Cocktails - Southside

Continuing my experimenting with sours, I came across the Southside, another cocktail in the classic sour mold.

This seems actually to be a daiquiri variation, except that instead of the rum it uses gin. Fine with me! I'm happy to try gin with just about anything - I got a brilliant "creamy tomato and gin" sauce from Real Pasta at the Tauranga Farmers Market the other week which was most tasty - so a Southside it was.

(Actually, to be more accurate, it's a Gimlet which is essentially a daiquiri using gin instead of rum. This is a variation on that - a Gimlet with mint and bitters added...)

Those are the other factors in the drink: mint leaves, something to add a bit of freshness, and also a dash of bitters which muddies up the flavour a bit and adds complexity. If you've got a bit of mint in the garden this is another cocktail you're likely to have all the ingredients for (every home should have a bottle of Angostura bitters just for emergencies - it lasts forever). The recipe I used specified Plymouth gin but I reckon any London dry style gin would work just as well.

As I was using my new wonderfully elegant Nick 'n' Nora coupes I made a small drink. Two in fact as you can see from the picture, since Cohen was visiting. They were very very good, with just the vaguest hint of mint and the gin shining though. This is a terrific cocktail if you like to actually taste your gin! 

As I say, these are quantities for a small drink and it's one you need to double strain unless you like tiny little specks of mint in your drink (which are, admittedly, quite attractive!). Double the quantities for a big glass or just scale things up any way you like if you prefer a larger tipple...

SOUTHSIDE

5 mint leaves

40ml Plymouth gin

15ml fresh lime juice

15ml simple syrup (50/50 sugar/water)

1 dash Angostura bitters

garnish - mint leaf

Muddle the mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Add all the other ingredients and shake with ice. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a mint leaf.

NOTE: The is apparently great discussion in expert cocktail-making circles as to whether this cocktail should be made with fresh lime or fresh lemon juice. I happen to have limes so used those because there's something about mint and lime together that feels right. I haven't yet made it with lemon but I'm sure it will be equally delicious.