How to drink gin warm

Once the scourge of London’s streets, gin is the spirit that’s reinventing itself with spectacular success

Hot toddies are tasty and mulled wine is moreish, but aficionados of mother’s ruin will be glad to hear that warm gin cocktails are on the rise right now. That’s correct, that bottle of Hendrick’s won’t be unearthed solely just to cool you down during the summer months, but it’ll also be winter warmer for years to come.

Lightly spiced with an indulgent aroma, a gulp of a gin-based cocktail is the best soul-soothing tipple you’ve (probably) never considered trying. To help get you started on your mixing mission, here are the best recipes out there…

Mulled apple with gin

Naturally sweetened by the apples and beautifully spiced by the cinnamon, this is a light infusion that you can sip on for endless…

Ingredients:

  • 50ml Isle Harris gin
  • 1 orange peel
  • 1 lemon peel
  • Small knob of fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 litre carton apple juice
  • 2 tsp runny honey
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 orange wedge per person

Method:

1. Grab a large saucepan and add the cinnamon stick, citrus peels and a little sprinkle of the grated ginger., 2. Pour in the apple juice and heat all contents on a low heat for around 15 minutes – during this time all the flavours and aromas will infuse together., 3. Stir in the honey., 4. Strain the mixture into a jug and pour into glasses filled with 50ml of gin., 5. Top with orange wedges.


Hot Bee’s Knees

A take on a 1920s classic, this warming tipple truly lives up to it’s moniker…

Ingredients:

  • 50ml Nicholson Gin
  • 25ml lemon juice
  • 100ml boiling water

Method:

1. Add equal parts water and honey into a saucepan over a low heat. Stir until they combine., 2. Pour into a mug, add the lemon juice and gin, and stir., 3. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Warm Old Fashioned with gin

We associate an Old Fashioned with bourbon, and gin with an equally simple classic, the Martini. But when concocted properly, mother’s ruin can also work in the spirit-sweetener-bitters-citrus formula…

Ingredients:

  • 50ml Sipsmith Dry Gin
  • 3 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 1 sugar cube
  • 2 maraschino cherry
  • 2 tsp of warm water
  • 1 lemon peel

Directions:, 1) Place the sugar in a whisky tumbler., 2) Add dashes of bitters and the warm water., 3) Muddle until the sugar dissolves., 4) Add the gin and stir well, 5) Let it set for a couple of minutes before squeezing the peel over the glass and rubbing it around the rim., 6) Add the last cherry.

Hot gin and tonic

A fuss-free alternative to mulled wine or cider, this comes in handy when the weather bites…

Ingredients:

  • 50ml Bombay Sapphire
  • 25ml tonic syrup
  • 10ml sugar syrup
  • A twist of orange peel

Directions:

1. Combine the gin and tonic to a glass before topping off with boiling water. , 2. Garnish with an orange twist.

Purl Royal

Mulled wine with oranges and spices

Boasting an incredible depth of flavour, the Purl Royal is for those with a more experienced palate…

Ingredients:

  • 150ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin
  • 1 bottle red wine
  • 200ml cloudy apple juice
  • 90g demerara sugar
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 1 star anise
  • Satsuma segments and cinnamon sticks

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients (bar the satsuma segments and cinnamon sticks) into a pan and simmer over a low heat for around 15-20 minutes. , 2. Leave to cool for approximately 5-10 minutes and then strain., 3. Pour into glasses and add the satsuma segments and cinnamon sticks.

Hot spiced gin punch

For those hankering after something sweeter this cold season, this is the concoction for you…

Ingredients:

  • 250ml Hendricks Gin
  • 500ml apple cider
  • 750ml ginger beer
  • 100g Demerara sugar
  • 100ml freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 split vanilla pod
  • Apple rounds (cored)
  • Juniper berries
  • Apple wedges studded with cloves

Directions:

1. Simply add all the ingredients into a large pot and simmer on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. , 2. Leave to heat for another 5 minutes., 3. Pour into a heatproof glass mug and add the clove-studded apple.

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