Get creative with distilled gins in your cocktails

Author: The Bar Team & Pippa Guy

Before we jump into creative cocktails and festive flourishes, let's get one thing straight.

What is distilled gin?

Distilled gin is a gin that has been flavoured after distillation with a signature botanical. It’s made with distilled gin, infused, and typically sweetened and coloured. And the possibilities to use them in cocktails are endless.

Now, with that out of the way, let's join Pippa Guy, legendary mixologist and gin expert, as she shares her top 5 tips on how you can get creative at home with distilled gin cocktails.

01. Look to ingredients to find the best cocktail and food pairings

Sometimes, inspiration is closer to home than you think. If you're hosting friends and want to make sure your distilled gin cocktails and canapés pair perfectly, take a look at the ingredients you're using. For example, if you're preparing smoked salmon blinis, we all know salmon and fresh lemon are best friends. So why not serve a citrus based cocktail like a fresh and bright G&T made with Gordon's Sicilian Lemon gin?

02. Get creative with garnishes

A great way to bring your cocktails to live, and to make them look absolutely delicious, is to mirror the flavour of your gin with your garnishes. If a gin boasts juicy berry flavours, have handfuls of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries on hand to plop into the glass, or place on a dainty skewer. If your gin brings a lime flavour to the party, garnish the rim of glasses with fresh, bright lime wheels.

Multi Brands Tanqueray and Gordons Bramble Cocktail

03. Switch up a classic cocktail by swapping in a flavoured gin

Classic cocktails are classic for a reason. But experimenting with classics is also a fun way to discover something unexpectedly good. A great way to do this is to swap the gin in a recipe to a flavoured gin. A great example is replacing the gin in a Negroni with a Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla. The beautiful, bittersweet Seville orange notes of the gin lend itself perfectly to this cocktail.

A couple enjoying Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla cocktails with appetizers.

04. Consider the colour profile of your drinks menu

Flavoured gins not only taste great, they also look eye-catching. If you're planning a drinks menu for your next party, consider the different colour of cocktails you could make. A cloudy, lime-y Gimlet made with Tanqueray Rangpur gin looks fantastic next to a bright Gordon's Premium Pink Spritz.

05. Take inspiration from the gin's origins when selecting food pairings

Planning to serve Negronis, featuring an exquisite Italian distilled gin? Then there's no finer pairing than an Italian feast. Think arancini, carbonara, osso buco... and don't forget the tiramisu.

Another great example is the Tanqueray Blackcurrant Royale distilled gin. Inspired by Charles Tanqueray's travels around France, it works as a beautiful digestif served alongside a quintessential French cheeseboard. Brie, camembert and Roquefort may be the star of the board, but the star of the show will truly be the gin.