Gin can trace its origins back to the 11th century, and its popularity continues to grow today, making it a favorite for a variety of iconic cocktails. The distinctive gin flavor you are accustomed to comes from the juniper berry. Gin is a distilled alcoholic drink loved by people worldwide. 

Initially a medicinal liquor, it quickly turned into something people wanted to drink. After the late 1600s, gin soon turned into the national alcoholic drink of England and spread worldwide. While gin is often flavored with juniper berries, today, you can find it flavored with botanical herbs, spices, and floral and fruity flavors. 

While you can drink it on its own, gin is excellent in mixed drinks. Your drink choices are nearly limitless when it comes to cocktails. This article looks at 15 iconic cocktails you can make with gin.

#1: Gin and Tonic

We start with the most well-known of the iconic gin cocktails, the Gin and Tonic. This classic cocktail is simple:

• 2 ounces gin
• 3-4 ounces tonic
• 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

Pour the gin and lime juice over ice, add the tonic, stir, and enjoy.

Feel free to dress it up with the garnishes of your choice. 

#2: Negroni

While the Negroni has many versions, this is one of the favorite alcoholic iconic cocktails in its classic, most simple form. 

• 3/4 ounces gin 
• 3/4 ounces Campari
• 3/4 ounces sweet vermouth
• orange peel (for garnish) 

Just fill your rocks glass with ice, and add the gin, vermouth, and Campari. Stir and garnish with an orange peel. Enjoy the fruity, earthy, and slightly bitter flavor combo. 

#3: Clover Club

This recipe hails from the 1920s, and even though it’s pink, its roots started in the Clover Club, a gentleman’s club in Philadelphia. A pre-Prohibition cocktail, it’s delicious and elegant. 

• 2 ounces gin
• 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
• 2 teaspoons raspberry syrup or grenadine
• 1 large, very fresh egg white

You will need a cocktail shaker and strainer for this iconic cocktail. Combine all your ingredients in the shaker and shake for 10 seconds without ice. This is important to aerate the egg white. 

After 10 seconds, fill the shaker with ice, reseal, and shake vigorously for another 10 seconds. Finally, strain the cocktail into your chilled glass. As a side note, you can add one-half ounce of dry vermouth to see if you like that taste, too! 

#4: The French 75

Named after a rapid-fire World War 1 military gun used by the French, this cocktail appeared in a cocktail book around 1927. While the inventor is unknown, you’ll love this vintage cocktail.

• 1-ounce gin
• ½ ounce fresh lemon juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup
• ½ ounce champagne (your choice!)
• Ice
• Lemon rind for garnish

For the French 75, fill your cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Next, add gin, fresh lemon juice, and simple syrup to the shaker. Shake until it’s chilled. Next, you want to strain your drink. You’ll use either a coupe glass or a champagne flute. Finally, slowly add champagne to fill your glass and garnish with a lemon twist. 

#5: Tom Collins

One of the most famous drinks, the Tom Collins, is served in a highball glass. The Tom Collins originated in the late 1800s and became famous in New York due to The Tom Collins Hoax of 1874.

• 1½ ounce gin
• ⅔ ounce lemon juice
• ⅔ ounce sugar syrup
• Sparkling water
• Lemon wheel
• Brandied cherry

For this delightful iconic cocktail, combine the first three ingredients and shake in a cocktail shaker full of ice. Strain the drink over ice into your highball glass, then top it with the sparking water, lemon wheel, and a brandied cherry.

#6: Gin Gin Mule

Basically a gin Mojito but with ginger beer, the Gin Gin Mule was a staple at the iconic Pegu Club in New York City and was created by Audrey Saunders, making it one of the few drinks created by women. 

• 1 mint sprig
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• ¾  ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 ¾  ounce Tanqueray London dry gin
• 1 ounce Audrey Saunders’ ginger beer
• Mint sprig garnish 

Using your cocktail shaker, muddle the mint sprig, simple syrup, and lime juice together. Then, add the gin, ginger beer, and ice. Shake until the ingredients are chilled. Lastly, strain the drink into your highball glass over ice and garnish with the mint sprig.

#7: Gin Fizz

Originally called the New Orleans Fizz or Ramos Gin Fizz, Henry C. Ramos invented this iconic cocktail in 1888 at his bar, the Imperial Cabinet Saloon in New Orleans.

The gin fizz rose to popularity between 1900 and 1940, and bartenders would often take turns shaking the drinks to make sure they were perfect.

• 2 ounces gin
• 3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
• 3/4 ounce simple syrup in a 1:1 ratio
• 1 small or medium egg white
• 2 ounces soda water, or to taste
• Lemon or lime peel, for garnish 

Pour the gin, lemon/lime juice, simple syrup, and egg white into your ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for about 15 seconds to thoroughly mix the egg white with the other ingredients. If you want an extra-frothy drink, discard your ice and shake for about five more seconds. 

Strain your drink into a chilled highball glass over ice cubes, top with soda, and garnish. 

#8: Bees Knees

Bees Knees is a term for something spectacular. The more than 100-year-old classic Prohibition-era cocktail is undoubtedly that. The Bees Knees cocktail most likely came about during Prohibition in the United States. People started adding honey to improve the bitter taste of Prohibition gin.

• ½ ounce honey syrup (see below)
• 1 ounce lemon juice (about ½ medium lemon)
• 2 ounces gin
• Lemon twist for garnish 

First, make the honey syrup by combining equal parts of honey and water. Try about two tablespoons for a couple of cocktails. Put them in a small saucepan and warm them until you can stir the honey into the water. You can do this in the microwave, too. 

Next, juice your lemons. Then, fill your cocktail shaker with ice, and add the honey syrup, lemon juice, and gin. Shake for about 30 seconds until the mixture is freezing.

Strain the drink into a coupe or martini glass and garnish with the lemon peel. Serve cold. 

#9: Gimlet

The Gimlet originated in the 1920s, with two possible origin stories. The first says the Gimlet was named after a tool used to drill small holes. The second says a surgeon in the early 1900s added lime cordial to gin so sailors could avoid scurvy on their long voyages. Whichever story you favor, the Gimlet is a favorite drink for gin lovers.

• 2 ½ ounces gin
• ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup
• Garnish with a lime wheel 

Add gin, lime juice, and simple syrup to your cocktail shaker with ice for the Gimlet. Shake until it is well-chilled. Strain the ingredients into a chilled cocktail or rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with the lime wheel. 

#10: Martini

Another iconic cocktail made with gin, the martini is well-known as 007 James Bond’s favorite drink. A drink with a high alcoholic content, be sure and garnish your martini to stay true to its classic form.

• 2 ½ ounces of gin
• ½ ounce of dry vermouth
• Olives for garnish 

Add all liquid ingredients to a glass with ice. Stir until it is frosty and cold. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with as many olives as you desire. 

#11: Hanky Panky

Another woman-created gin drink, this is a sweet take on the classic martini. Created in 1903 by British bartender Ada Coleman, the Hanky Panky is one of the most popular drinks of all time. 

• 1 ½ ounces gin
• 1 ½ ounces sweet vermouth
• 2 dashes Fernet Branca
• Orange peel for garnish 

Stir everything into a glass with ice. Then, strain the ingredients into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with an orange peel twist.

#12: Singapore Sling

If fruity and fun are what you’re looking for, the Singapore Sling delivers. Created in the early 1900s in Singapore, this drink is refreshing and delicious.

• ¾ ounce gin
• ¼  ounce Benedictine
• ¼  ounce Grand Marnier
• ¼  ounce cherry liqueur
• 1 ounce pineapple juice
• ½ ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• Club soda, chilled
• Orange slice and cherry for garnish 

Put the gin, Benedictine, Grand Marnier, cherry liqueur, pineapple juice, lime juice, and bitters into a shaker with ice. Then, shake vigorously until well-chilled. 

Strain the mixture into a highball glass filled with ice, top with club soda, and garnish with the orange slice and cherry. 

#13: Goldwyn Follies

Usually considered a drink for the autumn season, the Goldwyn Follies is definitely worth trying.

• 1 ½ ounces gin 
• 1 ounce apple juice 
• 1 ounce cranberry juice 
• 1 ounce brewed black tea chilled 
• 1/2 ounce cinnamon syrup 
• Two apple slices for garnish 

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with apple slices. 

#14: Gin with Prosecco

Gin with Prosecco is a popular drink served at parties. It’s a cocktail with limitless possibilities. Consider some of these add-ins: raspberry liqueur, elderflower liqueur, grapefruit juice, or Maraschino liqueur. 

• 1 ½ ounce gin
• ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup
• 2-3 ounces prosecco
• Lemon twist 

Fill your cocktail shaker with ice, and add lemon juice, gin, and simple syrup. Stir. Pour into champagne glasses, top with prosecco, and garnish with the lemon. 

#15: Butterfly’s Breath

You may know of Julia Child for her cookbooks and cooking show. But did you know Julia Child and her husband, Paul, were known for their cocktail parties? In fact, Paul loved creating custom drinks, and the Butterfly’s Breath is one of his own.

• 3 ¾ teaspoons of sweetened lime juice 
• 1 tablespoon water
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) London dry gin 
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) apricot brandy
• Lemon peel twist or lime peel twist 

Add the lime juice, one tablespoon of water, and the sugar into a mixing glass. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the gin and the apricot brandy into a glass and fill it with ice. Stir until the outside of the glass is frosty – this should take about 30 seconds. Strain the drink into a cocktail glass and garnish with a twist.

Final Thoughts

Gin is multi-faceted and versatile. You can drink it on the rocks, straight up, and shaken or stirred in one of the iconic cocktails listed here.

Famous worldwide, gin is adaptable and works with various mix-ins. Not only are these iconic gin cocktails delicious, but they are sexy, too. Turn on multiple television shows and movies, and you’ll find the characters drinking everything from a Gin and Tonic to a Martini, a Negroni, and more. 

Now you can take these cocktails and make your own gin concoction right at home!