American Gin
intro
A crisp, juniper-forward chilled cocktail with bright citrus, fresh mint, and bubbly fizz, perfect for warm-weather outdoor sipping.
Ingredients
Steps
Chill serving glasses
Place 4 standard highball glasses in the freezer for 3 minutes to chill fully; if short on time, fill each glass with 1/2 cup ice water and let rest for 2 minutes, dumping the water immediately before pouring drinks.
Muddle mint and citrus
Juice the fresh limes to measure 60 ml, then add the juice, 12 fresh mint leaves, and 30 ml simple syrup to the base of a cocktail shaker. Press gently 4 to 5 times with a muddler using light pressure to release mint oils; do not crush the woody mint stems, as this creates bitter, grassy flavor.
Shake gin with ice
Pour 180 ml American dry gin into the cocktail shaker, add 2 cups of cubed ice, and seal the shaker tightly. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds straight, until the outside of the shaker feels frosty and cold to the touch.
Strain into glasses
Remove the chilled highball glasses from the freezer, fill each with 1/2 cup fresh cubed ice (using the remaining 2 cups of ice). Set a Hawthorne strainer over the cocktail shaker, and divide the shaken gin mixture evenly between the four glasses, pouring roughly 60 ml of the spirit base per serving.
Top with club soda
Slowly pour 60 ml (1/4 cup) of ice-cold club soda into each glass to top, using the full 240 ml across the 4 servings. Give each drink one slow, gentle stir with a long bar spoon to combine; do not over-stir, as this will flatten the drink’s carbonation.
Garnish and serve
Cut 4 thin wheels from the remaining squeezed lime halves, placing 1 wheel on the rim of each glass. Slap 1 mint sprig between your palms firmly to release its aromatic oils, then set the sprig on top of the ice. Serve immediately while the drink is fully chilled and carbonated.
Tips
2.Use fresh ice for serving instead of the ice used for shaking, as shaken ice is partially melted and will over-dilute your cocktail.
3.Keep club soda refrigerated until use, as warm soda will go flat quickly and fail to keep the drink properly chilled.
OMG this American Gin recipe is SO good! I whipped it up for my girls' night last night and everyone was asking for the recipe. Took literally 5 minutes flat, no fancy tools needed. Total game changer for quick happy hours!
Made this after a long morning catching waves, so crisp and refreshing. Super easy even for someone who burns toast half the time, no cap. Will be keeping this in my regular rotation for post-surf hangs with the crew.
I was nervous to make a cocktail for our block party potluck because I’m usually a wine-in-a-box kind of mom, but this was so simple! Even my teenage son snuck a sip (don’t tell his dad lmao) and said it tasted way better than the seltzers people usually bring. Only knock is I wish it had just a little more citrus kick, but otherwise it was a hit!
I’ve been mixing drinks for 40+ years and I’m always skeptical of “easy” cocktail recipes, but this American Gin is perfectly balanced. No weird fussy syrups, just clean, classic flavor. I served it to my golf crew last Saturday and they all wanted seconds.
Made this for my pre-game before our senior formal last weekend! So cheap to make with stuff I already had in my apartment liquor cabinet, no fancy trips to the specialty liquor store needed. Got so many compliments from my roommates.
Tried making this for my wife for our at-home date night last night and I think I earned major husband points. Only took 5 minutes so I didn’t miss the start of our movie, and she said it tasted like something we’d pay $18 for at a downtown cocktail bar.
Wait, I know this is technically a cocktail but I pre-batched a big jug of this for my weekly meal prep so I have a nice little treat to look forward to after work every night this week. No shame, it’s low effort and tastes way better than my usual cheap beer.
Took the ingredients for this up on my day hike last weekend, mixed it up at the summit with some ice I packed in a cooler, and it was the best reward after 6 miles of uphill. So light, didn’t weigh my pack down at all since I didn’t need a million mixers.
Love that this leans into that classic old-school American gin flavor, no weird trendy additives. I set up a little retro tiki bar in my basement last month and this is now the signature drink I serve to everyone who comes over to check it out.
Brought this to our neighborhood potluck last weekend and people were lined up for refills! I even made a non-alcoholic version with zero-proof gin for the folks who don’t drink, and that was just as popular. Will 100% be making this for every summer gathering from now on.
Made this for book club this week, and we spent more time talking about how good the cocktail was than we did talking about the book! Oops. It was so easy to throw together between chapters, I didn’t even have to pause the discussion to mix refills.
Made this for my Fourth of July backyard party over the weekend and it was a total smash. Paired perfectly with burgers, hot dogs, and potato salad, no weird flavor clashes. Super easy to scale up for a big crowd too, which is a win in my book.
I tried this for my weekend cookout today after seeing the recipe last night, and it’s top tier. No fussy steps, no expensive ingredients, even my picky brother-in-law who only drinks light beer loved it. Total home run for summer grilling season.