Gin | Saveur

Cucumber Gin Cooler

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:20:39 +0000

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Tyna Hoang. Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Tyna Hoang

This refreshing update on the classic gin and tonic is an easy sipper, thanks to summery cucumber slices and plenty of lime juice. You can use any gin you have on hand, but we’re partial to Hendrick’s, which has a slight cucumber flavor, for this cooler. A note on the cucumber slices: it may be tempting to nibble them out of your drink right away, but try to resist the urge. After several minutes’ contact with the lime juice, gin, and tonic water (about as long as it takes to finish the cocktail), they pickle ever so slightly, taking on a lovely crisp flavor.

Yield: Makes 4 cocktails

Time: 5 minutes

8 oz. gin
8 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (from about 4 limes)
½ cup thinly sliced Persian or Kirby cucumber, scrubbed but not peeled
Tonic water
Lime wedges, for garnish

Instructions

To a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add the gin, lime juice, and cucumber slices. Shake vigorously for 1–2 minutes, then strain into four ice-filled glasses, making sure the cucumber slices are evenly distributed. Top each glass with tonic water and garnish with a lime wedge.

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Contessa

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:45:52 +0000

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen. Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

The Contessa, a modern creation of John Gertsen, a bartender at Boston’s now-closed Drink, replaces two of the Negroni’s three ingredients: Campari is swapped for the lighter and more orangey Aperol and dry vermouth substitutes for sweet. It’s more like the Negroni’s third cousin than a direct descendant.

Yield: Makes 1 cocktail

Time: 5 minutes

1 oz. Aperol
1 oz. dry vermouth
1 oz. gin
Lemon or orange twist, for garnish

Instructions

To a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add the Aperol, vermouth, and gin. Shake until chilled, about 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled old-fashioned glass filled with ice. Squeeze the lemon twist over the top and drop it into the glass.

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Hibiscus Rose Vesper

Alexis Kahn — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:44:32 +0000

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen. Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

This blush-colored riff on one of James Bond’s favorite drinks gets its lovely hue—and kicked-up flavor—from hibiscus rose bitters. The lightly sweet, subtly floral extract plays beautifully with the traditional ingredients featured in a classic Vesper Martini: gin, vodka, and Lillet Blanc.

Featured in the March 2011 issue.

Yield: Makes 1 cocktail

Time: 5 minutes

3 oz. dry gin
1 oz. vodka
¹⁄₂ oz. Lillet Blanc
3 dashes hibiscus rose bitters

Instructions

To a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add the gin, vodka, Lillet Blanc, and hibiscus rose bitters. Shake until chilled, about 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass.

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Water Lily Cocktail

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:48:09 +0000

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen. Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

Crème de violette adds sweetness and an arresting purple color to a tart mix of gin, lemon juice, and triple sec in this cocktail recipe adapted from Please Don’t Tell (PDT), a speakeasy in New York City.

Yield: Makes 1 cocktail

Time: 5 minutes

¾ oz. crème de violette
¾ oz. gin
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
¾ oz. triple sec
Strip of orange zest, for garnish

Instructions

To a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add the crème de violette, gin, lemon juice, and triple sec, and shake vigorously until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with the orange zest.

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Celery Martini

Patricia Clark Hippolyte — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:50:20 +0000

Photo: Julia Gartland • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

Virtuous celery juice becomes delightfully indulgent when spiked with gin. Here, it’s also combined with fresh lemon juice, Lillet Blanc, and celery bitters for a clean and vegetal cocktail with a bright green hue. The recipe for this verdant martini comes to us by way of astrologer and bartender Patricia Clark Hippolyte.

Featured in Mixstrology: Virgo.

Yield: Makes 1 cocktail

Time: 5 minutes

1 celery stalk, plus leaves for garnish
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
2 oz. gin
1 dash celery bitters
1 dash Lillet Blanc

Instructions

Using an electric juicer, juice the celery. Alternatively, coarsely chop the celery, add to a food processor, and purée. Transfer to a cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl and press on the solids until all the juice is drained. (You should have about 1 ounce celery juice.) Add the lemon juice immediately to prevent browning.
To a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add the celery juice mixture, gin, celery bitters, and Lillet, and shake until chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass and garnish with the celery leaves.

The post Celery Martini appeared first on Saveur.

French Blonde

Caraline Bianchetto Chase — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:30:26 +0000

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

In this bright and elegant gin drink, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice complements Lillet Blanc‘s citrus tones, while botanical gin brings out the classic French aperitif’s herbal notes. In addition to oranges and white wine, Lillet also includes quinine, a potent bittering agent that lends its astringent flavor to tonic water. A splash of sweet and floral elderflower liqueur serves as a graceful foil, resulting in a French Blonde cocktail that’s harmonious and chic, with a lovely pale yellow hue that’s just the thing for brightening up a cold night.

Yield: Makes 1 cocktail

Time: 5 minutes

2 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
2 oz. Lillet Blanc
1 oz. dry gin
½ oz. elderflower liqueur, such as St-Germain
3 dashes lemon bitters

Instructions

To a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add the grapefruit juice, Lillet Blanc, gin, elderflower liqueur, and lemon bitters, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled martini glass and serve.

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The Last Word

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:53:38 +0000

Photography by Belle Morizio; Food Styling By Jessie YuChen; Prop Styling By Kim Gray; Coupe by Glasvin

Equal parts gin, chartreuse, Maraschino liqueur, and fresh lime juice, The Last Word cocktail is a foolproof classic that goes down as easily as it is to make. This recipe takes well to scaling: Quadruple it for four, or for a party, make a pitcher for guests to pour over ice. It can also be adapted to individual tastes; for a less sweet result, up the gin to 1¼ ounces.

This recipe, which is adapted from pre-Prohibition-era classic cocktail created at the Detroit Athletic Club, was featured in Laura Sant’s “Friday Cocktails: The Last Word.”

Yield: 1

Time: 5 minutes

¾ oz. fresh lime juice
¾ oz. London Dry gin, such as Beefeater
¾ oz. green Chartreuse
¾ oz. Maraschino liqueur, such as Luxardo
Lime twist or strip of lime peel, for garnish

Instructions

To a shaker filled halfway with ice, add the lime juice, gin, Chartreuse, and Maraschino and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into a coupe and garnish with the lime twist.

WATCH: How to Shake a Cocktail

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Olive Oil Martini

Erik Delanoy — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 14:07:50 +0000

All you need to whip up these classic cocktails at home is a mixing glass (or a Mason jar) and a butter knife. Erik Delanoy

While the world of vermouth is a beautiful and delicious one to explore, it is important to remember that lots of martini drinkers prefer their cocktails dirty. This olive oil martini recipe makes use of a pro-bartenders’ infusion technique called “fat-washing”; it is a fun, easy-to-make alternative that provides layers of flavor and texture that are otherwise unattainable by simply splashing some olive brine into your cocktail shaker. Be sure to use a very fresh, pungent, and high-quality extra-virgin olive oil and a boldly botanical London dry gin (such as Beefeater) for the infusion.

Featured in: Quarantined? Make these “Quaran-tinis”

Yield: 1, plus extra infused gin

Time: 24 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

For the Olive Oil & Herb Gin

One 750-mL bottle London dry gin
4 oz. (½ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
1 large sprig fresh thyme

For the Martini

2½ oz. (5 Tbsp.) olive & herb-infused gin
½ oz. (1 Tbsp.) blanc vermouth
Pinch of fine sea salt
Pitted green olives for garnish

Instructions

A day before you plan to use the gin, start the infusion: To a large jar or airtight plastic container, add the gin, olive oil, rosemary, and thyme. Shake vigorously, then set aside at room temperature to infuse for 12 hours.
Transfer the jar to the freezer for another 12 hours (or overnight). This will cause the olive oil to solidify and separate. Place a fine mesh strainer over a second large jar or container, then strain the gin, discarding any solids. Wash and dry the original jar and the strainer then line the strainer with a coffee filter. Strain the gin once again to remove any remaining sediment and oil. Use immediately or cover tightly and use within 6 months.
Mix the olive oil martini: In a mixing glass filled with ice, add 2½ oz. of the infused gin gin, along with the vermouth and salt. Stir until well-chilled, then strain into a martini glass or coupe and garnish with as many olives as you like. Serve immediately.

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Clover Club Cocktail

SAVEUR Editors — Sat, 12 Aug 2023 00:45:00 +0000

Photography by Daniel Seung Lee; Art Direction by Kate Berry

Named for a turn-of-the-century men’s club in Philadelphia, this frothy gin sipper (courtesy of Tenmile Distillery) belongs to the pre-Prohibition era of classic cocktails, but has lately been revived on craft bar menus. An earlier recipe appeared in Jack’s Manual (1908), by a bartender famed for his “fancy mixed drinks.” A cousin of the Pink Lady, it needs to be dry shaken to emulsify the egg white, and the addition of raspberry syrup—Monin is a reliable ready-made brand—creates a delicate blush for a summery refreshment. This recipe is a great showcase for Tenmile’s Listening Rock Gin.

Featured in “Our New Favorite Single Malt Whisky Comes From … New York?” by Shane Mitchell.

Yield: 1

Time: 5 minutes

2 oz. gin
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
½ oz. raspberry simple syrup
1 large egg white
Raspberries, for garnish

Instructions

To an empty cocktail shaker, add the gin, lemon juice, raspberry simple syrup, and egg white; shake well. Add enough ice cubes to fill the shaker about halfway, and shake well again. Strain into a coupe or Nick & Nora glass, garnish with a few raspberries, and serve immediately.

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Don’t Fear the Dinner Party: Toasting Romy Gill’s Cookbook From Home

Kat Craddock — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 18:22:08 +0000

Photography by Aaron Bengochea

Don’t fear the dinner party! We’re of the opinion that hosting is so much more fun when guests are welcomed into the kitchen. This is Dinner at Kat’s—a new series wherein SAVEUR editorial director Kat Craddock welcomes buzzy chefs, cookbook authors, and wine and spirits pros into her home for a day of cooking and connection. There’s no mystery behind throwing a successful dinner party. Find the menus, recipes, drinks, shopping tips, and tricks to make it happen right here.

The Guest:

Team SAVEUR has long admired U.K.-based chef and cookbook author Romy Gill. We featured her back in 2016, when the late Queen Elizabeth II awarded her the MBE, an honor granted for “significant achievement or outstanding service to the community.” In 2019, I cooked with her when she joined superstar pastry chef Caroline Schiff and the feminist British chefware company Polka Pants for an epic dinner party in our test kitchen. Since then, I’ve counted Romy among my very good friends and watched with delight from across an ocean as she released two incredible Indian cookbooks. Her most recent, On the Himalayan Trail, is a gorgeously photographed chronicle of the food and landscapes she experienced while traveling through India’s mountainous northern regions, Kashmir and Ladakh.

When I heard Romy’s book tour would be bringing her through New York City, I knew right away that she needed to be the guest of honor at the first dinner party in my new apartment. She offered to make some of the recipes from her book, and I decided to make a few accompaniments to round out our meal.

The Menu:

The Big Night:

Craddock preps tomatoes for a late-summer side salad.

After over a decade in cramped New York City apartments, I finally have just about enough space for a proper dinner party. Before moving to the city, I lived in a Boston warehouse full of punks and artists and one of my favorite things to do was to throw open my door and invite friends, lovers, and the occasional stranger into my loft for a hot meal and a few too many drinks.

I’m now aggressively pushing 40, so when searching for a new apartment earlier this year I decided to make room in my home for dinner parties once again. Most importantly I was looking for an open kitchen with plenty of windows, and—a rarity in NYC rentals—a hood over the range. We lucked out in landing the perfect place: a roomy and sun-filled spot in Stuyvesant Town, the post-war residential development just north of the East Village.

Left: Gill juices fresh lemons for homemade paneer; Right: She finished the fresh cheese with green chiles in a creamy turmeric gravy.

After months of waiting for a dining table to make its way through supply chain delays, I finally got to planning. While Romy was on her way over from England, we curated a vegetarian menu via Whatsapp using a mix of Kashmiri recipes from her book and a few seasonally-inspired accompaniments. We invited a few friends and the rest of the SAVEUR gang to join us for dinner.

Gill and Craddock take SAVEUR Selects‘ cast iron cookware for a spin.

The morning before the party, she met me at the Union Square Greenmarket. We picked up a handful of fresh ingredients: a few hot chiles for a Kashmiri-style paneer in turmeric gravy; an off-script quart of sour cherries for a cheerful, tangy chutney; and heirloom tomatoes and scallions for a warm spiced salad. We also picked up a few honeycrisp apples that we’d later braise down to a buttery compote with raisins, cardamom, fennel seeds, and Lillet to top a simple custard tart from my favorite local bakery.

At the Bar:

Left: Luccia Corichi; Right: Craddock paired the main course with an organic orange wine from Castilla La Mancha, Spain.

While Romy’s book contains plenty of beautiful tea recipes, there are no cocktails—alcohol is not widely consumed in the largely Muslim regions of Kashmir and Ladakh. But we both knew that we wanted to kick off our mashup meal with a fun, boozy drink. I hoped for a flavor profile suitable for toasting Romy’s fragrant mountain fare, so I asked bartender extraordinaire Luccia Corichi to help us out.

Luccia has worked in restaurants throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan, most recently with Unapologetic Foods of Adda and Dhamaka fame. She’s currently the bar manager over at Semma, the group’s new South Indian concept, but had no problem looking further north to design a gorgeous, Himalayan-inspired cocktail. It was a warm night, so Luccia blitzed Hapusa Dry Gin, which is distilled with Indian botanicals including wild Himalayan juniper berries, into a lemony watermelon punch. A splash of homemade syrup with Darjeeling tea, lemon verbena, and Kashmir’s sulfurous black salt gave Luccia’s fruity refreshment layers of savory nuance that sparkled alongside the chile heat of our rich vegetarian meal.

All-Star Ingredients:

•Diaspora & Co. Kashmiri Saffron

•Vermont Creamery Salted Cultured Butter

•Hapusa Himalayan Dry Gin

Pro Tip:

Romy Gill taught Kat Craddock her mother’s quick and easy method for DIY paneer.

Romy grew up eating loads of homemade paneer in West Bengal, and the fresh, pressed farm cheese also pops up frequently in her book (paneer factors heavily in Kashmiri cuisine). Commercial versions are increasingly available at supermarkets and South Asian grocery stores, but Romy knew I worked as a cheesemonger for many years and she was eager to show me how quick and easy it is to make this unaged cheese from scratch.

“You have to give love to the milk, and be very gentle while stirring, otherwise the curds will break apart.”
-Romy Gill

Homemade paneer requires just two ingredients, and I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that this simple process results in a cheese that’s far softer and more delicate than the store-bought stuff. We used the results to make a creamy, Kashmiri-style yellow curry with turmeric, green chiles, and cardamom (check out Romy’s DIY paneer method, which she learned from her mother, for yourself.)

The Playlist:

As we all bustled in the kitchen, I put on my go-to party mix of boppy ’80s New Wave. When dinnertime rolled around, Romy took over the speakers with a cool mix of groovy South Asian pop and Bollywood love songs.

Get the Recipes

Watermelon Gin Punch with Himalayan Salt Get the recipe >

Tomato Salad with Scallions and Warm Brown Butter Vinaigrette Get the recipe > Photography by Aaron Bengochea

Chaman Kaliya (Kashmiri Paneer Curry with Cardamom and Turmeric) Get the recipe > Photography by Aaron Bengochea

Kashmiri Sour Cherry Chutney Get the recipe > Photography by Aaron Bengochea

Parisian Flan with Cardamom-Apple Compote Get the recipe > Photography by Aaron Bengochea

Kahwa (Kashmiri Spiced Honey Tea) Get the recipe > Photography by Aaron Bengochea

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Watermelon Gin Punch with Himalayan Salt

Luccia Corichi — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 18:19:24 +0000

Photography by Aaron Bengochea

Luccia Corichi, the bar manager at New York City’s Southern Indian restaurant Semma, developed this watermelon gin punch recipe to celebrate chef Romy Gill’s new cookbook, On the Himalayan Trail. Himalayan black salt is mined at the base of the mountains in both India and Pakistan and it has distinctive, smoky-sulfurous notes. The ingredient, when paired with floral pink peppercorns and black tea, lends Corichi’s cheerful fruity cocktail an elegant and layered depth. While any gin will work nicely in this recipe, she recommends seeking out Hapusa Himalayan Dry Gin, which is distilled with wild Himalayan juniper berries and other Indian botanicals.

While Corichi serves this punch straight-up in coupes, she encourages guests looking for a lower ABV drink to enjoy the mix over ice, topped off to taste with a splash of soda water or tonic. (For more on how to incorporate salt into cocktails, check out our primer here.)

Featured in: “Don’t Fear the Dinner Party: Toasting Romy Gill’s Cookbook from Home.”

Yield: 4

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

For the Himalayan salt syrup:

2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. whole pink peppercorns
1½ tsp. Darjeeling tea leaves
1 tsp. Himalayan black salt
½ tsp. dried lemon verbena

For the punch and garnish:

8½ oz. dry gin, divided
7½ oz. fresh watermelon juice, divided
5½ oz. Himalayan salt syrup, divided
12 small watermelon balls or 1-in. cubes
3 oz. fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Make the Himalayan salt syrup: To a small pot, add the sugar and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then stir in the pink peppercorns, Darjeeling tea leaves, Himalayan salt, and lemon verbena and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the syrup has thickened and lightly coats the back of a spoon, 12–15 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, then strain into an airtight container and refrigerate until chilled. (The syrup keeps well in the fridge for up to 1 week.)
Make the garnish: in a small bowl, stir together 2½ ounces each of the gin, watermelon juice, and Himalayan salt syrup. Add the watermelon balls, toss to coat, then cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Make the punch: Fill a pitcher or punch bowl with ice, add the remaining 6 ounces of gin, 4 ounces of watermelon juice, 3 ounces of Himalayan salt syrup, and 3 ounces of lemon juice. Stir well to combine and strain into chilled coupes. Garnish with 1–3 watermelon balls per drink, if desired.

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