Cocktails

Five of the best…gin cocktails

Michelle Allen   /  August 8, 2012

You know us High Tea Cast ladies love to have fun, and that fun does sometimes come in the form of a tipple or two while dancing to terribly fantastic live music. I’m a sucker for a good, colourful cocktail (when I’m not knocking them over and wasting £8… the HTC birthday party was a prime example) and a good gin concoction is one of my favourites.

In the 11th Century, monks were using juniper berries to flavour distilled spirits, and this was the beginnings of the lovely spirit – although they used it as a remedy for the black death, not to induce hangovers. I’m not so sure it worked.

Gin cocktail

Enjoying cocktails in New Yooikkk with the Dexterous Diva

Cocktails on a lazy, humid evening are a wonderful thing, and so I’ve put together my five favourite gin cocktails to sip in summertime. We can do better than a martini, right?

Blackberry Gin Fizz

I may not be a fruit lover but I do love fruit in drinks. My smoothie maker is my best friend these days, and this recipe calls for pureed berries to make a delightfully tangy, fizzy glass of pure yum.

170g blackberries
100g sugar
235ml gin
Juice of 3 limes
Soda water to taste
Crushed ice
(Makes a few)

Puree your blackberries with the sugar, and leave to sit for a bit to let the sugar dissolve. When dissolved, strain through a sieve into a jug and add the lime juice and gin. Add ice to short glasses, add the puree/gin mixture and top up with soda water.

Full Circle

This is a simple one, but thirst-quenching and delicious!

80ml gin
120ml pomegranate juice
30ml pineapple juice
(Makes one)

Mix together, garnish with some pomegranate bits and a cocktail umbrella, get it down you.

Gin cocktail

Summer Pimm’s

I’ve always bought Pimm’s No 1 by the can/bottle and not really thought much about what was in it. It turns out that Pimm’s is actually gin-based and fairly easy to make yourself! You’ll need to prepare this one a day in advance.

180ml dry gin
240ml sweet vermouth
Lemonade
1 orange, plus:
Sliced oranges, strawberries and cucumber
(Makes lots)

Slice the orange, and add it to a sealed jar along with the vermouth and gin. Leave for 24 hours.

Strain the mixture through a sieve (something finer like a muslin cloth if you can) into a jug. Top up with lemonade and add the sliced orange, strawberry and cucumber, along with some ice. Serve while watching tennis and eating strawberries and cream.

Angel’s Delight

One for the Bailey’s lovers amongst you, this cocktail is creamy, fruity and pink. I need say no more.

20ml gin
20ml triple sec
40ml cream
A dash or three of grenadine
(Makes one)

Shake the lot together with ice, strain into a glass, serve. Simples. Beautiful. Dreamy.

Gin Cocktail

Gin and Juice

When it’s lovely and sunny outside and I’m stuck inside working on some freelance stuff, I like to sometimes brighten things up with a taste of summer. To any current/potential employers, I’m not always drunk on the job, promise.

30ml gin, topped up with orange, mango and passionfruit juice (or whatever lovely tropical juice you have to hand) and with a drip of grenadine to create the lovely sunrise.

What are your favourite gin cocktails?

Follow on Bloglovin

Related Posts

18 Comments

  1. Lucy Cockelle  /  August 8, 2012, 8:14 am Reply

    Just invented a new one called a Juicy-Q:

    35ml Hendricks Gin,
    15ml Lychee Liqueur
    50ml Grapefruit Juice
    10ml Lime Juice
    1inch Cucumber (chopped up into chunks)

    Shake hard with ice and through a strainer pour into a chilled martini glass.

    Garnish with a lime and/or cucumber twist/wheel.

    • Sam Sparrow  /  August 8, 2012, 9:58 am Reply

      Lychee and Gin?! This is awesome. I love Gin so much. If someone could invent a chocolate bar that includes Gin, I’d be a seriously happy lady.

    • Michelle Allen  /  August 8, 2012, 10:01 am Reply

      Sounds amazing Miss Cockell, I forgot you were a lovely barmaid!

Leave a Reply