To celebrate World Gin Day on Saturday, The Botanist Gin suggests skipping the G&Ts and sipping a delicious array of gin cocktails instead.

Created by The Botanist Gin ambassador Josh O’Brien, the cocktails highlight the sweet and earthy flavours of the gin, combined with delicate floral and herbal notes of the Islay 22.

“For a long time, we have boxed gin and tonic together as the only mixable solution, and over time it became apparent that the tonic was the part that most people had the problem with,” O’Brien said.

“Just like gin, the world of tonic water has exploded therefore if you weren’t a fan of the traditional style of tonic, flavoured styles have hit the market which has made the idea of a gin and tonic much more appealing.

“However, as someone who has mixed cocktails for a long time, gin is a core cocktailing tool and can be used to create a range of drinks, from classic to the new modern style of cocktails.”

Here are five of his favourites for World Gin Day.

French 75

• 30ml The Botanist
• 15ml lemon juice
• 10ml sugar syrup
• Top with Champagne
• Garnish with a lemon twist

METHOD: Add Gin, lemon and sugar syrup to a shaker filled with ice, shake and fine strain into chilled champagne glass, top with champagne and garnish with lemon twist.

Why O’Brien loves it: “Gin, lemon, and sugar are kind of the holy trinity of basic cocktailing and the addition of champagne
really elevates the simple glass of bubbles to something more. Perfect for functions, welcome drinks and pretty much anytime you want to add a little fizz into your life.”

Classic Dry Martini 

• 60ml The Botanist
• 15ml/20ml Dry Vermouth
• Garnish with a lemon twist or chilled green olive

METHOD: Add all ingredients to mixing glass, add ice and stir to dilute. Strain into chilled Cocktail glass, garnish as desired.

Why O’Brien loves it: “The Gin Martini is my go-to drink of choice, not just for gin but of all time. There is just something about the image of sitting at a bar with the busyness of the world going on around you and yet you have one of the most personal drinks in front of you. A drink made to what you like; dry, dirty, Gibson or 50:50, the possibilities are endless.”

Mandarin Gimlet

• 45ml The Botanist
• 20ml mandarin juice
• 10ml lime juice
• 15ml Sugar Syrup
• Garnish with a lime skin disc

METHOD: Add all ingredients to an ice filled shaker, shake and fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass, spray lime disc over cocktail and drop in.

Why O’Brien loves it: “One of the easiest things to do with cocktails is to make something personal by adding new
ingredients or subbing things out. The Gimlet itself is just gin, lime, and sugar. By adding a new citrus such as mandarin, it brings so much more life to the drink, not only in colour, but in zest itself. Mandarin is sweet and sour, so you get to explore that. Plus, not having mandarins available all year round like most citrus means this cocktail can feel a little more special.”

Fall & Spice

• 30ml The Botanist
• 30ml Amaro Montenegro 
• 30ml Select
• Garnish with an orange twist and cinnamon stick

METHOD: Build all ingredients in a short glass over ice. Stir. Garnish and enjoy.

Why O’Brien loves it: “Again, twisting a classic with one ingredient can change everything. The Negroni concept of gin, red bitter and sweet vermouth isn’t for everyone, it can be a little polarising. So, by adding a sweet Amaro like Amaro Montenegro allows more spices to come out of both the gin and the vermouth while making it a little sweeter.”

Island Dreaming

• 45ml The Botanist
• 20ml lime juice
• 20ml pineapple juice
• 10ml cinnamon syrup
• 2 dashes Aromatic bitters
• 10ml egg whites
• Garnish with cinnamon sugar dust

METHOD: Add all ingredients to shaker, shake without ice, add ice, shake, and fine strain into chilled cocktail glass. Let foam settle and sprinkle cinnamon sugar.

Why O’Brien loves it: “While gin and tiki-style drinks aren’t very common, with many people favouring rum options, tropical fruits and spices that are used work great with gin. The acidity of the fruit mixing with the spice and the sugars works really well, particularly when paired with a classic style of drink such as the sour.”

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