17 Gin Cocktails Every Woman Must Try Before She Dies Updated 06/2026

Gin has had quite a glow-up. Once dismissed as your grandmother’s spirit or a relic of stuffy British gentlemen’s clubs, it has quietly, confidently reclaimed its throne as the most versatile, most romantic, and most endlessly interesting spirit behind the bar. And the numbers prove it: the global gin market reached $16.7 billion in 2024, with projections to hit nearly $24 billion by 2033. Worldwide, consumers sipped through approximately 107 million nine-litre cases of gin last year alone.

But beyond the market data, gin holds something even more compelling: a story spanning centuries, from Dutch medicinal tonics to smoky London gin palaces, from Prohibition-era speakeasies to the wildly creative craft distilleries of today. And at the center of that story? The cocktail.

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Whether you are a seasoned spirits lover or just beginning to explore the world of mixed drinks, gin cocktails offer a universe of flavors that no other spirit quite replicates. Floral, herbaceous, citrus-bright, silky, bitter, refreshing — there is a gin cocktail for every mood, every season, every occasion.

Here are 16 gin cocktails you absolutely must try at least once. Each one is a world unto itself.

A Quick Sip of History

The very first written reference to a cocktail appeared in a London newspaper on March 16, 1798 — and historians believe that original “cock-tail” was actually a simple mix of gin and ginger syrup. So gin was quite literally there at the birth of cocktail culture.

Gin itself traces its roots to 17th-century Holland, where a physician named Franciscus Sylvius developed a juniper-based medicinal spirit called jenever. British soldiers brought it home from the Thirty Years’ War, and what began as medicine quickly became a national obsession. By the 1730s, London was in the grip of the “Gin Craze,” with an estimated 7,000 gin shops open in the city. The government eventually stepped in with the Gin Acts to curb consumption.

Fast forward to today: 42% of gin drinkers are between 21 and 34 years old, and gin has become the most-ordered spirit in cocktail bars globally, according to CGA’s latest data. The world has fallen in love with gin all over again — and this time, it’s here to stay.

The Classic Gin & Tonic

Few drinks are as iconic or as instantly satisfying. The gin and tonic was essentially invented out of necessity: British soldiers stationed in India in the 19th century were given daily gin rations, and they mixed their medicinal quinine tonic water — taken to prevent malaria — with gin to make it more palatable. A survival strategy turned into the world’s most beloved aperitif.

Recipe:

• 50ml London Dry Gin
• 150ml premium tonic water (chilled)
• Ice (large cubes preferred)
• 1 slice of lime or cucumber, fresh herbs for garnish

Method: Fill a large balloon glass or Copa glass with ice. Pour gin over the ice. Gently pour in the tonic water to preserve the bubbles. Stir once, gently. Garnish with your chosen ingredient and serve immediately.

Pro tip: The garnish matters more than you think. Try a sprig of rosemary with a citrus gin, or pink peppercorns with a floral gin for a completely different experience.

The Negroni

Equal parts sophisticated and bold, the Negroni is the cocktail that turns gin skeptics into gin devotees. Legend has it that Count Camillo Negroni invented it in Florence in 1919 when he asked his bartender to make his Americano stronger by swapping the soda for gin. The result was history.

Recipe:

• 30ml gin
• 30ml Campari
• 30ml sweet vermouth
• Ice
• Orange peel, for garnish

Method: Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir for around 30 seconds until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Express an orange peel over the surface and use it as garnish.

The Negroni has spawned dozens of variations — the Sbagliato (with sparkling wine instead of gin) went viral in 2022 when actress Florence Pugh ordered one on camera. But the original remains untouched in its elegance.

The French 75

Named after the powerful French 75mm artillery gun, this cocktail was said to pack a similar punch. It first appeared in print in 1927, and quickly became a wartime favorite at Harry’s Bar in Paris. Audrey Hepburn’s effortless chicness could not have chosen a better cocktail.

Recipe:

• 30ml gin
• 15ml fresh lemon juice
• 10ml simple syrup
• 90ml Champagne or dry sparkling wine
• Lemon twist, for garnish

Method: Combine gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a chilled Champagne flute. Top with Champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Elegant for brunches, celebrations, or any Tuesday when you feel like you deserve something beautiful.

The Bee’s Knees

Born during Prohibition in the 1920s, the Bee’s Knees was designed to disguise the harsh taste of bootleg gin with honey and lemon. “The bee’s knees” was 1920s slang for something excellent — and this cocktail absolutely lives up to its name.

Recipe:

• 60ml gin
• 22ml fresh lemon juice
• 22ml honey syrup (2 parts honey, 1 part warm water, mixed until dissolved)
• Ice
• Lemon twist, for garnish

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

This is the cocktail for women who think they don’t like gin. After the first sip, they always change their minds.

The Clover Club

One of the oldest gin cocktails in the American canon, the Clover Club predates Prohibition, first appearing in print around 1911. It was named after a gentlemen’s club in Philadelphia, but it has long since outgrown that stuffy origin. Pink, frothy, and incredibly elegant, this cocktail is pure femininity in a glass.

Recipe:

• 45ml gin
• 15ml fresh lemon juice
• 15ml raspberry syrup (or grenadine)
• 1 fresh egg white
• Ice
• Fresh raspberries, for garnish

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker without ice and dry shake for 10 seconds. Add ice and shake again vigorously. Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with raspberries.

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The egg white creates a gorgeous silky foam on top. It has no flavor but transforms the texture entirely.

The Tom Collins

Light, lemony, and effervescent, the Tom Collins is practically sunshine in a glass. It dates back to 1876 when bartender Jerry Thomas included it in his iconic bartender’s guide. There was even a strange social craze in 1874 known as the “Tom Collins Hoax,” where people would tell their friends that a man named Tom Collins had been spreading rumors about them — sending them running around the city asking “Have you seen Tom Collins?” The cocktail named itself after this widespread joke.

Recipe:

• 45ml gin
• 30ml fresh lemon juice
• 15ml simple syrup
• Club soda, to top
• Ice
• Lemon slice and maraschino cherry, for garnish

Method: Combine gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a tall Collins glass filled with ice. Top with club soda. Stir gently. Garnish with lemon and cherry.

Crushable and crowd-pleasing, this is your go-to for garden parties and warm afternoons.

The Gimlet

Crisp, tart, and deeply refreshing, the Gimlet has a surprisingly romantic backstory. British sailors in the 19th century were required to drink lime juice to prevent scurvy, and they mixed it with gin to make it more enjoyable. The preserved lime cordial became standard, and the cocktail became a naval institution. Today, fresh lime juice has mostly replaced the cordial in craft bars, but both versions have their devoted fans.

Recipe:

• 60ml gin
• 20ml fresh lime juice (or 30ml Rose’s lime cordial for a classic version)
• 10ml simple syrup (if using fresh lime)
• Ice
• Lime wheel, for garnish

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Try this with a floral, cucumber-forward gin like Hendrick’s for an especially dreamy result.

The Aviation

A cocktail with the color of a dusky violet sky, the Aviation is one of the most visually beautiful gin cocktails ever created. It was invented by bartender Hugo Ensslin around 1916, though it nearly disappeared when one of its key ingredients, crème de violette, became commercially unavailable for decades. The craft cocktail revival brought it roaring back.

Recipe:

• 45ml gin
• 15ml maraschino liqueur
• 7ml crème de violette
• 22ml fresh lemon juice
• Ice
• Maraschino cherry, for garnish

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a cherry.

The crème de violette gives this cocktail its famous pale purple hue. If you enjoy the aesthetics of your drinks as much as the taste, this one is for you.

The Singapore Sling

Dramatic, fruity, and deeply tropical, the Singapore Sling was created by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon at the Long Bar of Raffles Hotel in Singapore sometime around 1915. It was originally designed so that women could drink a cocktail in public without it being obvious they were consuming alcohol — at the time, women were expected to drink only fruit juices. The result was a gorgeous pink, layered cocktail that looked entirely innocent.

Recipe:

• 30ml gin
• 15ml cherry liqueur (Cherry Heering)
• 7.5ml Cointreau
• 7.5ml Bénédictine
• 120ml pineapple juice
• 15ml fresh lime juice
• 10ml grenadine
• A dash of Angostura bitters
• Ice
• Pineapple slice and maraschino cherry, for garnish

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a tall glass filled with ice. Garnish with pineapple and cherry.

Complex, tropical, and spectacularly pink — this is the cocktail equivalent of a first-class flight.

The Last Word

An equal-parts cocktail that somehow achieves perfect harmony despite its wildly different components, the Last Word was created in the 1920s at the Detroit Athletic Club. It vanished for decades and was rediscovered by cocktail historian Ted Saucier, who included it in his 1951 book. It then disappeared again until Murray Stenson, a bartender in Seattle, put it back on his menu in 2004 — and from there, it conquered the cocktail world.

Recipe:

• 22ml gin
• 22ml green Chartreuse
• 22ml maraschino liqueur
• 22ml fresh lime juice
• Ice
• Maraschino cherry, for garnish

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a cherry.

A cocktail that rewards curiosity. Every ingredient sounds odd together, but together they are transcendent.

The Vesper Martini

For the James Bond fan in all of us. The Vesper was invented by Ian Fleming in his 1953 novel Casino Royale, where Bond orders it with the now-iconic instruction: “Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shaken over ice, until it’s ice cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel.” It was named after the double agent Vesper Lynd.

Recipe:

• 60ml gin (London Dry)
• 20ml vodka
• 10ml Lillet Blanc (or Cocchi Americano)
• Ice
• Lemon twist, for garnish

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake hard until very cold. Strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a long lemon twist.

Bond’s preference for shaking over stirring is technically incorrect by bartender standards — shaking dilutes and aerates the drink more. But order it shaken anyway, just to feel like you own the room.

The Elderflower Collins

A modern classic that feels tailor-made for the garden cocktail era, the Elderflower Collins is everything delicate and summery. It uses St-Germain, the French elderflower liqueur first produced in 2007, which became such a bartender staple it was nicknamed “bartender’s ketchup.”

Recipe:

• 45ml gin
• 20ml St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 20ml fresh lemon juice
• Club soda, to top
• Ice
• Lemon slice and an edible flower, for garnish

Method: Combine gin, St-Germain, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a tall glass over ice. Top with club soda. Stir once. Garnish with lemon and a flower.

Light, fragrant, and impossibly pretty. This is the cocktail for a warm afternoon when you want to feel like you are in a French garden.

The Sloe Gin Fizz

Made with sloe gin — a berry-infused gin liqueur made from sloe berries, which are small dark fruits related to the plum — the Sloe Gin Fizz is a deeply British, deeply beautiful drink. Sloe gin has been made in Britain since at least the 17th century, with families traditionally picking berries after the first frost to make their own bottles.

Recipe:

• 60ml sloe gin
• 30ml fresh lemon juice
• 15ml simple syrup
• Club soda, to top
• Ice
• Lemon slice and fresh berries, for garnish

Method: Combine sloe gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a tall glass over ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with lemon and berries.

Deep berry-red and refreshingly tart. This is autumn in a glass.

The Pink Gin Lemonade

The first Pink Gin cocktail was reportedly mixed in 1826 by an English ship’s surgeon on board H.M.S. Hercules while patrolling the Caribbean. Today, pink gin has evolved into a category of its own, with brands infusing gin with strawberries, raspberries, grapefruit, and rhubarb to create rosy, approachable bottles that have become wildly popular.

Recipe:

• 45ml pink gin (strawberry or raspberry infused)
• 90ml cloudy lemonade
• 20ml cranberry juice
• Ice
• Fresh strawberries and mint, for garnish

Method: Fill a large glass with ice. Pour in the pink gin and cranberry juice. Top with lemonade. Stir gently. Garnish generously with berries and mint.

The most photogenic gin cocktail on this list. It practically begs to be photographed before you drink it.

The Cucumber Gin Cooler

Inspired by the botanicals in gins like Hendrick’s, which infuses its spirit with cucumber and rose, this cocktail is cooling, herbaceous, and deeply refreshing. It is the kind of drink that makes a sweltering afternoon instantly bearable.

Recipe:

• 50ml cucumber gin (or any floral gin)
• 4-5 thin cucumber slices
• 20ml fresh lime juice
• 15ml elderflower cordial
• Sparkling water, to top
• Ice
• Mint and cucumber ribbon, for garnish

Method: Muddle cucumber slices gently in a shaker. Add gin, lime juice, and elderflower cordial with ice. Shake well. Double-strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with mint and a cucumber ribbon.

If you have ever described yourself as a “gin and tonic person,” this cocktail will upgrade your entire identity.

The Gin Fizz

A descendant of a whole family of fizz cocktails that dominated American bars in the late 1800s, the Gin Fizz is lighter, simpler, and more elegant than many cocktails on this list. The New Orleans variation, the Ramos Gin Fizz, adds cream and orange flower water and requires an extended shake of up to 12 minutes to achieve its signature frothy texture — bartenders in 1900s New Orleans would reportedly hire teams of “shaker boys” to pass the drink down a line, each one shaking for a minute before passing it on.

Recipe (Classic Gin Fizz):

• 45ml gin
• 30ml fresh lemon juice
• 15ml simple syrup
• 1 egg white
• Club soda, to top
• Ice
• Lemon wheel, for garnish

Method: Dry shake all ingredients except soda without ice. Add ice and shake again vigorously. Strain into a chilled highball glass without ice. Top slowly with club soda to encourage the foam to rise. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

Airy, citrusy, and elegant. The foam on top makes every sip feel like a little cloud.

The Martini

No list of gin cocktails is complete without the queen of them all. The Martini is gin’s greatest achievement. It was invented at the height of the 1920s Jazz Age, and the ratio of gin to vermouth has been debated with almost religious intensity ever since. Winston Churchill allegedly believed that the ideal Martini involved glancing at a bottle of vermouth while pouring gin. Ernest Hemingway preferred a 15:1 ratio. Today, a 5:1 or 6:1 ratio is considered a balanced classic.

Recipe:

• 60ml London Dry Gin
• 10ml dry vermouth
• Ice
• Green olives or lemon twist, for garnish

Method: Add gin and vermouth to a mixing glass with ice. Stir for 30 seconds until very cold and properly diluted. Strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with olives on a pick or a lemon twist expressed over the surface.

Order it dirty (with olive brine), filthy (extra olive brine), or dry (less vermouth) and own the bar with your specificity. The Martini rewards those who know exactly what they want.

Final Sip

Gin is a spirit of complexity without pretension. It can be as simple as a gin and tonic on a summer evening or as nuanced as a perfectly stirred Martini in a candlelit bar. It is floral and citrusy and herbal and bold all at once. It is, in many ways, the perfect metaphor for a woman who contains multitudes.

The craft gin revolution has given us thousands of new distilleries producing small-batch gins with botanicals sourced from every corner of the world — from Japanese cherry blossom to South African honeybush to Scottish heather. The cocktails built on these gins are equally limitless.

Start with whichever cocktail on this list speaks to your mood today. Then work your way through the rest. There is no wrong order, no wrong occasion, and absolutely no wrong time to discover your new favorite gin cocktail.

Cheers. Your glass is waiting.

Sources: https://chesbrewco.com
Category: Cocktails