Drink In Life

Creating great tasting cocktails at home is easy once you have some recipes that really inspire you. Today I would like to give you some Ginspiration with two refreshing fruit and herb Gin cocktails and a classic Dry Gin Martini.

A well-crafted home Gin cocktail begins with a quality Gin that can stand alone and stand out when introduced to other ingredients. Over the last several decades there has been an impressive amount of innovation in the production of gin. Many new distilleries are experimenting with the botanicals used to flavor gin, which has enormously expanded alternative aromas and flavors. Drawing from seasonal botanicals, as well as foraged wild plants, there is an explosion of new gins which span the spectrum of traditional to unconventional.

The current gin revolution has been spurred by the creative minds of the new artisans.  The United States now has over 600 craft distillers, many of them are starting with Gin production because unlike brown spirits that require a period of extended maturation, gin requires little or no aging. While new distiller’s brown spirits are quietly maturing, clear spirits like Gin and Vodka allow a new distillery to create revenue.

For these cocktails I have selected three distinctive American Gins that paired perfectly with the cocktail ingredients. For the Red Grapefruit Gin Fizz, I used California Distillery Loch & Union. This Gin has a classic flavor that I think is enhanced by the additional ingredients in the drink. The Blackberry Gin Fizz recipe incorporated a Gin produced by Northern California Distillery SipSong Spirits, and was chosen for the Gin’s unique Italian Juniper taste. Keeping true to a Classic Dry Gin Martini I wanted to highlight the Gin, so I chose Builders Botanical Gin from Restless Spirits crafted in North Kansas City, Missouri. Thinking about the flavors of the Gin that you use in your home cocktails will definitely enhance the overall outcome of the drink.

Red Grapefruit Gin Fizz
Serves 2

Infused Cardamom Rosemary Syrup
8 cardamom pods
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 rosemary sprigs

Cocktail
2 oz infused simple syrup
3 oz Gin
1/2 cup red grapefruit juice
splash of Prosecco

Garnish rosemary sprigs

In a small saucepan bring sugar, water to a simmer until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, add cardamom pods and rosemary sprigs and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the rosemary and cardamom and use right away, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To make the cocktail add infused simple syrup, gin and red grapefruit juice over ice in a cocktail mixer and stir. Using a strainer, divide the mixture in two and pour directly into glasses filled with fresh ice. Top with Prosecco and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Blackberry Gin Fizz with Juniper & Thyme

Ingredients
12 frozen blackberries
1/4 lemon, chopped into little pieces
2 sprigs of thyme
10 juniper berries
1 cup Raw Sugar/1 Cup Water
Gin
Club Soda

Simple Syrup Instructions:
Combine water and raw sugar with crushed Juniper Berries and Thyme sprigs into a small pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Remove from heat and strain mixture to discard juniper berry and Thyme. Use immediately or keep refrigerated for up to a month.

Divide the blackberries and lemons evenly between each tumbler. When you’re ready to serve, use a muddler to mash the berries and lemon until the fruit is crushed. Add 1 oz Infused Simple Syrup to each glass and fill each glass with ice. Top with 1.5 oz gin and a dash of club soda, stir well and serve.

The Classic Gin Martini

Ingredients
2 1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
​1 dash orange or Angostura bitters
Garnish: 3 olives

Steps to Make It:
In a mixing glass filled with ice cubes, combine the gin and vermouth, pouring more or less vermouth to your taste.
Stir for 30 seconds.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Add a dash of orange or Angostura bitters.
Garnish with Olives.

Each of these exceptional gins highlight different botanical flavors, from juniper berries to pine needles to lime peels. The continuing rise of Artisan Distilleries make it so easy to create fantastic gin cocktails. Have some fun mixing and matching with different kinds of ingredients to bring out the flavors of the gin or keep it classic with a Dry Gin Martini.

More information about the Gins used in these recipes can be found here: http://lochandunion.com/
https://www.sipsongspirits.com/home
http://restlessspiritsdistilling.com/

Images © Drink In Nature Photography and Drink In Life Blog.