Empress 1908 Gin looks impressive in the bottle but you may be wondering what to do with it and how to make it taste great.
Rest assured, Empress has its place in the world of gins and we are going to show you 3 ways to serve Empress Gin to maximize its potential while minimizing effort.
Easy Recipes and Mixer Ideas for Empress Gin
You can sip Empress over ice, but its at its best when mixed in a cocktail. Empress 1908 Gin blends well with citrus, herbs and tender fruits. It has a good amount of juniper, spice and heat to work with as well. Because it’s so versatile, cocktails are incredibly easy, whether you prefer it sweet, savory, bitter or sour.
You can see the flavor profile and read our full review of Empress 1908 Gin.
#1 Empress Gin with Premium Soda and Tonic
All tonics and sodas are not created equal. So, when you’re mixing a cocktail with just a couple of ingredients, you’ll always do best when you choose high quality ones. Be selective.
In recent years, small-batch or craft sodas have become extremely popular and widely available. There’s a lot of territory to cover when you consider sodas and tonics like elderflower, grapefruit, rose lemonade, apple and blackberry, green apple, strawberry-lime, cherry colas and many others for mixing.
Try popular brands like Fever-Tree, Jones, Fentiman’s, Stewart’s and Trader Joe’s to deliver delicious and unusual combinations Coke or Pepsi could never offer.
Quality Equals Flavor Advantage
Apart from flavor, there are other advantages when you choose a high quality soda or tonic. Small batch craft sodas and tonics emphasize quality and are often organic. They avoid high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors.
Best of all, you won’t need to buy numerous liqueurs, simple syrups and bitters to make great tasting cocktails.
You could skip the sugar altogether and use sparkling mineral water. It is extremely clean and refreshing and comes in many unique flavors. We are enjoying the many varieties from Pellegrino lately.
Craft sodas, tonics and mineral waters are widely available and perhaps you already know many favorites to experiment with. Take a look at some of the combinations we’ve tried and liked.
#2 Empress 1908 and Lemonade
Lemonade is a classic and pretty much everyone loves it. It’s easy to make and even easier to buy. Empress mixes very well with lemon so this combination is a home run.
A long, cool Empress and Lemonade is easy to mix. Try 2oz Empress Gin and 4-6oz lemonade over ice.
Upgrade That Lemonade
It’s easy to turn that Lemonade cocktail it into a Gin Basil Smash just by muddling in some fresh basil. The fun part is that you’re going to end up with a Pink Lemonade without even trying when color of the gin changes with the acid of the lemon.
It doesn’t end there. Try mint or muddling fresh fruit in the bottom of the glass before adding the lemonade and gin.
#3 Italian Greyhound with Empress Gin
Here is a must try for those who like grapefruit. The Italian Greyhound tastes like a very complex cocktail but it mixes right in the glass!
We enjoy the balance between slight bitterness and a hint of sweetness. Our variation has only three ingredients because we skip the sweetener and soda. The cocktail was already well balanced and it was best not to dilute the cocktail further. We find we don’t miss the bubbles.
Italian Greyhound Recipe
- 2oz Gin
- 1oz Aperol
- 4oz Grapefruit Juice
Fill a rocks glass with ice. Add Gin, Aperol and Grapefruit Juice. Stir gently. Add a nice slice of grapefruit.
Final Thoughts on Simple Cocktails with Empress 1908 Gin
Empress Gin is best as a Gin and Tonic or mixed as a cocktail . The good news is that you don’t need to be intimidated or give Empress any special treatment to fully enjoy it.
It’s easy to make great cocktails by choosing a high quality ingredients. You can’t go wrong when you like everything you add to the glass.
Then there’s the bonus of the color change that creates a pleasing look and adds some fun drama to your party, large or small. And if you’re out of Empress, you can make your own color-changing gin at home.
To learn about different styles of gin and the great cocktails you can make with it, visit our homepage and have a drink with us.
