31 of Our Favorite Gin Cocktails
What can't gin do, really?
Chelsea Kyle / Food Styling by Drew Aichele
Gin is, without a doubt, one of the most versatile spirits you can have in your arsenal. It's the core ingredient in recipes that are barely recipes, like a Gin & Tonic or a Tom Collins, but it also serves as the backbone in more complex drinks, like this warming Gin Toasty or the Kind of Blue cocktail from New York City's Al Coro. It's also the base spirit of choice for many Martini fans as well as Negroni loyalists. Of course, finding the best gin can be a challenge, especially if you're looking for a more unusual gin to add extra complexity to an otherwise simple drink. Read on for our favorite gin cocktails that can be made all year round.
Sour Cherry Negroni
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
This tart twist on a classic Negroni is true to the spirit of Hawksmoor's buzzy NYC outpost.
Frozen Gin and Tonic
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
While the Gin & Tonic is one of the simplest cocktails to make, it also happens to be one of the most satisfying. It’s a classic for a reason: bittersweet tonic water brings out the floral and herbaceous botanicals in gin, and the combination is truly stellar. Still, there's always room to get extra, even with a tried-and-true recipe: Enter the Frozen Gin & Tonic.
Kind of Blue
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
If you haven't tried Cappelletti before, now's the time to pick up a bottle.
Cucumber-Rose Gin Spritz
A classic combination of gin, lemon, and club soda gets a refreshing addition of cucumber, basil, and black cardamom-infused syrup. Dried rose petals add a subtle floral flavor and act as a beautiful garnish.
French 75
Chelsea Kyle / Food Styling by Drew Aichele
This luxurious, delicious combination of gin and Champagne can be easily scaled up for a crowd.
White Negroni
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
Fans of the classic Negroni will love this version with Lillet Blanc and Suze liqueur.
Corpse Reviver No. 2
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Oset Bab??r-Winter
This pre-Prohibition era cocktail is back in style — here's how to make one at home.
Vesper
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
Gin people and vodka people alike can agree on this delightful cocktail that brings together both spirits in an incredibly simple, classic drink.
Red Snapper
Bloody Mary fans with a penchant for gin will love a classic Red Snapper drink.
Mother's Ruin
Chelsea Kyle / Food Styling by Drew Aichele
Part centerpiece, part refresher, this Mother’s Ruin recipe is easy to make ahead of time for your next gathering, and you likely already have most of the ingredients on hand.
Aviation
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
Floral violet liqueur is balanced by acidic lemon juice in this vibrantly hued classic gin cocktail.
Gin-Campari Old Fashioned
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
This variation on the Old Fashioned swaps gin for whiskey (and adds a splash of Campari for bitterness and a pleasantly rosy color).
Gin & Tonic
The herbaceous, juniper-forward flavor of botanical London Dry Gin is perfectly carried by tonic water's sweetness.
Chocolate Negroni
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
In addition to a generous sprinkle of dark chocolate shavings as a garnish, a Chocolate Negroni truly benefits from the addition of comforting, indulgent chocolate flavor thanks to a quarter ounce of Tempus Fugit Dark Cacao, which is also known as créme de cacao.
Pimm's Cup
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
This classic boozy cooler originated in Britain as a health drink in the 1800s. It contains Pimm's No. 1, a fruity gin-based spirit.
Frozen Martini
There's no ice and no stirring or shaking with the Frozen Martini. With a formula of two parts gin, one part vermouth, and one part water, the ideal dilution is built into the batch.
Rosy Hibiscus-Gin Lowball
On the fence when it comes to gin? Try a sip of this gateway cocktail. Also known as sorrel, roselle — the type of hibiscus used in most hibiscus teas — complements the floral notes of gin, resulting in a refreshing, balanced beverage.
Tom Collins
With likeness to a Gin Sling or Gin Fizz, the Tom Collins is a refreshing cocktail made with gin, freshly squeezed lemon juice, a bit of sugar, and carbonated water. It's thirst-quenching and refreshing, with balanced sweet and sour flavors along with an enticing, fizzy finish.
Butterfly's Breath
The late Julia and Paul Child often entertained friends with cocktails, many of them invented by Paul Child, who delighted in creating custom drinks. A small collection of Paul’s recipes, written on 3-by-5 index cards, was recently discovered in Julia Child’s archives. Among them is this sweet, apricot brandy–laced riff on the gimlet.
Plum Gin Fizz
This fruity gin fizz isn't overly sweet, allowing the flavor of the caramelized plums to shine. A botanical gin works well with the fruit in this cocktail, adding herbaceous and fruity notes. To play up the deep color of the plums, try Empress 1908, a royal purple–hued, botanical-style spirit.
Negroni
Despite the Negroni's endless capacity for shape-shifting, this recipe is for the most classic version of the cocktail — think of it as an ode to its comforting simplicity. Made with vibrant red Campari, sweet vermouth, and gin, the drink is balanced with a combination of earthy, bitter, and botanical flavors.
Lemon and Lavender Gin Fizz
Leopold’s Summer Gin brings a smooth, floral flavor to this botanical cocktail with notes of cucumber, sage, lemon, and lavender. Be sure to use food-safe rose petals, not ones treated with pesticides or insecticides, for garnish.
Bee's Knees
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling Lucy Simon
The Bee's Knees combines the bright and lightly sweet flavors of lemon, honey, and gin. This classic cocktail is traditionally served up, but Chef Missy Robbins prefers hers on the rocks.
Sakura Martini
This elegant, modern take on the saketini was created by Kenta Goto, owner of Manhattan's Bar Goto and Brooklyn's Bar Goto Niban. Goto uses aged genshu sake and gin in the drink, and garnishes it with a salt-pickled sakura, or cherry blossom.
The Monarch Cocktail
Pamplemousse liqueur lends mellow citrus flavor that highlights the grapefruit notes in Lillet Rosé in The Monarch cocktail, a martini-style drink from top bartender Shannon Tebay.
Concord Grape Gin Fizz
This vibrant purple cocktail — made with Concord grapes, gin, port, and lemon — is frothy, fruity, and refreshing.
Turf Club Cocktail
Unlike a martini, which traditionally leans on dry gin and vermouth, the Turf Club Cocktail is slightly sweet from the addition of maraschino liqueur, an aromatic liqueur distilled from cherries. This recipe from Brooklyn's retro mainstay Gage & Tollner uses fresh orange to balance the juniper-forward gin.
Chandelier Martini
Stirred exactly 24 times, this classic Martini is made extra special with the addition of Chandelier Magic, a citrusy and aromatic homemade blend of bitters. Anise-flavored Herbsaint brings a subtle herbaceousness that pairs perfectly with the slightly sweet Old Tom-style gin. While this aromatic recipe calls for three gins, they each bring a unique flavor and combine elegantly.
Gin Toasty
All it takes is a bit of hot water to give this warm alcoholic drink — a riff on a Gin & Tonic — a hot toddy–like edge: When heated, the botanicals in gin act like mulled spices. Using tonic syrup instead of tonic water is crucial to the drink; hot water does the same trick that effervescent bubbles do to ferry the aromatics in the gin and the syrup right up to your nose. The result is an ingeniously simple warm cocktail, perfect for a snowy winter day.
Rosemary Gin Fizz
Fragrant rosemary perfumes this bubbly, bright cocktail in two ways. First, a rosemary-infused syrup provides a touch of sweetness, then a fresh sprig garnish awakens the senses as the glass is drawn to one's lips.
Sour-Cherry Gin Slings
This sweet-tart concoction is based on the classic Singapore sling, replacing the traditional cherry brandy with an intensely vibrant homemade sour cherry syrup.
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