tableside on a rosewood trolley; they only use organic lemons from Amalfi for their lemon twist! The recipe I am sharing is based on their classic Martini. I like vodka Martinis with a twist of lemon, but in this recipe you can always substitute the vodka for gin and the lemon for an olive!…

Before you start making a Martini, make sure you put, not only your vodka (or gin) in the freezer, but also your glasses, as you want this cocktail to be chilled to perfection.

1 frozen martini glass
100ml vodka or gin (frozen – see note above)
5ml (1 teaspoon) Dry vermouth
1 large twist of lemon peel from an unwaxed lemon

1. Put the Dry Vermouth into the frozen glass
2. Top the glass up with the vodka (or gin).
3. Squeeze the lemon twist over the glass to extract the fragrant oils.
4. Finally, swirl the Martini with the lemon twist and drop it into the glass.
5. Enjoy!

Negroni (Serves 1)

The Negroni is the quintessential Italian aperitif and since discovering it on our Italian travels many years ago it has become one of Nick’s favourite cocktails, and so appears in our kitchen rather often!…

50ml Gin

50ml Campari

50ml Red Vermouth

1 slice of orange, halved

A small handful of Ice-cubes

1. Fill a glass with ice and pour over the ingredients, stir well, add the halved orange slice and serve – how simple is that?!

*You can see the video of this cocktail being made by clicking on this link to my Instagram Page