Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

The 17 gin cocktail recipes you can’t live without

Spring has sprung and it's time for a gin cocktail. Here are some of the best recipes to try.

Mark Stock
By

Spring is gin season. Yeah, the clear spirit is great year-round, but there’s just something very right now about the stuff. Maybe it’s the fragrance, maybe it’s the many spring-like botanicals that go into the stuff. Maybe it’s been a long winter, and we simply need a good cocktail.

If you’re still mixing up whiskey cocktails or dreaming of a sunny beach and engineering tequila cocktails, more power to you. We simply encourage you to embrace gin and not just as the ball and chain to tonic. No, a good gin can do wonders in a number of cocktails, bringing fresh, herbal flavors to the mix and working great with high-toned additions like citrus and other fresh fruit.

Recommended Videos

Here are some great gin cocktail recipes, from classic finds plucked from dusty old bar books to new and improved riffs. Here’s to spring!

Related

Tom Collins

tom collins cocktail

Ingredients

  • 5 ounces gin
  • 1 ounce lemon juice
  • 1/2 ounce simple syrup
  • Club soda to top
  • Lemon slice to garnish

Method

  1. In a Collins glass filled with ice, add gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup.
  2. Top with club soda and stir.
  3. Garnish with lemon slice.

French 75

french-75-champagne-lemon-cocktail-thyme

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces well-chilled sparkling wine
  • 1 ounce gin
  • 1/2 ounce lemon juice
  • 1 barspoon simple syrup
  • Lemon twist to garnish

Method

  1. Shake gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup together with ice, then strain into a glass (we suggest a champagne flute).
  2. Top with sparkling wine, give a quick stir and garnish with a twist of lemon (or something herbal).

Read more: The Best Gins for a French 75

Singapore Sling

singapore-sling-cocktail-garnish
Andrea Nguyen/Flickr

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces gin
  • 1/2 ounce Cherry Heering Liqeuer
  • 1/4 ounce Cointreau
  • 1/4 ounce Benedictine
  • 4 ounces pineapple juice
  • 2/3 ounce grenadine
  • 1/2 ounce lime juice
  • 1 dash bitters
  • Maraschino cherry to garnish
  • Pineapple slice to garnish

Method

  1. Shake liquid ingredients together with ice and strain them into an ice-filled Collins glass.
  2. Garnish with cherry and pineapple slice.

Read More: How to Make a Singapore Sling Cocktail

Gimlet

gimlet lime cocktail coupe glass

Ingredients

Method

  1. Shake gin and sweetened lime juice and strain into a cocktail glass.
  2. Garnish with a lime wedge.

*Alternatively, you can try using 1/2 ounce simple syrup and 1/2 ounce lime juice.

Read More: How to Make a Perfect Gimlet

The Vesper

vesper-martini-cocktail-lemon
Cocktailmarler/Wikimedia Commons

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces gin
  • 1/2 ounce vodka
  • 1/4 ounce Lillet-Blanc
  • Lemon peel to garnish

Method:

  1. Shake liquid ingredients well with ice and pour into a cocktail glass.
  2. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Negroni

negroni cocktail orange

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce gin
  • 1 ounce sweet vermouth
  • 1 ounce Campari
  • Orange to garnish

Method

  1. Stir ingredients together over ice.
  2. Garnish with orange slice or twist.

Pomegranate Martini

Botanist Pomegranate Martini

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 ounces The Botanist Islay Dry Gin
  • 1 heaping tablespoon fresh pomegranate arils
  • 1/2 ounce dry vermouth

Method

  1. Muddle pomegranate arils with gin and allow to steep for 1-2 hours.
  2. Add the infused gin and vermouth to a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill.
  3. Fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
  4. Garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.

Corpse Revier #2

Sip smiths Corpse
Corpse Reviver No. 2

Ingredients

  • 3/4 ounce London dry gin
  • 3/4 ounce Lillet blanc
  • 3/4 ounce Cointreau
  • 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 2 dashes Absinthe

Method

  1. Shake all ingredients with ice, double strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Limoncello Collins

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces limoncello
  • 1 1/2 ounces gin
  • 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 3 thin lemon slices
  • 2 ounces chilled club soda
  • 1 mint sprig
  • Ice

Method

  1. In a separate container, combine the limoncello, gin and lemon juice.
  2. Press three thin lemon slices against the inside of the glass and add ice.
  3. Stir the limoncello mixture and pour it into the glasses.
  4. Stir 2 ounces of club soda into the drink and garnish with a mint sprig.

Pegu Club Cocktail

Pegu Club Cocktail
Flickr/Seth Anderson

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces London dry gin
  • 3/4 ounce Cointreau
  • 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
  • 1 dash Angostura bitters
  • 1 dash house orange bitters*

*House Orange Bitters

  1. Mix 1/3 ounce Fee Brothers West Indian orange bitters, 1/3 ounce Angostura orange bitters, and 1/3 ounce Regans’ orange bitters in bowl and stir.
  2. Transfer to a storage container and store at room temperature.

Method

  1. Shake all ingredients with ice, then double strain into a chilled coupe glass.
  2. Garnish with lime wedge.

The White Lady

The White Lady Cocktail

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces Highclere Castle Gin
  • 3/4 ounce Triple Sec
  • 3/4 ounce lemon juice
  • 1 egg white

Method

  1. Mix the gin, triple sec and lemon juice with egg and shake for about 20 seconds to allow the egg to blend through.
  2. Strain the mixture, add ice, and shake until cold.
  3. Strain into a martini or coupe glass.

Martinez

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces Hayman’s Old Tom gin
  • 1 1/2 ounces Carpano Antica
  • 1 teaspoon Luxardo maraschino liqueur
  • 2 dashes House Orange Bitters (see above)

Method

  1. Stir all ingredients over ice and stain into a chilled martini glass.
  2. Twist lemon over drink and set it on edge of glass.

Dean Martin

fine and rare secret menu from russia with love martini
Fine & Rare

(By Devon Tarby and Alex Day)

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 ounces Tanqueray gin
  • 1/4 ounce Clear Creek Douglas Fir Brandy
  • 1/2 ounce La Quintinye Vermouth Royal Blanc
  • 1/2 ounce Boissiere Dry Vermouth
  • 1 drop salt solution*

*Salt Solution

  1. Combine 2 1/2 ounces filtered water and 6 tsp of salt in a storage container and stir until salt dissolves.
  2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Method

  1. Stir all ingredients over ice, then stain into a martini glass.

Ramos Gin Fizz

Ramos Gin Fizz
Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces gin
  • 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 1 ounce simple syrup
  • 1 ounce heavy cream
  • 1 egg white
  • 3 drops orange flower water
  • 2 ounces cold seltzer

Method

  1. Dry shake all ingredients except seltzer.
  2. Fill shaker with ice cubes and shake for 5 minutes.
  3. Double strain into a pint glass.
  4. Slowly add seltzer, topping glass to settle foam.

Last Word

The Last Word 

Ingredients

  • 3/4 ounce London dry gin
  • 3/4 ounce Green Chartreuse
  • 3/4 ounce Luxardo maraschino liqueur
  • 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice

Method

  1. Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Poet’s Dream

the vesper

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces Beefeater gin
  • 3/4 ounce Dolin dry vermouth
  • 1/4 ounce Bénédictine
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Method

  1. Stir all ingredients over ice and stain into a chilled martini glass.
  2. Twist a lemon over drink and set on glass as garnish.

Bees Knees (Texas Style)

Still Austin Bees Knees Cocktail

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces The Naturalist Still Austin American Gin
  • 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 ounce honey syrup*

*Honey Syrup

  1. Add 1/2 cup of honey and 1/2 cup of water to small saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Stir until honey is dissolved.
  3. Allow to cool and transfer to an airtight container (refrigerate if not using).

Method

  1. Combine ingredients and shake with ice until chilled.
  2. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with lemon twist.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Stock
Mark Stock
Contributor
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
The 10 classic vodka cocktails you need to know how to make
A classic vodka cocktail is an easy thing to make at home. Here are 10 of the best recipes
moscow mule cocktail lime mint copper mug

Vodka may never wear the royal crown when it comes to celebrated spirits. But that's just fine, as the relatively neutral distillate tends to do better as a mixer than a standalone drink. Granted, there are some remarkable top-shelf vodkas out there, but by and large this spirit wants to jump in the glass with some other ingredients and play around.

Want some more reasons to appreciate vodka? Let's start with price point, as it tends to be one of the most inexpensive spirits out there. Next, let's chat up its versatility. That mild flavor can do well with just about anything (yup, even a good vodka pasta sauce). Lastly, it's a fun drink with lots of history and folklore. This is the stuff of ice bars, caviar chasers, and, in some cases, putting potatoes to work.

Read more
This March, try the best cocktail recipes from the women of Death & Co.
Want to toast to National Women's Month? Do it with a cocktail from a female Death & Co. bartender
Bartender Devon Tarby of Death & Co.

March is National Women's Month. It also marks the beginning of spring. Those two things together call for a delicious cocktail.

We reached out to our friends at Death & Co. for some drinks to celebrate both occasions. We prompted the many talented female bartenders at the firm with a prompt: What is the cocktail you're most proud of? We have the answers — and corresponding recipes — below.

Read more
Drink like Hemingway and whip up a Death in the Afternoon cocktail
Want to drink like the immortal author Ernest Hemingway?
how to make the death in afternoon cocktail

Throughout his prolific writing career, Ernest Hemingway rarely went thirsty. The man behind some of the greatest stories ever (A Farewell to Arms, The Old Man and the Sea) loved a good seat at the bar and a well-made cocktail. He's known to fancy everything from a good Champagne cocktail to a Daiquiri.

Making one of Hemingway's favorite drinks is not going to make you a better writer, we must admit. But it will allow you to pretend you're the beloved author for a spell, sipping from a stool in Paris or a cozy Cuban bar. And that's the kind of imaginative practice the late author would very much approve of.
So if we're going to focus on one of his many adored cocktails, we might as well go with the one he's rumored to have invented. Here's the breakdown on the Death in the Afternoon cocktail.

Read more