Seven underrated gin cocktails and where to get them

The rise of gin over the past 15-or-so years has taken the spirit from relative unpopularity to near-ubiquity. But as with any ascent, with universal popularity comes the temptation to pigeonhole. For some, gin is about great goblets in the beer garden; for others it is the only respectable choice for a Martini. Others again will think of it mostly as completing the Negroni trivariate (Campari and sweet vermouth hold up the other ends).

But alongside whisky, gin is the spirit bars are built on. And during the 220 years or thereabout that cocktails have been poured, countless mixes have come and gone. Obscure brandy mixes have been lost, tequila tipples gone forever. And while the likes of the G’n’T may be timeless, there are many gin drinks that have, for one reason or another, largely slipped from the general consciousness. But a great gin can make a spectacular drink, especially in the right hands. Here are seven to order, and where to order them – may one of them be a new favourite.

There’s a story that says this mix was first born in London in 1919 at Ciro’s Club and refined a decade later in Paris, but another claims it was first stirred in the Savoy in 1927 by Harry Craddock, who made it for Zelda Fitzgerald and named it in a nod to her platinum blonde hair. Those familiar with the Sidecar can think of this as the gin equivalent, but it is much tarter, perhaps closer to a classic gin sour. It starts with a measure of gin, and half that amount of both lemon juice and triple sec. This is Craddock’s early recipe, but it is best with an egg white shaken in too, which softens that tart, hard edge and makes the drink silky. Given the history, The American Bar at the Savoy (Strand, WC2, thesavoylondon.com) should do one, but the better American Bar is the one run under the watchful eyes of bar manager Benoit Provost and head bartender Salvatore Megna, which is found at The Stafford (16-18 St James’s Place, SW1, thestaffordlondon.com).

While many gin cocktails are dry and strong, especially those from the golden age of cocktails – which can be considered the Thirties to the Fifties – this one is more floral, and far less austere looking than some others on the list. Though, like many below, it is also built around the pleasing mix of gin, maraschino liqueur and lemon. Here the addition is creme de violette – in truth, a curiosity that is astonishingly floral, to the point of tasting like an air freshener when overused even slightly. But done carefully, added judiciously, this purple drink offers its own, distinct, floral flavours, with just a touch of acidity from the lemon. Very good classic bars should make one, but not everywhere has creme de violette; somewhere that keeps its stocks in good shape is the beautiful Booking Office 1869 (St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Road, NW1, booking-office.co.uk). While technically part of a hotel, it doesn’t feel like it; the room seems its own and separate. Bar manager Jack Porter is particularly good with an Aviation, it being one of his favourites.

The icy embrace of a Martini may stay ever popular regardless of changing wonts and trends – and rightly so; it will always be an ideal way to start a meal – but its elder sibling is today only rarely made. Recipes differ, and some have it equal parts gin and sweet vermouth (with a splash of maraschino liqueur and a drop or two of bitters), but for a drink with more guts, opt to double the amount of gin to sweet vermouth, before the teaspoon of maraschino and the slug of bitters. This dries the drink somewhat – otherwise it can be a touch on the sweet side – and is the best way to do it, rather than add in dry vermouth (some recipes recommend this; it is a deplorable solution). While the name suggests Martini, the flavour sits between that and a Manhattan. Any bar worth its salt will make one, and Duke’s Bar (35 St James's Place, SW1A 1NY, dukeshotel.com) should be very capable, but there’s a lovely twist on one at the Fumoir Bar (Claridge’s, Brook Street, W1, claridges.co.uk), called the Marinetti, where white port is added to give the drink a new roundness.

Not the raspberry-flavoured spirit that you’ll find in “pink gin” bottles today, this is in fact an archetypal drink of the Forties. Proper pink gin is all stiff-upper-lip English, though in fact it was invented for the Royal Navy in the late 1800s, long before it was a staple of drawing room soirées. Its premise is almost pitifully simple: take gin, add a good heft of Angostura bitters, stir over ice and serve with a twist of lemon. But as such, besides calling to mind a glamorous time of pearls and silk and men in serge suits, the drink is all but built to show off a favoured gin; unsurprisingly, it is gin-forward, but the spice of the bitters helps soften the delivery. Any bar will make one – if they can’t, leave immediately – but for the ultimate in old-world, British vibes, try the most English of English hotels; the bar at The Goring (15 Beeston Place, SW1, thegoring.com) should fit the bill perfectly. After one, switch to their excellent list: the Chocolate Spice is particularly good, although admittedly there’s no gin anywhere near it.

Appropriately named, given it hasn’t really made it out of the last century unscathed (that said, the truth of it is that it actually got its moniker in tribute to a top-end train). One of the more complex drinks on the list – usually a bad sign; with cocktails it is never a case of “the more ingredients, the better” – this one sees gin poured with Lillet Blanc, white creme de cacao and lemon juice. On paper, madness: the light wine of Lillet Blanc, the sweet chocolate of the creme de cacao, the tartness of lemon. Not obvious bedfellows, but together there is something about it. As such, you’ll need somewhere really special to do this; I’ve yet to find a drink that dive bar Murder Inc (36 Hanway Street, W1, murderinclondon.com) doesn’t know, and likewise, Homeboy in Islington (108 Essex Road, N1 8LX, homeboybar.com) seems to be able to take any request in its stride, too.

Decidedly thought of as a sillier drink – or what you might call a disco drink, or a pour for parties – the Singapore Sling, born as the Gin Sling, has a strange reputation. Mostly, it’s been marred by Eighties bartenders being Eighties bartenders, pouring bright red, sugary nonsense. Made well, it is something else together, something strangely herby, something with plenty of fruit. But, as the terrific drinks writer and historian David Wondrich points out, over the years no one has been able to really agree on what exactly goes in it. A fairly standard recipe will involve Benedictine, Grand Marnier and cherry liqueur in equal measures, a good slug of fresh lime juice, and a matched amount of gin and pineapple juice (the measure for the gin should be about triple the amount of the Grand Marnier). Bitters are a given. But regardless, bars tend to do their own thing. Satan’s (below), Murder Inc (above) or the likes of The Coral Room (Bloomsbury Hotel, 16-22 Great Russell Street, WC1, thecoralroom.co.uk) will do one, but for the historical-minded, the place to get them will be Raffles at the OWO (57 Whitehall, SW1, theowo.london), which opens in the summer and has plans to mix Slings up. Why is it the spot? The original Sling was invented in the Singapore Raffles back in 1915.

Left until last because – well, you can work it out – again maraschino is involved here. Perhaps, then, the decline in some these drinks is to do with a lack of interest in maraschino. If so; madness, the stuff makes some wonderful drinks (see, for instance, the Red Hook). Here, it is partnered in equal parts with lime juice and green Chartreuse, and while some recipes call for the measure of gin to be the same, it’s best when doubled. Though it’s one of those that helped kick off the pre-Prohibition revival, it since seems to have fallen by the wayside in London – but not, happily, at Satan’s Whiskers in Bethnal Green (343 Cambridge Heath Road, E2, satanswhiskers.com). In fact, Satan’s can cheerfully mix up any of the drinks here; classics are kind of its thing.

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