Our Favorite Gin Cocktail Recipes Shaken and Stirred

Sipped by soldiers, explorers, and the aristocracy on safari, a G&T was believed to help you fend off malaria due to the quinine found in tonic. With a history of gin encouraging people to take their medicine, these days a G&T is a staple of cocktail life.

You will need:

• Gin 50ml

• Tonic 125ml

• Wedge of lemon or lime

The classic G&T is crafted by adding one part gin and two parts tonic into a glass with ice and a wedge of lemon or lime. The result is clean and fresh with a slightly bitter twist and a dash of citrus. You can get creative with the classic G&T by introducing cucumber to your classic drink for a more mellow mood.

The Gin Gimlet first splashed onto our scenes in the 1930s and was a classy choice for cocktail parties in the prim '50s. Tangy and with subtle sweetness, this drink has an endless elegant appeal. The Gimlet pushes the spirit flavour to the centre of the stage so it does come with a strong kick.

You will need:

• Gin 50ml

• Lime juice 50ml

• Sugar syrup 25 ml

• Zest of 2 limes

• (Optional dash of soda water)

Pour the gin, lime, and sugar syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice. Whip it up with a good shake and pour it into a coupe glass. Top with a small splash of soda if you want and add the lime zest. Want to give your gimlet a twist? You can muddle in some bright and fresh basil leaves or add in a dash of elderflower cordial for a floral French finish.

An Italian aperitif that makes us stir crazy, the Negroni marries gin with vermouth and Campari for a scarlet fever finish. The Negroni is as Italian as pizza and the pope. It kickstarted life in Florence in the early 20th century after being requested by a nobleman by the name of Count Camillo Negroni. This is a grown-up, super sophisticated drink that is all botanical bite. There's a sense of decadence in the Negroni and a vintage feel. With just three ingredients, it's also a super simple cocktail to make.

You will need:

• Gin 25ml

• Campari 25ml

• Vermouth 25ml

Pour all the ingredients into a tumbler with ice, give it a good stir, and garnish with a glowing orange twist. The Negroni will taste herby and bitter with undercurrents of liquorice. The orange should brighten it slightly and the ice can help dilute the root taste.

A drink that will take you back to the 1800s, the Tom Collins was said to be a drink born from a New York City joke. The anecdote goes that a group of friends would tell strangers in bars that a guy named Tom Collins was slandering them around the city. Outraged, the stranger would trek from bar to bar asking for Tom Collins. The bartenders decided to invent a drink they could push across the table when the name popped up.

You will need:

• Gin 50ml

• Lemon juice 25ml

• Sugar syrup 25ml

• Sparkling water 125ml

• Lemon slice and maraschino cherry to garnish

What's in a name? The Tom Collins is gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, sparkling water, and served with a maraschino cherry on top. It's poured into a hi-ball glass over plenty of ice and is the perfect pre-dinner drink pick. 

Frothy and fabulous, the gin fizz is shaken not stirred. The blend of gin, lemon, sugar, and soda makes for a bubbly and foamy finish that is super light and thirst-quenching. This fabulous fizz is made to be sipped on a summer afternoon.

You will need:

• Gin 50ml

• Lemon juice 25ml

• Sugar syrup 2 teaspoons

• Soda water

• Lemon slice

Add everything to a cocktail shaker and give it an energetic jiggle. Some gin fizz drinks are shaken with egg whites to give an extra head of foam. You can skip that step but make sure to shake it up without ice so you get your own mini foam party when you pour.

Sweltering days call for a tall cool drink to take the edge off. The Elderflower Gin Cooler is just the ticket. Sipped in the garden beneath the blue skies and buzzing bees or enjoyed sprawled on a sun lounger in the salt air, this refreshing cocktail is a joy. 

You will need:

• Gin 50ml

• Elderflower cordial 20ml

• Soda

• Cucumber 

• Mint

Fill a tall glass with ice and add the gin. Throw in a slice or two of cucumber and some mint leaves. Add in the elderflower cordial and top with soda. Garnish with mint leaves for a cool finish. Elderflower is a classic way to elevate any cocktail and it works like a charm when paired with gin.

Sour and sweet, the pink citrus taste of the grapefruit is potent stuff. Sometimes sharp and bitter, this ripe juicy fruit works wonders when paired with woodsy rosemary and herbal gin. The aroma of soothing rosemary and the seasonal slice of grapefruit makes for a great fruity cocktail that doesn't run the risk of being too sweet. You can sip this drink all year round -as a summer cooler or a winter pick me up. 

You will need:

• Gin 50ml

• Tonic 125ml

• Grapefruit wedges 

• Rosemary sprigs

Squeeze a wedge of grapefruit into a glass and add a sprig of rosemary. Pour in the gin and give it a swirl to let the flavours infuse. Add ice to the glass and top with tonic. Add another grapefruit wedge and a sprig of rosemary and serve.

The red kiss of tart raspberry is a dream match for gin. Take your gin and tonic to the next level by adding a dash of raspberry syrup. As raspberries come with a sour edge, it helps to balance out the bitterness of the tonic and brings sweeter summer vibes to your glass. You can also swap out the lemon for the lime and scatter fresh berries on top for a picture pretty finish. 

You will need:

• Gin 50ml

• Tonic 12ml

• Raspberry syrup (a dash)

• Lime wheel

• Fresh raspberries (2-3 will work)

Add the gin and syrup into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and give it a shake. Pour into a tall glass and top with tonic. Add the lime wheel and either fresh or frozen raspberries on top.  Kick back and sip at picnics in the park. You can also swap out the raspberry for strawberry if you prefer the more delicate sweet notes of strawberry gin.

Fancy up your usual gin and tonic by crafting this celebratory gin and prosecco cocktail with lemon, and elderflower fizz. Clean gin flavours meet the floral delicacy of elderflower and the sharp citrus tang of lemon in this zesty delight. Full of summer freshness and with a smooth sorbet finish, this drink is all about adding a little sparkle to your day.

You will need:

• Gin 75ml

• Lemon juice (half a lemon)

• Elderflower cordial 50ml

• Prosecco 175 ml

• Lemon sorbet 4 teaspoons 

• Sugar 2 teaspoons

Add the lemon juice to a bowl and the sugar to a plate. Dip the rim of the glass in the juice first and then the sugar to give the glass a sweet crunch with each sip. In a jug, add the gin, cordial, sugar, and lemon and give it a good stir. When the sugar has dissolved you can add the prosecco and the sorbet. Pour into a glass and garnish with lemon zest to get the party started.

With a long list of ingredients, the Singapore Sling is best suited for all those adventurous cocktail shakers out there. First slung in Singapore back in 1915, this iconic drink packs quite the punch. Invented by a bartender at the famed Raffles Singapore Hotel, you will need to assemble quite the lineup to concoct this impressive party mood drink. With everything from cherry brandy to bitters, benedictine and grenadine - you may want to stick to ordering this one at the bar. 

You will need:

• Gin 25ml

• Cherry brandy 25 ml

• Benedictine 25ml

• Pineapple juice 50ml

• Lime juice 25ml

• Angostura bitters ( a few drops)

• Sparkling water

• Pineapple slice and cherry for garnish

Add the cherry brandy, gin, benedictine, and bitter to a jug with ice and stir together. Pour it into a tall glass and top with pineapple juice and lime juice. Add a dash of sparkling water and garnish with a pineapple slice and a ruby red cherry.

A winter warmer, this slow gin fizz makes the most of those deep purple berries that grow on blackthorn. Eaten straight from the branch, these berries are lip-puckering in their sourness but steeped in gin for weeks and you have a heartwarming liqueur that works a treat in seasonally inspired Christmas and autumn cocktails. Peppered with plummy notes and a sweetness that is tempered by the rosemary and lemon, this sloe gin drink is all jam and joy.

You will need:

• Sloe gin 50ml

• Lemon juice 20ml

• Sugar syrup 15ml

• Egg whites 20ml

• Sprig of rosemary

Shake up the sloe gin with the lemon, the sugar syrup, the rosemary sprig and the egg whites. Strain out the ice and give it another good shake without the ice to maximize froth. Pour it into a wine glass and cosy up beside a roaring fire.

First declared a spring cocktail when it was created back in the 1980s, the bramble sour is blackberry bliss. A deep plum-like colour, tart berries, and everyone's favourite botanicals make this drink a dream. You can even add a shot of creme de mure to give it a paler pinker hue. Even the simplest bramble sour is delicious. For those that love eye-popping and lip-smacking sips, this pre-dinner drink is sure to delight.

You will need:

• Gin 50ml

• Lemon juice 25ml

• Sugar syrup (half a teaspoon)

• Creme de Mure (half a teaspoon)

• A lemon slice and fresh blackberries to finish

Shake everything except the creme de mure in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain the liquid over a glass filled with crushed ice and then add a drizzle of the creme de mure so it blurs into the colour of the drink. Top with a lemon slice and a handful of blackberries and sip through a paper straw. If you want to add an extra celebratory touch to this drink, add a splash of champagne for some royal fizz.

With distilleries popping up in every European city, gin can easily become a small-batch spirit which is part of its popular appeal. The art of cocktail making, shaking, and sipping is all about refinement, celebration, and bringing a touch of class and sparkle to your night. Gin can do just that thanks to its diversity. Crafted from the juniper berry, gin may share a similar star but each brand will have its own array of ingredients and botanicals. Hendricks Gin, for example, uses roses and cucumber along with coriander, citrus fruits, elderflower and chamomile to create a round and creamy finish. For those who want to taste a Hendricks tipple, head to one of the MGallery Hotels (the two brands that struck up a perfect partnership). From bottles with a crisp dry finish to those with Mediterranean notes and softer profiles, there's a whole world waiting when it comes to gin. 

 

Crafting simple cocktails at home is perfect for dinner parties and cosy nights in, but you can't beat an elegant expertly crafted cocktail in the bar of your favourite hotel or haunt. For those stomping around Amsterdam, be sure to duck into the Press Room Bar at the INK Hotel Amsterdam - MGallery. With the best mixologists in town, you can raise a glass in style.