When (or should that be… “if”?!) the sun comes out, there’s little more refreshing than a gin and mint cocktail. Even better, it’s super easy (and cheap) to grow your own mint for your cocktails at home, so there’s no need to splurge at the shops to find the cocktail ingredients!
Here are five of the best gin cocktail recipes using this humble herb. Now all we need is some sunshine…
Amarula Grasshopper
“This after-dinner drink is a twist on the classic cocktail the Grasshopper. It has a velvety mouthfeel, and a mix of fruity flavours followed by a subtle mint aftertaste.”
15ml gin
15ml Amarula Cream Liqueur
15ml crème de menthe blanche
30ml single cream
Sprig of fresh mint and grated chocolate, to garnish (optional)
Put all your ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a coupe or martini glass. Garnish and enjoy.
Minty White Lady
45ml gin
25ml crème de menthe blanche
15ml lemon juice
1 egg white
Mint and lemon peel, to garnish
Add all the ingredients to a shaker and shake for the first time without ice (dry shake). Add ice and shake a second time. Strain into a coupe or rocks glass with ice, then garnish with a mint sprig and lemon peel.
Lemon, Gin & Mint Mojito
50ml gin
6 mint leaves
10ml sugar syrup
Sprig of lemon/mint, to garnish
Soda, to top up
In the bottom of a tall glass or tumbler, muddle the six mint leaves. Add your gin and sugar syrup and give a gentle stir, then fill your glass with crushed ice (or normal cubes, if you prefer). Top up with soda water and garnish with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint. We recommend a citrus gin like Six Bells for this cocktail.
Cucumber, Mint & Elderflower Gin Cooler
45ml gin
A few small cubes of cucumber
3 mint leaves
10ml elderflower cordial (or sugar syrup)
Squeeze of fresh lime juice
Tonic or soda water, to top up
In a rocks or highball glass, gently muddle the cucumber and mint. Fill your glass with ice then add the gin, elderflower cordial and a good squeeze of lime juice and top up with tonic or soda water. Stir for about 30 seconds. Garnish with a sprig of mint and/or a thin slice of cucumber.
G & Mint Tea Punch
Serves 8
5 peppermint teabags
1 litre boiling water
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp mint leaves
230ml gin
Brew peppermint tea in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the sugar and 1 tablespoon of mint. Allow the leaves to steep and the sugar to dissolve. Then remove the teabags and strain the liquid into a jug. Place in the fridge to chill. Once you are ready to serve your cocktail, garnish with the remaining mint.
Cowboy Martini
60ml gin
15ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
7 mint leaves
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and your mint leaves. Add gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup. Shake vigorously. Strain the liquid into a chilled martini glass. Top with mint leaves to garnish and serve.
Marmajito
50ml gin
2 tsp marmalade
10ml lemon juice
10 mint leaves
Elderflower tonic water
Place the gin, marmalade, lemon juice and clapped mint into a cocktail shaker, fill to the top with ice and shake for 10 seconds, or until you feel enough dilution has taken place. Fill a Highball tumbler with ice, add a thin, whole sliced wheel of grapefruit against the inside of the glass or add a dehydrated slice of orange. Strain the mixture into the glass. Finish to the top with elderflower tonic and a mint sprig. We recommend Salcombe Gin for this delicious cocktail.
One of the best ways to get minty flavours into your gin cocktails is with a mint liqueur called crème de menthe. Find out everything you need to know about this mint cocktail ingredient right here:
What is crème de menthe?
Crème de menthe is a sweet mint liqueur. Its direct translation from French is ‘mint cream’, but don’t be fooled by its name – it doesn’t actually contain any cream. In fact, crème is a term used to describe liqueurs with a thick consistency, made using a higher ratio of sugar than other liqueurs.
There are two types of crème de menthe – white (which is crystal clear) and green. The green version can either get its colour naturally from mint or from artificial colouring. They taste the same, so the version you choose to use comes down purely to the way you want your cocktail to look.
When was crème de menthe invented?
Crème de menthe was first made in 1885 by a French pharmacist called Emile Giffard, who was researching mint and its effects on digestion.
Giffard ended up creating this delicious digestif and decided to test it out on the guests of the Grand Hotel in Angers. Its mix of minty and sweet flavours meant that it quickly became successful.
Crème de menthe’s popularity continued well into the 20th century, and it’s notably the favourite drink of Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie’s novels.
How is crème de menthe made?
While processes vary from brand to brand, it’s usually produced by steeping mint in a neutral grain alcohol for several days. Once infused with the flavours of mint, the distiller filters the liquid, adds sugar and dilutes it to an appropriate bottling strength – typically between 15% and 25% ABV.
What does crème de menthe actually taste like?
Sweet and refreshingly minty!
It is less sharp than the flavours you’d get with fresh mint, and its sweetness means it's better at balancing bitter flavours in cocktails. It’s also less boozy than peppermint schnapps, making it more appropriate to use in cocktails that also include gin.
How do you drink crème de menthe?
It can be drunk on its own on the rocks, but usually it’s mixed with sparkling water, or used in a cocktail like a Grasshopper or Stinger. It is also sometimes used in boozy food recipes – crème de menthe ice cream is particularly popular.
Which brand of crème de menthe should I try?
We recommend starting off with Giffard Menthe de Pastille, which is available to buy on the Craft Gin Club online shop here!
Giffard Menthe de Pastille is the benchmark for quality when it comes to crème de menthe. It’s made by the Giffard family, using the original recipe Emile Gifford developed for crème de menthe in 1885.
It’s made from Black Mitcham Peppermint – a cross between spearmint and water mint. The result is a crystal-clear white crème de menthe, with notes of menthol and peppermint on the nose and palate.
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