Gin Cocktails
Gin is the most botanical-dependent base in the bar: the same ratio of gin, lime and syrup gives a soft, floral drink or a pine-sharp one depending on the bottle. These are the gin cocktails in our library and the bottle each one is really asking for.
Every recipe here names gin, London Dry or a specific gin in its ingredient list.
Aviation
Bramble
Classic Martini
Clover Club
Corpse Reviver #2
Cucumber Cooler
Fig Collins
French 75
Gimlet
Hendricks Gin and Tonic
Last Word
Negroni
Ramos Gin Fizz
St-Germain Cocktail Recipe
Tom Collins
Tuxedo
Vesper
Vesper Martini
Reading a gin label
London Dry and the rest. London Dry must be distilled with juniper and botanicals and cannot be sweetened afterwards: bone dry, juniper to the front, at least 37.5% ABV. Plymouth is softer and earthier, Old Tom is lightly sweetened and rounder, and contemporary gins dial the juniper back and push citrus, cucumber or flowers.
Pick the gin for the drink, not the price. A juniper-forward London Dry is the safe answer in a Negroni or a Gin & Tonic, where it has to stand next to Campari or tonic. Delicate, floral gins disappear in a Negroni but sing in a Hugo, a Bramble or an Aviation, where nothing else is competing for attention.
Tonic ratio and strength. A 1:2 build in a large ice-filled glass — 50 ml of gin to 100 ml of tonic — lands near 8% ABV and keeps the carbonation; a 1:1 build is nearly twice the alcohol and much sweeter. Navy strength gin is bottled at 57% ABV or above: it survives dilution better and is the traditional choice when a drink is built over a lot of ice.
Frequently asked questions
Which gin makes the best Gin & Tonic?
A classic London Dry with juniper at the front, built 1:2 over plenty of ice, is the benchmark. Save citrus-forward contemporary gins for a garnish that matches their botanicals.
Do I need vermouth for a Martini?
Yes, and it has to be fresh. Dry vermouth is a wine and oxidises within weeks of opening, so a Martini built with a bottle that has been open for six months tastes flat no matter which gin you pour.
Is sloe gin a gin?
Not for a stirred or shaken cocktail. Sloe gin is a sweet liqueur around 26% ABV, closer to a fruit cordial with alcohol: it belongs in drinks like the Alabama Slammer, not in a Gin & Tonic or a Martini.
Other collections
Same library, grouped by what is in the glass.