Just the tonic: Five tasty cocktail recipes to celebrate World Gin Day
It's World Gin Day and top mixologist Oisin Davis is sharing his gin cocktails to mark the occasion.
Gin Day is the second Saturday in June, and is held to appreciate its history and culture.
Cocktail expert and drinks aficionado Oisin explains: 'There are spicy gins that are great for martinis, herbal gins that are best served with tonic, and fruitier gins that work really well in long refreshing summer coolers.
'Pick up an Irish gin if you can - we have such an incredible range and variety of gin distilleries here.'
Gin has become a big trend in recent years. Celebrity gin makers include Snoop Dogg, Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt.
Premium Irish gin has continued to grow, going from a handful of distilleries to more than 50 nationwide.
One of the standouts is the excellent Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish gin, made in its Leitrim distillery, The Shed.
Gin originated in the 11th century, when Italian monks used juniper berries to flavour distilled spirits.
However, Holland is credited as its birthplace, with William of Orange introducing it to his subjects in the 17th century. London later became a gin-making epicentre.
This weekend, food and drink festival Taste will also raise a glass to World Gin Day, with distillery forager Geraldine Kavanagh hosting Glendalough Distillery's masterclass experience.
Here, Oisin shares his best recipes...
INGREDIENTS: 35ml Irish gin; 100ml premium tonic water; 1 teaspoon of white sugar; 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice; 1 glass of ice (use the glass you're gonna serve the drink in)
METHOD: Pour the gin, lemon juice, sugar and tonic water into a NutriBullet or kitchen blender, put the lid on and blitz it for about 5 seconds. Then take the lid off, lash in the ice and get the lid back on again. Blitz one more time but literally only for 2-3 seconds. You want the consistency of a slushie. If you blitz it for too long it will liquify the ice.
Pour into your glass and serve with a straw.
INGREDIENTS: 50ml of Irish gin (try Gunpowder, Dingle or Method & Madness); 1 tablespoon of lemon juice; 1/2 tablespoon of sugar; 1 tablespoon of hot water; 2 tablespoons of cream; 1 tablespoon of egg white; 100 ml of Club Orange
METHOD: Pour the gin, sugar, water and lemon into the blender. Put the lid on and blitz. Take the lid off and pour in the cream, egg white and 3-4 ice cubes.
Put the lid on again and blitz for 20 seconds. Pour into a long Collins or Slim Jim glass and slowly top it up with the Club Orange. Garnish with an orange wedge on the glass and serve with a straw.
INGREDIENTS: 1 x 700ml bottle of Bertha's Revenge Irish Gin; 175ml of fresh lime juice; 4 tablespoons of white sugar; 1.5 litres of sparkling water.
METHOD: The amount of juice a lime can produce can vary. To get the required amount of lime juice may require up to 10 limes but it should be about 6. Juice them into a large jug, then add the sugar, gin and 100ml of water. Using a soup blender, blitz all the ingredients together for about 30 seconds.
Strain the mixture into a swing-top bottle, label it. For each serve, give the bottle a quick shake and fill a slim jim/long glass with ice and pour in 70ml of the gin mix and top it with sparkling water. Garnish with a lime wheel.
YIELD: 14 x 70ml serves. It will keep for about 2 weeks in your fridge.
After you've opened it, use it within a couple of days but keep it in your fridge as the lime will start to fade.
INGREDIENTS: 500ml Ornabrak Single Malt Gin; 160ml lemon juice; 120ml Irish honey syrup
METHOD: Pour in 100ml of honey into a jug and top it up with 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Stir for about 10 seconds before adding the gin and lemon juice.
Add in 220ml water and blitz it all up with a soup blender. You then decant it into a swing-top bottle. Label it and get it cool in the fridge. When you fancy one, shake up the bottle and pour out 100ml into a martini glass and garnish with lemon peel. If you want it even colder, you can always serve it on the rocks, or if you have a thirst, pour 100ml into a long glass and top it up with 100ml of water.
YIELD: 10 serves of 100ml each. It will stay good for a month in your fridge and once it's opened, finish it within a week but store it in your fridge.
Roisin Murphy is headlining at the Beyond The Pale festival tonight in Wicklow, so mix this cocktail I made in her honour.
INGREDIENTS: 25ml Blackwater Wexford Strawberry Gin; 1.5 teaspoons of sugar syrup; 2 teaspoons of fresh lime juice and 100ml of dry prosecco. A fresh Wexford strawberry to garnish.
METHOD: Chill a champagne glass or coupe glass with ice. Place the gin, juice and syrup into a 500ml Kilner jar.
Throw in some ice and seal it shut. Shake it hard for about seconds. Remove the ice from the glass. Open up the Kilner jar slightly and strain the cocktail into the glass.
Top it up with the prosecco. Put a little sliver in the bottom of your Wexford strawberry and place it on the side of your glass.
All recipes are from Irish Kitchen Cocktails, published by Nine Bean Rows. Photography by Joanne Murphy and styling by Orla Neligan.
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