When you are looking for some classic cocktails you will have to come across a gin recipe. No cocktail evening or afternoon is complete without a couple of gin soaked recipes. What makes gin so special is its highly aromatic juniper berry flavor coupled with other additional botanicals such as orange peel, angle root, coriander seeds, angelica root and cassia bark.

All gin makers have their specific classic combinations of the vibrant blue green berries and the other botanicals which make each product different or very similar to the other.

What makes a gin top quality is the way it has been flavored. The base spirit released during the distillation process of gin is redistilled once more. It is during this final distillation process that the alcohol vapor that is produced is made to waft through a chamber where the dried botanicals along with the juniper berries are suspended. It is the vapor of the alcohol which extracts maximum flavor for these botanicals on its way to the condenser. What results is a spirit which is perceptively complex in its flavor.

There are many types of gin. London Dry Gin is a huge favorite amongst gin lovers and mixers alike. Some other varieties of gin are Old Tom Gin and Plymouth Gin. It is these gins that go into some of the classic gin recipes. If you are looking for one gin recipe you can be sure to find many. One such gin recipe is the Vesper Martini.

The Vesper Martini found a mention in Ian Flemings book Casino Royal. It is here that we discover what the worlds’ greatest fictional spy’s favorite form of cocktail is. A Vesper Martini is made with three measures of Gordon’s gin, one part of vodka, and a dash of Kina Lillet (a French aperitif). This mix along with ice should be shaken till it is ice cold and then strained into a deep champagne goblet to enjoy with a lemon twist.

This gin recipe is a little different from a classic gin martini. Unlike in a classic martini, in a Vesper Martini both gin and vodka have been used. While a classic martini uses dry vermouth, this has been replaced by the Kina Lillet aperitif and the quintessential olive has been replaced with a lemon peel.

Another gin recipe that is very popular is the Gin Fizz. This is perhaps the most popular of the cocktails from the fizz family. A classic gin fizz has gin, lemon juice, carbonated water and sugar. This drink is served on the rocks (poured over ice) in a tall highball glass. There are a number of variations of the classic gin fizz as well. If you add an egg white to the mix it becomes a Silver fizz. Add an egg yolk and you have a Golden Fizz. If you add an entire egg you will get the Royal Fizz. Use sparkling wine in the place of carbonated water and you will have a Diamond Fizz. And a dash of green crème de menthe gives you the Green Fizz.

A variation to the gin recipe of Gin Fizz is the Ramos Gin Fizz where along with the classic gin fizz ingredients lime juice, egg white, cream, orange flower water and soda water are used. Popularized by the Roosevelt Hotel of New Orleans this drink is poured in a tall zombie glass and served straight up.

The gin Martini is a very popular cocktail and is a mix of fine gin with vermouth and is garnished with a green olive. Over the years the humble martini has grown to phenomenal heights and has become one of the most popular drinks to be served across the world. H.L Mencken, the popular American journalist and satirist once said that the martini was perhaps the ‘the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet.’
From a sonnet to an elixir, a martini has been called quite a few things but what made the Martini really famous was James Bond who preferred his martinis ‘shaken and not stirred’.
The Martini finds its place in The Fine Art of Mixing drinks, an encyclopedia featuring cocktails from the 20th century written by David A. Embury. Embury lists the gin martini as a one of the six basic drinks in the cocktail section.
Preparing a gin martini doesn’t require much practice. All one needs is a mixing glass filled with ice in which you are to pour 5.5cl gin and 1.5cl of dry vermouth. Once these ingredients have been mixed they are strained and poured into a chilled martini cocktailed glass.
This drink is served ‘straight up’, meaning, that while this drink will be chilled it will have no ice in it. The glass can be garnished with a ring of lime, a green olive or a lemon twist. A lemon twist is a strip of the peel of a lemon which is either squeezed or twisted into the drink which releases the oils from the peel into the drink giving it a unique and distinctive flavor.
There are a number of variations in which a gin martini can be prepared. The standard practice is that of mixing gin with dry vermouth in a 5:1 ratio. While a martini can be stirred, mixing the drink in a shaker is more popular owing to the endorsement given by James Bond to this preparation method. In fact, shaking a martini finds its mention in the Savoy Cocktail Book written by Harry Caddock in 1930.
Sir Noel Coward, noted playwright, director, actor, singer and a martini aficionado mentioned that a perfect martini is ideally made by ‘filling a glass with gin and waving it in the direction of Italy’. He suggests that the lesser the vermouth added to the drink the better a martini becomes. In fact Winston Churchill too wanted his gin martini dry with just a fleeting wave of vermouth.
The gin martini has come a long way. Today you can find Appletinis and vodka martinis taking up the place of the classic dry martini. However, the original martini consisted of two ounces of Martini & Rossi Italian Sweet Vermouth, a double dash of maraschino liquor, an ounce of Old Tom Sweet gin, a dash of old bitters and then it was shaken and served with a twist of lime. This was the martini as known in 1911.
Soon the martini began to evolve and by the end of the century making the martini became much simpler with two dashes of orange bitters which was mixed with French vermouth and dry English gin. This mix was shaken and served with an olive. The gin martini continues to evolve and finds its takers amongst the cosmopolitan lot with new ingredients and forms.

If you enjoy a tall glass of gin Gordon’s is the one that you will definitely love. Gordon’s is a brand of London Dry Gin and is mainly produced in United Kingdom. This gin is also produced under license in Canada, New Zealand and many other former British territories and dominions. The top market for Gordon’s has been identified as Greece, Africa, Us and UK.

Gordon’s gin was established in 1979 by a Scotsman by the name of Alexander Gordon and is now owned by Diageo Plc, a multinational alcohol company. Alexander Gordon developed this spirit in a distillery in the Southwark area. Later this distillery moved to Clerkenwell in 1786.

The recipe that Alexander Gordon developed for his company was called the Special London Dry Gin. This mix was hugely successful and the recipe for this gin mix has gone unchanged to this day. The recipe of Gordon’s gin is known only to twelve people across the globe and has been one of the best kept secrets for over 250 years.

Gordon’s gin has a distinctive green bottle in which it is sold in the United Kingdom. In other countries it is sold in the original clear bottle. If it is at airport duty free store where you look to buy your gin, Gordon’s will be found in 75cl plastic bottles. What makes this gin so distinctive is its unique flavor. The gin here is triple distilled and has a heady juniper berry flavor. It also has additional notes of coriander seeds, angelica roots and a few other botanicals.

Gin from Gordon’s is sold in the market in many different strengths. In 1992 in UK the ABV of Gordon’s gin was reduced from 40% to 37%. While most view it as a stance to bring Gordon’s in line with some of the other white spirits such as white rum, vodka, etc but in reality this was a move to save some precious pennies.

However in the US the 40% version of Gordons is sold. In other European countries you can also find a bottle of Gordon’s that boasts of the strength of 47.3%.

Along with the original gin Gordons produces, they have also gone on to add aromatic gin or sloe gin to its main product line. This variant is known as the Distillers Cut. Apart from gin Gordons also has ventured into making vodka, has two types of alcopops called Space and Spark and a pre mixed gin and tonic.

They also went on to make products such as the Old Tom Gin and several other flavored gins such as Orange Gin and Lemon Gin.

They also tried their hand at pre mixed shakers cocktails such as Piccadilly, Dry Martini mixes, Fifty Fifty mixes, Bronx and Manhattan, Perfect etc.

Gordons also tried its hand at making rum and came up with a product line called the Finest Old Jamaican Rum. They also made Orange Bitters that were made from the exotic Seville Oranges.

However, these diversions from their main product line of gin were discontinued. But when it came to gin Gordon’s was so legendary that it found a specific mention in Ian Flemings James Bond book Casino Royal where it was mentioned by name for the recipe of the Vesper Cocktail.

The Gin Game was a hugely successful two act play that premiered at the American Theatre Arts in Hollywood in the year 1976. Written by DL Coburn, this play was directed by Kip Niven and was the first production of the theatre and of the writer as well.

The play was hugely successful and also opened on Broadway in October 1977. This play ran 517 performances at the John Golden Theatre. The Broadway version of the Gin Game was directed by Mike Nicholas and featured Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn.

So appreciated was this play that it toured the United States and ran packed houses in cities such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. This play also fetched Jessica Tandy a Tony award for the best actress in a play category.

The Gin Game was revived years after in 1997 in Broadway. It was presented at the Lyceum Theatre and ran for 145 performances and again went on to get Tony nomination for Best Play Revival, Leading Actress in a Play and for Best Play direction. So popular was this play that it saw a run at the Savoy Theatre in the United Kingdom in 1999 as well.

The Gin Game went on to become a popular television serious starring yesteryear star Dick Van Dyke. Sick van Dyke essayed the role of the gin playing Weller Martin. He has a number of awards under his belt such as a Tony award for his performance in the musical Bye Bye Birdie and consistent Emmy nominations for his television show the Dick Van Dyke Show.

Mary Tyler Moore played the role of Fonsia Dorsey, the new nursing home resident in the play. She has had a long association with Dick Van Dyke as she was a part of the Dick Van Dyke Show from 196- -66. Her role of Laura Petrie in the Dick Van Dyke show earned her two Emmy Awards. She won her Tony award for essaying the role of a quadriplegic in the Broadway show “Whose Life Is It Anyway?”

The plot of the Gin Game is fairly simple. The play sees two residents at a senior citizens nursing home striking up an acquaintance. While neither of the main protagonists, named Fonsia Dorsey and Weller Martin, have other friends, they seem to enjoy the company of one another with a quiet ease. Weller takes upon himself the task of teaching Fonsia the game of gin rummy. Frustratingly enough, Fonsia learns the game and begins winning every single one of them much to the chagrin of Weller.

As Fonsia gets more and more confident at the game the play adopts a sub plot and begins exposing the complicated and twisted personal world through the conversations of the two protagonists. Both the protagonists through the game reveal their regret filled lives and gradually their need for comfort and solace is gratified by the others presence.

However as the game reaches a level of competitiveness, the conversations also don’t remain light anymore as each individual tries to project the others fault and weaknesses and belittling and humiliating one another for petty weaknesses. The play sees a terrible final confrontation between Weller and Fonsia caused by Wellers’ pent up anger and Fonsia’s constant needling.

Fixing a gin drink is no sky rocket science. Gin is a very drinker friendly drink as it blends very easily to make lip smacking and irresistible cocktails. In the 1920s gin really triumphed though for some reason it had become very scarce in 1914-18 world war. Gin is a darling drink of the rich and the famous and the Cunard cruises, as it a highly refreshing and cosmopolitan drink.

Gin became the most popular and wanted drink in all Cocktail parties – on land, on the sea and also in rich countries like the UK and the US. A very convenient drink to enjoy during blank times that is – after tea and before dinner.

London dry gin, which is known for its subtle and mild flavor and easy blending qualities, became the staple and basic ingredient for many stylish drinks. This includes our world known Martini.

Over the next two/three decades many cocktails were introduced bringing about excitement and sophistication to our dizzy society- who themselves were responsible for creating those varieties. 7000 cocktails were registered in1951 by the Bartenders’ Guild on their files – This is really thought provoking and reflects on its popularity. Gin was the most essential drink for entertainment and parties at home. Even today in modern times, no one can beat the refreshing drink – Gin and tonic.

The latest craze and fad for cocktails has opened up an entirely new arena for career for suitable young men and women who want to try their hands and culinary skills in blending, fixing, inventing and serving exquisite drinks to their patrons. These could also include the use of various fruit juices to give the drink a slightly different kick and taste. There is this new breed working as bartenders who are inventing and filling the market with popular cocktails – hats off to their mixing and blending skills!!

There are many different procedures for producing Gin. The Spirit drinks are governed by the European Community Regulation 110/2008 and they have three procedures, which are highly detailing and technical and of course time consuming also. Juniper berries is the most important ingredient which makes gins and London dry gin.

It is the Juniper berries that give the gin the distinctive aroma it possesses. Though first made in the country of Holland, Gin became popular in England by the English. The working class in England popularized the drink by its large consumption and they were the ones who introduced it to the Americans in the US. Now the majority of the gin sold in America is dry.

Since Gin is so popular for its blending properties – It has become an enjoyable and a very convenient drink for home entertainment. A gin recipe will make life more interesting , irrespective of where you are enjoying its preparation – You could come up with some gin game while you try making and drinking this new recipe.

Martin Miller’s Sugar & Spice

Martin Miller’s Gin 2 oz

Apple cider 2 oz

Fresh Orange 3/4 oz

Brown Sugar Syrup – A splash

Serve this gin recipe or gin cocktail in a Martini glass whose rim has been coated with cinnamon and superfine sugar mixture. Now have fun with it, even while you are Google chatting or net surfing, as then you could call it an online gin.