Informed Luxury have carefully selected premium brands for 10 of our favourite Scottish gin cocktail recipes. The Scottish gin industry has really taken off in recent years, with craft distilleries popping up all over Scotland and gin-based drinks finding their way onto more and more bar and restaurant menus. And we’re not surprised at all – as a refreshing, classy and versatile spirit, gin is most definitely a firm Informed Luxury (IL) favourite.
There’s no better way to enjoy gin than in a refreshing cocktail. So, we’ve chosen 10 of our favourite Scottish brands and given you a delicious Scottish gin cocktail recipe for each one. Or, if you fancy something simpler, try your chosen gin brand’s signature serve.
Daffy’s Gin – The Amalfi Amore Gin Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
35mls Daffy’s
15mls Limoncello
4 mint leaves
Method:
1. Build over ice and top with Prosecco and soda.
or
2. For a classic D&T, pour 1 part gin and 2 parts tonic over ice and garnish with a generous sprig of mint and lime.
Edinburgh-based Daffy’s Gin is created from the finest French grain spirit and infused with Lebanese mint and botanicals to create a gin that is classic, complex, perfectly balanced and fresh.
Caorunn Gin – Don’t Thistle my Pink Gin Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
50ml Caorunn Gin
20ml Old Pulteney 12YO whisky
20ml Raspberry gomme
1 Rosemary sprig
Method:
1. Stir all the liquid ingredients in a boston
2. Strain into a chilled martini glass.
3. Rim the glass with the rosemary sprig and discard. Garnish with a thistle!
Or, for Carounn’s signature serve, mix 1 part gin with 2 parts tonic, build over ice and garnish with red apple slices.
Hailing from the Scottish Highlands, Caorunn is infused with 11 botanicals, 5 of which are Celtic and hand-foraged from the local area around the Distillery.
Eden Mill – Everlasting Love Gin Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
35-50ml Eden Mill Love Gin
4 raspberries
1 drop rose water (optional)
100ml Lychee juice
15ml Pink grapefruit juice
Method:
1. Crush raspberries in glass.
2. 3⁄4 fill with cubed ice.
3. Add and stir ingredients together.
4. Top with crushed ice, garnish. Garnish with raspberries and dried hibiscus petals.
For a Classic Eden Mill Gin & Tonic, mix 50ml Eden Mill Original Sea Buckthorn Gin with 150ml tonic water over ice and garnish with lime or pink grapefruit wedge.
A St Andrews based brand, Eden Mill try to source most of their botanics locally. They produce an array of unique and interesting gins in a variety of flavours.
NB Gin – The B’s Knees Gin Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
50ml NB Gin
25ml Lemon
25ml B’s Syrup (see below)
Method: Shake all ingredients and double strain to coupe. No garnish necessary.
B’s Syrup Ingredients
250ml Bees Honey
125ml Hot Water
2 Rosemary Sprigs
5g Crushed Black Peppercorns
Method:
Mix ingredients together to combine. Allow to cool and then strain before using. Ratios can be multiplied to make larger batches.
Blended with the best, light tonic and a cube of ice, NB Gin makes the most perfectly refreshing G&T. Try it without garnish, or with a twist of orange or grapefruit.
NB Gin, from North Berwick, is a pure, clear, uncompromised spirit made using only eight botanicals.
Rock Rose Gin – Southwinds Gin Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
50ml Rock Rose
25ml Lime
12.5ml Mint Syrup
Method:
1. Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker
2. Then add ice and shake until cold.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe, and then garnish with fresh mint.
Rock Rose can also be enjoyed with Gin and Tonic and a curl of orange. Or, if you fancy something different, try it with a fully toasted sprig of rosemary.
Named after one of their rare botanicals the ‘Rhodiola rosea,’ which grows on the cliffs of Caithness, Rock Rose use an increasingly unique distilling process which infuses 18 different botanicals.
Darnley’s View Gin – The Lord Darnley Gin Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
50 ml Darnley’s View
dash Elderflower Cordial
dash Fevertree Tonic Water
dash Limoncello
dash Angostura Bitters
Method:
1. In a mixing glass filled with cubed ice, add the Elderflower, Tonic, Limoncello and Bitters coating the ice.
2. Stir and drain off any excess liquid.
3. Add the Gin and stir until well chilled and suitably diluted.
4. Double strain into the glass straight up and garnish with a Maraschino Cherry.
Alternatively, enjoy Darnley’s View regular gin with ice and a slice of lime, or their spiced gin with a slice of orange.
Darnley’s View gin is named in celebration of the moment that Mary Queen of Scots first spied her husband-to-be Lord Darnley at Wemyss Castle in 1565. It is a traditional, London gin made with 6 carefully selected botanics.
Loch Ness Gin – The Ness ’75 Gin Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
20ml Loch Ness Gin
2 spoons of spiced apple jelly
15ml fresh lemon
Champagne
Method:
1. Pour ingredients into a shaker, shake, strain into a flute and top with Champagne. Loch Ness Gin serves well with a premium tonic water and a slice of Kiwi. Those that don’t like tonic may enjoy it with ginger beer and a slice or rhubarb, or alternatively soda water with a split vanilla pod.
An exciting new distiller on the Scottish scene, Loch Ness gin gather their own premium ‘black gold’ juniper from their own rare native crop.
Edinburgh Gin – Autumnal Bramble Gin Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
20ml Rhubarb & Ginger Edinburgh Gin Liqueur
50ml Edinburgh Gin
25ml lemon juice
2 dashes rhubarb bitters – Fee Brothers
10 ml Crème de Figue
5ml Crème de Cassis
Blackberry to garnish
Method:
1. Shake all ingredients apart from the Crème de Cassis with ice in a Boston Shaker.
2.Then, single strain into a Brandy Balloon glass filled with crushed ice.
3.Float the Crème de Cassis on top and garnish with a blackberry.
Edinburgh Gin can also be enjoyed with a quality tonic, ice, and a curl of orange peel.
Made by an enterprising family business, the Nicols of Spencerfield Spirits company, Edinburgh gin is a small batch distillery that produces a varied range of high quality gins.
Makar Glasgow Gin – Maiden’s Prayer Gin Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
25ml Makar Glasgow Gin
25ml Triple Sec
12.5ml Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
12.5ml Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
Orange Peel Twist Garnish
Method:
1. Fill a cocktail shaker half way with cubed ice.
2. Add all the ingredients and shake.
3. Then strain into a chilled coupe glass.
4. Garnish with a twist of orange peel.
Alternatively , you can enjoy Makar Gin with tonic water and a slice of mild green chilli garnish, or straight with a curl of orange peel.
Bright, vibrant and well balanced Makar Glasgow Gin is perfect for gin-led cocktails, invigorating with tonic and worthy of its Makar name – the Scots word for poet.
Arbikie Gin – The Angus Breakfast Gin Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
50 ml Kirsty’s Gin
25ml Fresh Lemon Juice
Two spoonfuls of fine cut marmalade
Method:
1. Add ingredients to a Boston Shaker full of ice.
2. Fine strain into a chilled coupe with an orange twist to garnish.
The classic way to enjoy Arbikie’s Kirsty’s Gin is by rustling up a G&T. Serve in a tall glass filled with ice, a generous measure of Kirsty’s Gin and garnish with blueberries and a lemon twist. Delicious!
Arbikie Highland Estate launched Kirsty’s Gin in 2015. It uses Arbikie’s potato vodka as the base spirit with three local botanicals, Sugar Kelp, Carline Thistle, and Blaeberries.
Words: Josie Benge
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