Guides
How Swapping Your Spirit Can Transform Your Cocktail
Add dimension to your cocktails by switching out your gin!
Getting creative with your cocktails often looks like swapping out a syrup, juice, or garnish. What about using a different type of gin? Upon first glance, it may seem like this substitute wouldn’t result in a huge change, but this category of spirits is incredibly diverse! With varying botanicals and flavour palettes, each fixture in our line up of Empress 1908 Gins offers something unique— explore four classic recipes where your choice of gin can transform one cocktail into three!
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G&T
Refreshing and bittersweet, the gin and tonic is one of our favourite ways of showing off the botanicals of our spirits. The more robust flavour profile of Empress 1908 Indigo Gin makes for a G&T that’s wonderful year-round and despite its simplicity, it’s a visual and flavour showstopper.
Using Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin leans to a lighter approach with floral notes and a hint of spice to complement the tonic. While it also makes for a tasty sip any time of year, it’s a must-add to your spring and summer rotation!
Our Empress 1908 Cucumber Lemon Gin also makes for a refreshing G&T, bursting with assertive vegetal and citrus notes. If you’re looking to quench your thirst on a hot day, look no further than this version!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 oz Empress 1908 Gin of choice
- 3 oz Premium Tonic Water
- To garnish:
- Grapefruit Slice (for Empress Indigo Gin)
- Orange Slice (for Empress Elderflower Rose Gin)
- Lemon Wheels, Cucumber Slices, & Thyme Sprigs (for Empress Cucumber Lemon Gin)
METHOD
Fill a copa glass with ice, add Empress 1908 Gin of choice and tonic water. Garnish accordingly.
Martini
Spirit-forward and the definition of elegance, the martini is a great way to make our gins the stars of the show. Empress Indigo Gin lends itself to a particularly distinctive martini with its richer texture and earthy undertones, contrasting a typically crisp and bracing finish.
The Martini Floreale maintains a richness and sweetness from the rose and black carrot that are balanced by the aperitif. However, Empress Elderflower Rose Gin introduces a floral dimension for a dynamic flavour experience that reads like a garden in a glass.
If you’re looking for a more classic yet still elevated martini, try it with our Empress Cucumber Lemon expression! The vegetal notes offer a lovely twist, yet the overall dryness is sure to satisfy any martini connoisseur.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 oz Empress 1908 Gin of choice
- ½ oz Lillet Blanc (for Empress Indigo and Elderflower Rose Gin) or Dry Vermouth (for Empress Cucumber Lemon Gin)
- To garnish:
- Grapefruit Twist (for Empress Indigo Gin)
- Orange Twist (for Empress Elderflower Rose Gin)
- Lemon Twist (for Empress Cucumber Lemon Gin)
METHOD
Stir all ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist.
Sour
Like sipping a tangy cloud; there’s nothing quite as crowd-pleasing as a well-made sour!
The bold profile of Empress Indigo Gin makes the Q1908 especially luxurious with a hint of decadence, almost like a dessert sour. The Elderflower Sour’s floral notes are elevated further with the presence of egg white, making this a delicate beauty! Lastly, the sharper palate of Empress Cucumber Lemon Gin is tempered by the softer texture of the cocktail, allowing the more understated botanicals like jasmine and cardamom to shine.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 oz Empress 1908 Gin of choice
- ¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- ¾ oz Simple Syrup*
- 1 oz Egg White or Aquafaba
- To garnish:
- Edible Flowers (for Empress Indigo Gin)
- Rose Petals (for Empress Elderflower Rose Gin)
- Jasmine Blossoms (for Empress Cucumber Lemon Gin)
METHOD
Add all ingredients to a shaker tin and dry shake (without ice). Add ice to tin and shake again to chill. Fine strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with edible flowers.
*To make our Jasmine Sour with our Cucumber Lemon expression, infuse the syrup with jasmine tea!
French 75
Is there a better way to celebrate than with a French 75? Delightfully crisp with the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity, this cocktail is our go-to when raising a glass on a special occasion!
The effervescent French 75 elevates similar lighter notes in each spirit, but in profoundly different ways. The Empress 75 softens Empress Indigo Gin for an intriguing experience: it’s crisp and refreshing with a faint hint of florals, yet is still grounded by the heavier aromatics like ginger and tea.
The Elderflower Rose 75, on the other hand, maximizes the floral and citrus for a delightfully refined approach! Finally, the Cucumber Lemon equivalent brings the gin’s bright flavours right to centre stage with an extra bright finish from the cucumber.
INGREDIENTS
- 1½ oz Empress 1908 Gin of choice
- ¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- ½ oz Simple Syrup
- Sparkling Wine, to top
- To garnish:
- Lemon Twist (for Empress Indigo Gin)
- Orange Twist (for Empress Elderflower Rose Gin)
- Cucumber Roll (for Empress Cucumber Lemon Gin)
METHOD
Shake on ice, fine strain into a chilled flute, top with sparkling wine. Garnish and enjoy!
Having more options as your base spirit makes for some exceptionally delicious twists on the classics. If you feel like you need a change of pace with your Empress 1908 sips, try taking some of our recipes made with Empress Indigo Gin and swapping it out with our Elderflower Rose or Cucumber Lemon expressions and vice-versa and see what you get! Experimentation and exploration is all in the fun of cocktail creation.
For more cocktail inspiration, check out our Instagram, Cocktail Page, or Blog!
Sip responsibly!
