When it comes to making cocktails at home, sometimes they’re just too much of a hassle. You either don’t have all the ingredients or you just can’t be bothered. Thankfully, however, there are some cocktails out there that are super easy to make. Take for instance this list of gin cocktails, some of which only have three ingredients. They’ll make you feel fancy without all the fuss.
Tim Boast and Sean Baxter from Never Never Distilling Co., and the teams at Hendrick’s, Citadelle (which has a new gin, Jardin, infused with melon, lemon, yuzu and orange) and The Botanist have shared their tips and some recipes for creating simple gin cocktails that even the most amateur home bartender can’t mess up.
Simple gin cocktail recipes you can make at home
Ginache & Tonic
What you’ll need:
- 30mL Ginache
- 90mL Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic
- Orange wedge to garnish
Directions for a Ganache Gin & Tonic:
- Add Ginache Gin into a highball glass over ice
- Add tonic water and an orange wedge to garnish
Wet Martini recipe
What you’ll need:
- 60mL Juniper Freak Gin
- 10mL Dry Vermouth
- Dash of orange bitters
- Cocktail onion garnish
Directions for a wet martini:
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and fill with ice.
- Stir the drink until a frost develops on the outside of the mixing glass.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Garnish will olives is you like but I prefer it with cocktail onions
“Martinis tend to scare people away because they can be pretty strong, but a wet martini uses more dry vermouth making it pretty approachable (and delicious). It’s an amazing variation of the standard dry martini (which funnily enough uses less dry vermouth, who’d have thought).
These days there’s heaps of quality options out there. Just don’t keep your vermouth in your back cupboard for a year after you use it and expect it to still be yummy the next time you pull it out. It’s wine-based so it will oxidise if you don’t pop it in the fridge.
I’ve used the Juniper Freak in this martini because I’m all about that juniper, but it still works with our other gins as well. The cloudiness comes from the juniper oils that become visible when you add dilution.” – Tim Boast
Finger Stir Negroni
What you’ll need:
- 30mL Triple Juniper Gin
- 30mL Campari
- 30mL Sweet Vermouth
Directions for a Finger Stir Negroni:
- Add all ingredients to a rocks glass, add ice and stir using your preferred digit until the glass becomes frosted.
- Add a twist of orange. Drink immediately.
“The finger-stirred Negroni is a good one because it really stops people trying to drink your Negroni, especially these days. Gary Reagan popularised the technique but the recipe itself is from Italy sometime in the last century. If you go there they sell it to you in pint glasses for 10 euros but seeing as I won’t be heading to Italy anytime soon this recipe is easy, all equal parts.
Don’t muck about with a mixing glass, just whack it all in your favourite tumbler and give it a stir. The best thing about equal parts is you can make it a larger serve if you like.” – Tim Boast
White Cargo cocktail recipe
What you’ll need:
- 60mL Gin
- 15mL Chardonnay
- 1 Scoop of Ice Cream
Directions for a White Cargo:
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with a few pieces of ice and shake until it’s frothy.
- Strain into a cocktail glass.
“When you look at the recipe for a White Cargo it looks like something you made up using all the spare dregs of stuff you found in the fridge. It’s basically gin, wine and ice cream which incidentally are my three favourite food groups. Chuck it all in a shaker and strain it into a martini glass. It tastes like a boozy vanilla milkshake, with wine.” – Tim Boast
Gin Bellini cocktail recipe
What you’ll need:
- 15mL Triple Juniper Gin
- 15mL White Peach Puree
- 10mL Sugar Syrup
- 100mL Prosecco
- Peach slice
Directions for a Gin Bellini cocktail:
- Add Gin, Puree and Sugar Syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well.
- Strain into a chilled champagne flute and top with prosecco.
- Garnish with a peach wedge.
Gin & Ginger cocktail recipe
What you’ll need:
- 30ml Southern Strength Gin
- 100ml Fever Tree Ginger Beer
- Lime wedge
- Ginger slice
- Fresh mint sprig
Directions for a Gin and Ginger cocktail:
- Add Southern Strength Gin to a tall glass.
- Add 100 ml of Fever Tree Ginger Beer.
- Add ice and stir.
- Squeeze a wedge of lime, add to glass, add ginger slice and mint sprig.
Clover Club cocktail recipe
What you’ll need:
- 60mL Triple Juniper Gin
- 1 Egg White or 30mL Aquafaba (vegan option)
- 15mL Lemon Juice
- 15mL Grenadine
- Ice
Directions for a Clover Club cocktail:
- Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker or mason jar.
- Double shake and double strain.
- Garnish with raspberry.
Neptunia curious margarita recipe
What you’ll need for Neptunia gin margarita:
- 50ml Hendrick’s Neptunia (its newest gin variety)
- 15ml Agave Nectar
- 25 ml Fresh Lime
- Cucumber Slice
Directions for Neptunia gin margarita:
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker.
- Add ice, shake very well and fine strain into a rocks glass.
- Garnish with a slice of cucumber.
Gin and tonic ‘a la Française’
What you’ll need:
- 1 part Citadelle Jardin d’été gin
- 3 parts tonic
- Peel of an organic lemon
Directions:
- In a large wine glass filled with ice cubes, pour 1 part of Citadelle Jardin d’été.
- Top it off with 3 parts tonic.
- Make a nice twist of lemon peel; express it above the glass and place it delicately in the glass.
- Then savour this little burst of nature.
Fall and spice recipe
What you’ll need:
- 30ml The Botanist gin
- 30ml Amaro Montenegro
- 30ml Select
Directions:
- Build all ingredients in a short glass over ice.
- Stir.
- Garnish with an orange twist and cinnamon stick and enjoy.
If you’re looking for other cocktails to use your gin with, check out this list of fresh and festive drinks.
This article has been updated since its original publish date.
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