Seven gin cocktail recipes that are as easy to make as a G&T, according to London bartenders

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Ailis Brennan16 June 2020

So long to the Sazerac, au revoir to our favourite Old Fashioned: lockdown has unceremoniously kicked us out of London’s top cocktail bars (and we swear it wasn’t even last orders).

The solution? For many of us, it’s to grab the gin, dig out some tonic, grapple with any bit of citrus we can find and fudge together a G&T.

While a gin and tonic is a wonderful thing and will hit the spot on many occasions, after who-knows-how-many weeks of mixological deprivation, we don’t blame you for getting bored.

We asked some of London’s top bartenders for their easiest gin cocktail recipes that use just three ingredients or fewer – no more than you need to make a G&T. You will need a shaker for a few of these but, as any home bartender will tell you, that’s an investment that pays dividends.

From grapefruit gimlets to a martini with an aromatic twist, these are the cocktails London bartenders say are as easy to make as a gin and tonic.

Alex Lawrence, Lyaness – Blackcurrant Buck

Ingredients

  • 50ml Porter's Tropical Old Tom Gin
  • 10ml Ribena
  • Ginger ale

Method

Add the measured ingredients to a glass, and top up with ginger ale.

Garnish with a slice of lemon and some fresh thyme sprigs.

Rich Woods, Scout – Mind Your Peas & Q’s

Ingredients

  • 50ml sugar snap pea & mint-infused gin
  • Tonic water

For the pea and mint infused gin (makes 250ml)

  • 250ml gin (preferably Bombay Sapphire, as it is a lighter style of gin)
  • 55g sugar snap peas
  • 1 medium mint sprig (approximately 5g)

Method

Wash and break the sugar snap peas into smaller pieces.

Wash the mint, but do not tear.

Add both to a sealable container and pour over the gin.

Leave to infuse for a minimum of 6 hours, shaking occasionally to encourage the flavour to release. This can be also done by adding the peas and mint to a third-full bottle of gin.

Filter through a coffee filter, or muslin.

Add 50ml to a highball glass, top with tonic water and garnish with a mint sprig.

Mia Johansson, Swift – Gin Grapefruit Gimlet

Ingredients

  • 60 ml dry gin
  • 25 ml grapefruit cordial

For the grapefruit cordial (makes 100ml)

  • 100g caster sugar
  • 100ml fresh grapefruit juice
  • 100g grapefruit peel

Method

Make your grapefruit cordial ahead of time. Soak and rub your peel in the sugar, and leave for one hour. Add your juice, stir, and voila – you have a perfumed and lovely cordial.

Stir cordial and gin over ice and strain into a coupette glass.

Garnish with a circle of grapefruit.

The best bars for a gin and tonic in London

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Simone Spagnoli, Mr Fogg’s House of Botanicals – White Rose

Ingredients

  • 50ml green tea-infused gin (preferably The Botanist)
  • 10ml aloe vera juice (available at most supermarkets)
  • 5 ml fresh lime juice 

For the green tea-infused gin

  • 1 green tea teabag
  • 1 bottle of gin

Method

To make the infused gin, simply pop the green tea teabag into the bottle of gin (or into an infuser if you have one) and leave for an hour.

Add all ingredients into a shaker, shake with ice and strain into a coupette glass.

Karina Elias, The Langham – Afternoon Dynasty

Ingredients

  • 50ml gin 
  • 50ml cold brew white tea
  • 1 teaspoon honey

Method

To make a frozen cocktail, blend all the ingredients in the blender with around six cubes of ice, and pour.

To serve straight up, add the ingredients to a shaker, shake for about 20 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass.

Andy Kerr, The Sun Tavern – Bees Knees

Ingredients

  • 50ml gin (preferably The Botanist)
  • 25ml lemon juice (use unwaxed lemons if possible)
  • 12.5ml honey

Method

Add all ingredients into a shaker, shake with ice and strain into a martini glass.

Alex Kratena, Tayer + Elementary - Jasmine Martini

Ingredients

  • 50ml gin (preferably Hepple)
  • 15ml dry vermouth (preferably Noilly Prat)
  • 15ml Muyu Jasmine Verte (available online)

Method

Stir the ingredients with ice in a separate glass or strainer.

Strain into drinking glass.

If you want, squeeze lemon peel over the glass to release its oils into the top of the drink.

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