Forget the gym resolutions this year and focus on the gin resolutions! Whether you’re a novice gin drinker or a bona fide juniper connoisseur, there’s always a way to add a little bit more ginny fun to your life. Make 2021 your ginniest year yet with these goals that will excite, enlighten and ginspire you.
The Jockey Club: a simple but delicious classic cocktail
1. Develop your cocktail-making skills!
The gin and tonic is tried and true, but why not take the time this year to broaden your ginny horizons?
If you’re a cocktail-making beginner, and a little bit nervous about making your own drink, don’t be! Start with one of our easy cocktail recipes; we’ve tried and tested all of them and promise you, they can all be whipped up in jiffy at home with just a few common store-cupboard ingredients!
Alternatively, why not try your hand at one of the simpler classic cocktail recipes? A Martini or a Negroni, for example, is just as easy to make as a G&T - honest! - and makes for a delicious alternative to your regular G&T! We’ve even made it as easy as possible by putting some classic cocktail bundles on our online shop, so you can buy everything you need to whip up a delicious batch of drinks in one go!
Oh, and if you’re already confident with your cocktail shaker and would like to take your home mixology skills to the next level, then check out our cocktail hub - we’ve got dozens of ideas for showstopping cocktails that are bound to wow your guests (and your tastebuds)!
Toffee gingerbread gin cupcakes with salted caramel icing
2. Try your hand at some boozy bakes!
Yes, it’s time to give your culinary concoctions a boozy boost! If one of your New Year’s Resolutions was to learn how to bake something or to expand your repertoire of home recipes, then why not try one of our delicious gin-spiked suggestions?
From boozy twists on classic baking recipes such as gin-soaked carrot cake and gin and tonic lemon drizzle cake, to new crowd-pleasing creations like our pink raspberry gin cupcakes, we’ve got dozens of (g)inspiring recipes for every occasion and level of baker!
3. Grow (or pick) your own gin garnish!
Did your New Year’s Resolutions include doing your little bit for the environment? Maybe you’d like to encourage some bees and wildlife to your garden, or to cut down on food waste and plastic wrapping? It’s time to get green-fingered - with the added incentive of growing your own gin garnish!
We’ve got a few ideas for easy plants you can grow at home whose herbs, flowers or fruits will make fabulously fresh garnishes for your G&T and home cocktails!
(Oh, and if growing your own garnish isn’t possible, you can still get back to nature by foraging or picking your own gin garnishes! Here’s our handy guide to gin-friendly fruit-picking, including when, where and how to use them in your G&T.)
Use botanicals like elderflower to infuse your homemade compound gin.
4. Make homemade gin or flavoured gin liqueurs!
While it’s impossible to imitate the superb craft that takes place in the distilleries which produce the spirits for our fabulous Gin of the Month boxes, giving your own homemade gin a go can be a fun and exciting way to learn even more about the spirit!
In its simplest form, gin is a neutral base spirit, flavoured with juniper and other botanicals. This means you can make your own so-called ‘compound’ gin by infusing these ingredients in some good quality vodka. Here’s our easy guide to making your own homemade gin.
Alternatively, making your own flavoured gin (they’re gin liqueurs, technically) at home is even easier!
From pretty pink raspberry gin to a classic sloe gin recipe, check out these easy step-by-step guides to making your own flavoured gin liqueurs at home below.
The twelve fabulous Gins of the Month we sent Craft Gin Club members in 2019
5. Join Craft Gin Club!
Whether you’re new gin but want to understand what all the fuss is about; you like gin and would like to try more, different ones to your usual brand but aren’t sure where to start; or you love gin already and want to expand your craft gin expertise - not to mention your home cocktail-making skills - even more this year, then joining our wonderful Craft Gin Club is definitely the best resolution you could make in 2020!
Apart from all the fabulous, hand-selected artisan gins - many of them exclusive to us - that you’ll get to try, along with all the carefully matched tonics, mixers and yummy snacks in your surprise Gin of the Month box, you’ll also get the chance to enter loads of fabulous competitions, be part of our super fun-loving (and gin-loving) community) and lots more besides!
(Still not sure? Would it help to know we have amazing independent reviews? Here’s what our members have to say about us!)
Dodd’s craft gin distillery in London
6. Visit a distillery or gin school
Something every true gin lover needs to do at least once in their lives is visit the hallowed source of the nectar they so love and enjoy: the gin distillery!
Not only can you learn a lot about your favourite spirit, there’s also often the opportunity to do some guided tasting and stock up on your new discoveries! Why not schedule a trip to one of these fabulous craft gin distilleries this year? With tastings, tours and the gorgeous scenery to enjoy, this be your best holiday yet!
Taste and score a variety of gins to explore the different flavours
7. Hold a gin tasting
The best way to refine your gin palate? Try them all, of course! A structured gin tasting is an excellent way to expand your knowledge and understanding of the various gin flavour profiles that are out there.
Select three to five gins to taste alongside each other, invite some friends round and work your way through the lot, comparing notes on the different aromas and tastes you can identify!
Try a bit of the spirit neat, then see how it changes when you add water or tonic water. Don’t be afraid to refer to the bottles to prompt your palate to detect the different botanicals – whether it’s piney juniper, aromatic cardamom or citrusy, spicy coriander. You’ll be a gin genius in no time!
Here’s our full handy guide to hosting your very own gin-tasting party at home!
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