Easy Gin Concoctions- Countdown To Christmas

The countdown to Christmas is on. The festive season upon us and that means panic, a frantic vibe in the air, way too much noise and too much fuss. Sorry, getting off topic, but once you take away the office Xmas party, its all a little stressful. What better way to ease the stress than with Gin.

That’s why I wanted to put together a few epic recipes to help you enjoy Gin. Be inventive, play around with flavours and test your taste buds!

The Original G & T With Thyme

Ingredients:
– Gin of choice
– Tonic
– Lemon
– Lemon Thyme
– Sugar Syrup

Method:
Take delicious earth flavours that work exceptionally well together and enjoy, plus is super easy. Take a tall glass and fill with ice, add sugar syrup, about 2 tbls per person, add a measure of your fave Gin and the juice of half a lemon. Then add a few leaves from the lemon thyme then stir together. Top of with tonic and garnish with a fresh sprig of Thyme and a piece of lemon peel. (If you put a lighter to the lemon peel for a second, it releases the oils and makes the garnish pop.)

Winter Warmer- Spiced Cider & Gin

Ingredients:
– Cider
– Cloves
– Cinnamon
– Gin
– Water
– Sugar Syrup

Method:
This is a little American meets Britain autumn (or fall) collaboration. Place a cup of cider per person in a pan. Pour in a measure of Gin person. Add in a couple of cinnamon sticks, a couple of cloves, a couple of tablespoons of sugar syrup and a cup of water. Let this all come to simmer. Serve in a tumbler and garnish with a cinnamon stick, sit yourself down, open a good book, sit back and relax.

Grapefruit Cardamom Gin Fizz

Ingredients:
– 1 measure of Gin
– 6  cardamom pods
– 1 cup sugar
– 1 cup water
– 2 rosemary sprigs
– 1/2 cup grapefruit juice
– splash of prosecco
– grapefruit peel

Method:
Don’t be deterred by all the ingredients, it’s actually quite easy and well worth it for all the autumnal vibes. Take the cardamon pods and pour over your fave gin. Store in an airtight jar (like an old jam jar) overnight. The in a pan, boil the sugar, water and rosemary together until the sugar is dissolved, then remove the rosemary and leave it to cool. Then you can begin to piece it all together. Over ice, pour in the rosemary syrup and add in the gin. Then add the grapefruit juice and finally a splash of prosecco to finish. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a slice of grapefruit peel. Delicious.
Original recipe inspired by themodernproper.com.

Dark & Spooky

Ingredients:
– Gin
– Pommagrantire juice
– Thyme

Method:
This one is easy peasy but the colour gives it a spooky vibe. Take a tumbler and full to the brim with ice. Then add in a measure of Gin. Top of with pomegranate juice and garnish with a sprig of thyme. This would kind of be the perfect drink to serve around Xmas during the dark nights by candlelight!

Mulled Apple & Gin

Ingredients:
– Gin
– Sugar syrup (which is so easy peasy to make)
– Apple Juice

Method:
Take some fresh apple juice for the supermarket and add to a pan, a mug per person. Depending on how sweet the apple juice is, add some sugar syrup to taste. Then add in a measure of Gin person. Then bring to a simmer. Once cooked through for no longer than 10 mins, serve in a cup and saucer and garnish with a slice of apple.

Blue Berry Gin Sour

Ingredients:
– 50ml Gin
– 25ml Fresh Lemon Juice
– 12.5ml (ish) Sugar Syrup (I made my own 1:1 simple syrup)
– Handful of Blueberries
– Aquafaba (egg white replacer in our sour is chickpea waterworks, a Tbls won’t interfere with the flavour.)

Method:
Muddle blueberries, lemon juice and syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add gin and “egg white”/Aquafaba, then dry shake (without any ice). Add ice and shake again! Serve in a cold glass of your choice… enjoy!

Sweet Tooth Gin

Ingredients:
– Gin of choice
– Tonic
– Chambord
– Blackberrys

Method:

Take a tall glass and fill with ice. Pour over a gin measure, add in a few splashes of Chambord (its blackberry liquor- intensely sweet and delicious) then a few blackberries, the riper the better. Stir this all together until the blackberries start to break up a little. Top off with tonic and serve.

There you have it. A few easy and delicious inspired gin recipes to ease the countdown to Xmas. Ideal for enjoying with your partner on a Saturday night in front of the telly, with your pals before heading into town or with family on a Sunday afternoon before your roast! I hope you enjoy sampling them, being experimental and trying new recipes for yourself. Let me know how you get on in the comments section below.

This article was written in collaboration with my friends at ILoveGin.com, discover all the amazing gins they have and sign up to try different gin samples every month! Perfect for the colder months.