10 gin cocktails you should know how to make at home
18+ material. Excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to your health.
Updated
Over the years behind the bar, I've learned one thing: guests who say they 'don't like gin' actually just don't like a bad gin and tonic made with warm tonic and a lonely ice cube. Serve that same person a decent Gimlet or Bramble — and that's it, they've vanished, now they're asking what the difference is between Old Tom and London Dry.
Gin is the most forgiving bottle for a home bar. It doesn't require aging and rituals like whiskey, and it doesn't throw tantrums like tequila. Juniper, citrus, spices — it's all already inside, your only job is not to ruin it with warm ice and crooked proportions. Half of the recipes in this collection come together faster than a kettle boils.
I've selected ten cocktails from the catalog at 24cocktails.com — from the really simple ones where you just pour and stir, to those where you'll need to pull out a shaker and put in some effort. I provide the proportions and steps exactly as they're written in the recipes on the site. We’ll go from simple to complex.
1. Gin and Tonic
The drink that starts any conversation about gin. It was born as a medicine: British officers in the colonies mixed bitter quinine tonic with gin to make it drinkable — and then they got hooked. Today, it's the most honest test for a home bartender: just two ingredients, no hiding places. The final strength is laughable, around 9%, so gin and tonic is appropriate almost always — from lunch on the balcony to a long evening with friends.
Ingredients
- Gin — 50 ml
- Tonic — 150 ml
How to make it
- Fill a highball glass with ice cubes to the top.
- Pour in the gin.
- Carefully add the tonic along the side of the glass.
- Gently stir with a bar spoon.
- Garnish with a lime wedge.
Tip: There should be a lot of ice — to the top, not just 'a couple of cubes'. A full glass of ice melts slower than a half-empty one and doesn't dilute the drink with water. And pour the tonic along the side: that way it retains its fizz.
2. Tom Collins
Essentially, it's gin lemonade for adults: sour lemon, a bit of sugar, soda. In the 1870s, a joke circulated in America: someone would tell you that a certain Tom Collins was sitting in a bar around the corner talking trash about you — the victim would burst into the bar demanding to see Tom Collins. Bartenders quickly figured out they needed to pour something for that name. Light, around 11%, easy to drink, and better suited for the heat than a lot of other things.
Ingredients
- Gin — 2 oz
- Lemon juice — 1 oz
- Sugar — 1 tsp (fine)
- Soda — 3 oz
- Maraschino cherry — 1
- Orange — 1
How to make
- In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the gin, lemon juice, and sugar.
- Shake well.
- Strain into a collins glass filled almost to the top with ice cubes.
- Add the soda.
- Stir and garnish with a cherry and a slice of orange.
Tip: sugar goes in the shaker, not in the finished drink — it won't dissolve in the icy liquid and will settle at the bottom. Shake until the sugar is completely dissolved, and only then add the soda.
3. Negroni
Italian bitterness in its purest form: gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, all equal parts. Legend has it that Florentine Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender to strengthen his usual Americano by replacing the soda with gin — and he didn't go wrong. This is an aperitif: bitter, strong, it whets the appetite. Perfect before dinner, and the formula 'three of 30' is easy to remember and forgives the absence of bar scales.
Ingredients
- Gin — 30 ml
- Campari — 30 ml
- Sweet vermouth — 30 ml
How to prepare
- Fill an old fashioned glass with ice cubes.
- Pour in gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth.
- Stir with a bar spoon.
- Garnish with a slice of orange.
Tip: Negroni is stirred, not shaken — a shaker will make it cloudy and watery. About twenty seconds with the spoon over the ice is enough. And don’t be afraid of the bitterness on the first sip: by the third, it becomes the drink's main virtue.
4. Dry Martini
The king of cocktails and an eternal subject of debate: how much vermouth — a drop or a third? Churchill is said to have had a recipe of 'pour gin and look towards France,' but in a home version, a fair amount of dry vermouth only helps. This is a mood drink: icy, strong (about 24%), with no juices or syrups. Serve before dinner, sip slowly and in small gulps.
Ingredients
- Gin — 1 2/3 oz
- Dry vermouth — 1/3 oz
- Olive — 1 piece.
How to prepare
- Pour gin and dry vermouth into a mixing glass with ice cubes.
- Stir well.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Express the oil from the lemon peel over the drink or garnish with an olive.
Tip: Put the glass in the freezer at least ten minutes before serving. There’s no ice or soda in a martini — a warm glass will ruin it in a couple of minutes. Nothing can save a warm martini.
5. Gimlet (Gimlet)
Gin and lime — a pairing tried and tested by the British Navy: sailors have been drinking lime juice for centuries to ward off scurvy, and officers figured out they could mix it with gin. In Raymond Chandler's 'The Long Goodbye,' they discuss the Gimlet with almost more affection than they do for people. Sharp, sour, strong — a cocktail meant for two or three sips, for a short evening, not for long sit-downs.
Ingredients
- Gin — 2 1/2 oz
- Lime juice — 1/2 oz
- Simple syrup — 1/2 oz
- Lime — 2 wedges
How to make
- Add all the ingredients to a shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice.
- Shake well.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or an old-fashioned glass with fresh ice.
- Garnish with a lime wheel.
Tip: juice — only freshly squeezed. Lime from a bottle on the supermarket shelf gives a flat, 'cooked' acidity, and in a three-ingredient cocktail, you can hear it right away. One lime — and it's a completely different drink.
6. French 75
A cocktail named after the French 75mm gun from World War I: contemporaries joked that it hits with the same deadly force. Gin with lemon and sugar, topped with champagne. A festive version of a gin sour: something to make for New Year's and birthdays instead of a boring glass of sparkling wine. It goes down deceptively easy.
Ingredients
- Gin — 1 1/2 oz
- Sugar — 2 tsp (fine)
- Lemon juice — 1 1/2 oz
- Champagne — 4 oz (chilled)
- Orange — 1
- Maraschino cherry — 1
How to make it
- Combine gin, sugar, and lemon juice in a shaker with ice.
- Shake vigorously.
- Strain into a chilled champagne glass.
- Top up with champagne.
- Gently stir.
Tip: the sparkling wine should be from the fridge, not at 'room temperature, whatever that means.' Warm wine instantly loses its fizz in a shaken base, and instead of a playful cocktail, you end up with a sour compote. And never shake sparkling wine in a shaker — just pour it on top.
7. Clover Club
Pink, silky, with a frothy head — and it was invented long before the era of pretty pictures, in a men's club in Philadelphia even before Prohibition: lawyers and journalists drank it alongside cigars. Pomegranate syrup gives it color and a hint of sweetness, while the egg white adds a creamy texture. A great candidate for the role of 'the cocktail that can surprise your guests,' and the ingredients are as simple as they come.
Ingredients
- Gin — 1 1/2 oz
- Grenadine — 2 tsp
- Lemon juice — juice of 1/2 lemon
- Egg white — 1
How to make
- In a shaker, combine gin, pomegranate syrup, lemon juice, and egg white.
- Do a dry shake to emulsify the ingredients.
- Add ice.
- Shake well.
- Strain into a cocktail glass.
Tip: A 'dry shake' is shaking without ice, and you can't skip it: it's what whips the egg white into a dense, stable foam. First, shake it warm for about ten seconds, then add ice and shake again. Check the freshness of the egg beforehand.
8. Aviation
A classic from the early 20th century, named after the then marvel of technology — airplanes. Maraschino liqueur from cherries gives the drink a recognizable nutty, slightly perfumed note, which is why people either love Aviation or just don't get it. There are no middle opinions. This is a cocktail for a slow evening: short, strong, contemplative. If you're looking for something beyond the eternal trio of 'tonic — martini — negroni', start with this.
Ingredients
- Gin — 4.5 cl
- Lemon juice — 1.5 cl
- Maraschino liqueur — 1.5 cl
How to prepare
- Add all the ingredients to a shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice.
- Close it and shake vigorously.
- Strain into a cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a cherry.
Tip: Maraschino is a bright liqueur, and your hand will want to pour a bit more 'for flavor.' Don't: going over even five milliliters turns the cocktail into a mixture. Measure with a jigger, not by eye.
9. Bramble
The youngest in the collection: London bartender Dick Bradsell created it in the eighties, inspired by the blackberry bushes of his childhood. A gin sour on crushed ice, with dark berry liqueur trickling down, it looks like a marble dessert and drinks like a summer evening. It's one of those cases where the beauty of the drink requires no bartender skill.
Ingredients
- Gin — 4 cl
- Lemon juice — 1.5 cl
- Simple syrup — 1 cl
- Blackcurrant liqueur — 1.5 cl
How to prepare
- Fill the glass with crushed ice.
- Pour in the gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup.
- Stir.
- Carefully pour the blackcurrant liqueur around the edge — it will create a marbled effect.
- Garnish with berries and a lemon wedge.
Tip: Crushed ice isn’t a whim, it’s part of the recipe: the liqueur beautifully 'hangs' in the fine ice. No crusher? Wrap the cubes in a clean towel and roll over them with a rolling pin. Pour the liqueur in at the very end and don’t stir, or the marble will turn into a monochrome puddle.
10. Vesper
The very cocktail of James Bond: Ian Fleming created it for 'Casino Royale' and named it after Vesper Lynd. Gin, vodka, and Lillet Blanc — an elegant and no-nonsense combination: 28% in the glass, the strongest number in this collection. One Vesper for the evening, and that's enough. The finale of the list both chronologically and in strength.
Ingredients
- Gin — 6 cl
- Vodka — 1.5 cl
- Lillet Blanc — 0.75 cl
How to make
- Fill a shaker with ice.
- Add gin, vodka, and Lillet Blanc.
- Close the shaker and shake vigorously until chilled.
- Strain into a deep glass.
- Garnish with a thin slice of lemon peel.
Tip: Yes, Bond asked for it to be 'shaken, not stirred' — and at home, you can afford to shake: the cocktail will come out icy and a bit softer. The key is to shake until there's frost on the walls of the shaker and serve immediately: a watered-down Vesper is of no interest to anyone.
Ten recipes — that's a proper repertoire: it can cover both a quiet Tuesday evening and a birthday party for twenty. Start with a gin and tonic and a Negroni, and when your hand gets used to the jigger and shaker, move on to the Clover Club and the Vesper. The gin will wait — it's in no rush.
All cocktails in this category →
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