Gin Cocktails Made Easy: Try These 4 Tanqueray Recipes

Autumn is upon us. The leaves are turning, the weather is cooling, and you’re getting your favorite cozy wear out of storage. The hot summer days giving way to Netflix-and-chill weather is a perfect opportunity to put more of an aromatic note in your drinks. Autumn ingredients like apples, baking spices of cinnamon and nutmeg, rosemary, and other fresh herbs are a great way to spice up your cocktails and add a depth of flavor that pairs well with the sweater weather.

Using a London Dry gin like Tanqueray, or its more western-style Tanqueray No. TEN — which is additionally distilled with fresh citrus like white grapefruit, orange, and chamomile flowers — is a great base spirit on which to build complementary flavors for whatever season you’re in.

So to impress your friends at the next dinner party, make one of these cocktails.

Apple of My Eye

This first cocktail pairs the spicy angelica and licorice notes found in Tanqueray with cinnamon and apple-flavored brandy.

To make cinnamon syrup, add 1 cup of dried sugar (white, turbinado or Demerara all work well) with 1 cup of water in a pot over medium heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the flame and add two to three cinnamon sticks. Let the syrup steep until cool. Level of spiciness can be adjusted by removing the sticks after a few minutes, or heightened by adding additional powdered cinnamon and straining.

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce Tanqueray London Dry or Tanqueray No. TEN
• 0.5 ounce apple-flavored brandy
• 0.75 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 0.75 ounce cinnamon syrup
• Apple slice for garnish

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake for 8-10 seconds.
2. Strain into a glass with fresh ice.
3. Garnish with a slice of apple.
4. To add some effervescence, top with soda water.

Cinnamon Stick-Up

Fall weather calls for apple pies, baking spice-scented candles, and, in this case, cinnamon gin. The infusion of cinnamon into Tanqueray amplifies the botanicals of angelica and coriander, and adds another dimension when using tangy marmalade as the sweetener.

To make cinnamon gin:
Lightly toast 2-3 cinnamon sticks in a pan over medium heat until fragrant. Carefully break and add them to a quart of Tanqueray in a plastic container or thoroughly cleaned and sterilized jar. Let this sit for a couple days, taste and assess. Remove the cinnamon sticks when it’s at your desired level of spice.

Another method is to add gin and powdered cinnamon, in small increments, into a blender. Be sure to strain through a paper coffee filter.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces cinnamon-infused Tanqueray London Dry or Tanqueray No. TEN
• 0.75 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1 heaping tablespoon orange marmalade

Directions:

1. Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for 8-10 seconds.
2. Strain into a glass with fresh ice.
3. Garnish the cocktail with a wheel of orange and cinnamon stick.

Rosemary’s Baby

Think of this as a savory twist on a traditional Gimlet. Tanqueray is a great pairing for herbs like mint, basil or, in this case, rosemary. The brightness of the fresh lime juice and the salinity from the pinch of salt creates a refreshing savory cocktail that is a great start to the night or pairs well with roasted lamb.

To make rosemary syrup, take 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup water. Boil over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add 1-2 sprigs of rosemary and let sit. Taste and remove when the syrup is cooled and at desired level of herbaceousness.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces Tanqueray London Dry or Tanqueray No. TEN
• 0.75 ounce fresh lime juice
• 0.75 ounce rosemary syrup
• Pinch salt

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Shake vigorously for 8-10 seconds.
3. Strain into a glass with fresh ice.
4. Garnish with lime wheel and rosemary sprig.

For extra oohs and ahhs from your friends, you can (carefully and responsibly) flame the rosemary sprig with a match, blow out, then, while still smoky, add to the cocktail as a garnish.

Grenadine Dreams

With the remainder of your cinnamon-infused gin, here’s a great sparkling cocktail for the fall season that utilizes Grenadine syrup, which brings tartness and sweetness to the cocktail as well as a beautiful pinkish hue.

Grenadine is made by reducing pomegranate juice, sugar, and water. But it’s easy to find Grenadine at grocery stores or high-end liquor stores and bigger booze depots.

Finishing the cocktail with a splash of sparkling wine adds effervescence, more flavor, and, well, more fun to the drink.

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce cinnamon-infused Tanqueray London Dry or Tanqueray No. TEN
• 0.75 ounce fresh lime juice
• 0.75 ounce Grenadine syrup
• Top with sparkling wine

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker full of ice.
2. Shake for 5-8 seconds, strain into a coupe or Martini glass.
3. Top up with sparkling wine and garnish with a lime wheel or lime twist.

This article is sponsored by Tanqueray.