According to market researchers Mintel, we Brits are expected to down 29 million litres of gin this year. 29 MILLION LITRES. That is a lot of gin. It is so much gin that we have spent over £1billion on gin this year. Mintel quizzed over 2,000 adults about their favourite alcoholic drink and according to the results, gin is becoming more popular with a younger crowd with more than 40% of those aged 18-34 having drunk gin in the past year compared to just over a quarter of the over 45s. Although Vodka still claims the crown as the nation’s favourite drink, gin is seen as ‘the most sophisticated’ white spirit amongst young people. Senior drinks analyst Chris Wisson told the metro ‘the strong performance of gin continues to stand out within the spirit market, and is widely seen as the most sophisticated type of white spirit by category users…our research indicates that in is in fact now most likely to be drunk by younger consumers, suggesting that it has a change to forge a dynamic image and move into even more innovative areas’ I don’t know Chris, if you start advertising gin like they do WKD, you may find it is no longer considered sophisticated. To celebrate the fact that we are officially confirmed to be a nation of gin lovers, here are some great gin cocktails for you to try.
Festive Dry Martini Cocktail: Because it’s Christmas, try this Gordon’s Festive Dry Martini:
Ingredients
50ml of Gordon’s® gin
15ml dry vermouth
Green olives
Crushed ice
How to make
To prepare, stir the vermouth into the gin until mixed, add the ice and stir again. Strain into martini cocktail glass and garnish with a green olive.
Serve in a Martini cocktail glass.
Corpse Reviver: No idea why it’s called that, maybe because of the Absinthe but here’s a great cocktail from Hendricks:
Ingredients:
20ml Hendrick’s Gin
20ml Cointreau
20ml Lillet
20ml Lemon Juice
Dash Absinthe
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in cocktail shaker and shake briskly over cubed ice. Double strain into cocktail glass. 
Aviation: Named after its sky-blue hue, this Bombay Sapphire cocktail is a gin cocktail classic:
Ingredients
60ml Bombay Sapphire
15ml Maraschino liqueur
7.5ml Crème de Violette
15ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
Lemon zest
Maraschino cherry
Ice
Method
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add all ingredients and shake. Strain the liquid into a chilled glass, then twist some lemon zest over the surface of the cocktail to release the essential oils onto the drink, then discard the zest. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry and you’re up and away.
Happy Gin drinking!
Holly Martin
feature image: I Could Go For Something Gordon’s. Photograph: © Jeff Koons
