As the clouds lift, thoughts turn from Winter Belly Warmers to refreshing sips signaling spring is finally here. Following is a curated list of Northwest gin cocktails geared to welcome the arrival of the area’s seasonal Simpson clouds.
Rosé Pegu
Rosé Gin is distilled by Aimsir Distilling (Portland, Oregon) from Oregon wine that was damaged by wildfires and turned into a spirit reminiscent of a floral-infused petrichor. After distilling the wine, Aimsir uses botanicals like strawberry, hibiscus and juniper to highlight the flavors of the terroir that come through the base spirit.
Ingredients
1½ ounces Aimsir Rosé Gin
½ ounce Cointreau
½ ounce simple syrup
¾ ounces fresh lime juice
2 dashes celery bitters
Rosé ice cube
Directions
Add ingredients to a shaker, add ice and shake. Double strain into a chilled coupe with a rosé ice cube.
Sapporo Sling
It isn’t spring in Portland until the Japanese cherry trees around the city begin to blossom. Clean and crisp, slightly citrusy, the Sapporo Sling pays homage to those cherry trees — a gift from Japan in 1990 — and Portland’s Japanese sister city of Sapporo. Aria Classic Dry Gin (Portland, Oregon) has ten classic gin botanicals that lend depth and complexity, while this gin’s immaculate sense of balance allows all of the subtle layers of flavor in this cocktail to shine without being overpowering. Also, this cocktail uses an Italian vermouth infused with Japanese cherry blossoms to bring notes of cherry and violets to the nose, and lychee and stone fruit to the palate. Cherry bitters accentuate the cherry blossom for a delicate complexity that is unmatched.
Ingredients
2 ounces Aria Classic Dry Gin
1 ounce Mancino Sakura Vermouth
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
¼ ounce simple syrup
6 drops Bittered Sling Cherry Bitters
1 dash Peychaud’s Bitters
Edible flowers, for garnish
Directions
Combine ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with edible flowers.
Small Batch Gin Punch
Copperworks Distilling’s (Seattle) small batch gin is much rounder and full than a typical London Dry gin. This gives this drink a botanical punch but with a soft texture along with light coconut, lime and matcha flavors. This punch can be sampled at Copperwork’s Kenmore, Washington, tasting room.
Ingredients
1¾ ounces Copperworks Gin
¾ ounce coconut purée (recipe below)
¾ ounce lime juice
¾ ounce simple syrup
3 ounces matcha tea (recipe below)
1 dash Scrappy’s Lime Bitters
Dash salt
Directions
Add all ingredients into a jar, freeze for four or more hours, then strain into a rocks glass filled with cube ice. No garnish.
Matcha Tea
Steep 1 tablespoon of matcha tea in 3 ounces of 160-degree water. Whisk for 15 min. Let cool before using.
Coconut Purée
Blend the flesh of 3 coconuts in 1½ cups of water.
Strange Magic
For their Forest Gin, Freeland Spirits (Portland, Oregon) has ingredients (chanterelle mushrooms, Douglas fir tips, salal berries and nettle) that are reminiscent of a forest’s depths. That complements the umami notes of white miso paste, wild mushroom syrup and lemon juice, providing a bright and earthy libation packed with flavor. This particular gin seamlessly blends with the earthy and savory elements of this unique cocktail.
Ingredients
½ ounce white miso paste
1 ounce wild mushroom simple syrup (recipe below)
4-5 dashes Black Pepper Bitters
2-3 sprigs fresh dill
2 ounces Freeland Forest Gin
1 ounce lemon Juice
1 small spoonful of ‘silver gray’ glitter
Black salt
Directions
Add fresh dill, bitters, miso paste and mushroom syrup in the shaker tin and muddle. Add the remaining ingredients along with ice and shake for 10 to 15 seconds. Double strain over ice into a Collins glass with a black salt rim.
Wild Mushroom Simple Syrup
To make the wild mushroom simple syrup you can start with any edible wild mushroom or wild mushroom blend. Make a 1:1 simple syrup with the mushrooms macerating. Leave for at least 2 hours before immersion blending. Fine strain the syrup to discard of any thick or large mushroom pieces. Make sure to refrigerate afterwards.
Painted Cucumber Basil Martini
Painted Lady Gin is Pilot House Distilling’s (Astoria, Oregon) new American-style gin created with juniper, lavender, rose hips, chamomile, orris root, coriander, lemon zest, peppercorns and cucumber. It boasts floral highlights and peppered back notes that are great for sipping or in a martini.
Ingredients
2 ounce Painted Lady Gin
¼ cucumber
1 basil sprig
Directions
In a cocktail shaker muddle ¼ cucumber. Add gin and ice cubes, then stir. Strain and garnish with basil sprig.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Southside
The botanicals used in Scratch Distillery’s (Edmonds, Washington) Martini Style Gin recipe highlight more savory notes of the herbs and spices, and have a nice long finish. According to distiller Kim Karrick, they like pairing opposites in cocktails to achieve a complex balance, so the bright citrus, fresh herb and sweetness of the syrup add more complex layers.
Ingredients
2 ounce Scratch Martini Style Gin
1 ounce lemon juice
1 ounce strawberry-rhubarb simple syrup (recipe below)
3 mint leaves, for garnish
Directions
Put ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake for 10 seconds, and serve in a coupe or martini glass with mint leaf garnish.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Simple Syrup
Ingredients
1/2 stalk rhubarb, sliced into chunks
1 pint strawberries, de-stemmed and sliced
1 cup sugar
Directions
Integrate 1 cup of sugar into 1 cup of water over medium heat. Add sliced rhubarb chunks into syrup and bring to medium-high heat for 20 minutes, making sure to stir frequently throughout this process. Add strawberries, and reduce heat to medium-low for another 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 30 to 60 minutes, or to taste. Strain rhubarb and strawberries from syrup. The syrup should stay stable in the refrigerator for about 14 days.
Bella Bee’s Knees
The West Coast Gin from Stillweather Spirits (Portland, Oregon) pairs perfectly in spring cocktails with its cucumber nose, clean juniper backed by lemon peel, and crisp pop of white pepper to finish. This fresh, floral gin is a bit of sunshine in a bottle on rainy, spring days in the Pacific Northwest.
Ingredients
2 ounces Stillweather West Coast Gin
¾ ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ ounce honey syrup (recipe below)
½ ounce elderflower liqueur
Lemon round and apple blossom flowers, for garnish
Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all ingredients, cover and shake vigorously until chilled, about 15 seconds. Strain into a coupe or martini glass and garnish with a lemon round and apple blossom flowers.
Honey Syrup
Combine ¼ cup water and ¼ cup water, or equal parts, in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the honey is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Page Turner
Chapter One London Dry Gin by Temple Distilling (Lynnwood, Washington) uses 10 botanicals, with leading flavors of Italian juniper and citrus, including lemon and three different types of orange peel. With earthy undertones from angelica root and uplifting notes from grains of paradise and cubeb berry, the complexity it brings to a cocktail with tart spring flavors like this make it a bouquet for one’s tastebuds.
Ingredients
2 ounces Chapter One London Dry Gin (Double Gold, Sip Best of the Northwest 2022)
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
½ ounce pamplemousse liqueur
½ ounce simple syrup
Rosemary sprig, for garnish
Directions
Shake all with ice and strain into a coupe, garnish with a fresh sprig of rosemary.
