One of the appealing factors about drinking gin is the different flavour profiles you find amongst the various gin types and brands. Depending on your mood, time of year, or occasion, you can always hit the right notes with gin.
The juniper berry is just one of the flavour profiles – albeit the most dominant - found in any gin. Depending on blend and brand, you can also find strong hints of herbal/floral and citrus notes. A sophisticated palate may be able to detect several of these in one gin, but there will typically be a dominant flavour.
Much like an IPA is not an IPA without that distinct hops flavour, gin is not gin without juniper. In fact, that’s where its name derives. Juniper was also used as a spice and for medicinal purposes many, many years ago. You're taste buds will know the flavour as pine-like, and you might get notes of “Christmas tree” in every sip.
The herbal or floral notes found in gin derive from a number of sources, from cassia bark and cardamom to coriander and cinnamon. These roots and plants give gin an added flavour with spicy notes of licorice, earthiness, and sometimes medicinal undertones.
Many classic gin cocktails have a lemon twist to them, but even without that added ingredient you’ll still find a citrus tone to some gins. Lemon notes will come across as zesty and sweet, while orange notes can vary based on the type of orange used, so the notes may be bitter or they may be sweeter.
You may drift towards one flavour profile over the others, but we can all agree on one thing:
Here are some fun cocktails to try on your journey to rediscover gin. A couple classics, a couple modern, and a couple that are even more fun than the others.
Gin Martini
Ingredients
2 ¾ oz Gin
¾ oz Dry vermouth
Lemon twist or olives for garnish
Instructions
1. Combine ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass or shaker and stir for 15 seconds.
2. Strain into chilled coupe or Martini glass.
3. Garnish with lemon twist or olives.
Make it with:
Tom Collins
Ingredients
1 ½ cups ice
2 oz gin
¾ oz lemon juice
½ oz simple syrup
1 cup ice
2 oz club soda
1 lemon wedge
Instructions
1. Fill a Collins glass with 1.5 cups of ice, set aside in the freezer.
2. Combine gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker, along with 1 cup of ice, cover and shake until chilled. Strain into the chilled glass.
2. Top with club soda and garnish with a lemon wedge.
Make it with:
Blackberry Sidecar
Ingredients
4 blackberries
¾ oz triple sec
½ oz lemon juice (fresh)
1 ½ oz gin
1 dash plum bitters
Garnish: lemon twist
Instructions
1. In a mixing glass or cocktail shaker, add the blackberries, triple sec, and lemon juice. Muddle well.
2. Add the gin and plum bitters, then fill with ice and shake.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with lemon twist.
Make it with:
Negroni
Ingredients:
1 oz Gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet Red Vermouth
Instructions
1. Stir in a short glass with ice.
2. Garnish with orange peel.
Make it with:
Slippery when Wet
Ingredients
2 ripe strawberries, halved
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
½oz undiluted honey
2 oz gin
1 heaping teaspoon plain Greek yogurt
Garnish: freshly ground black pepper and a strawberry slice
Instructions
1. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and honey in a cocktail shaker and muddle until well broken up.
2. Add gin and Greek yogurt, and fill shaker with ice. Shake for 15 seconds.
3. Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice, then double-strain cocktail into it.
4. Grind black pepper on top and garnish with the strawberry slice.
Make it with:
The Sicilian Slush
Ingredients (makes 4)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup gin
¼ cup (or so) simple syrup
4 orange wheels
6 cups ice
Instructions
1. Blend Campari, lemon juice, orange juice, gin, simple syrup, and ice in a blender until smooth.
2. Add more simple syrup, if desired.
3. Divide among 4 rocks glasses and garnish with orange wheels.
Make it with: