Mint is perhaps the cocktail’s favorite herb. It is versatile and abundantly aromatic and has found its way into mixed drinks for centuries, mostly in Juleps. Like most other herbs, it’s delicate and needs some TLC to coax the most optimal out of it. Whether a drink requires a gentle slap of a mint sprig against the back of your hand to release its essential oils to create a fragrant garnish or a gentle muddle of a handful of leaves with syrup to provide a bright, herbal depth in your drink, mint is an herb that’s incredibly rewarding and always refreshing.
From classic cocktails to contemporary riffs, these are the mint-laced drinks to add to your repertoire.
1. South Side
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This breezy combination of gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and mint, essentially a Gin Sour with the addition of mint both muddled and as a garnish, is a favorite in seaside enclaves from Nantucket to the Hamptons and beyond. It’s best enjoyed while on a veranda overlooking a body of water.
Ingredients
- 5 mint leaves
- 1-ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 ounces gin
- 1-ounce simple syrup
- Garnish: mint sprig
Steps
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Add the mint leaves and lemon juice into a shaker and gently muddle.
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Add the gin and simple syrup with ice, and shake until well-chilled.
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Double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
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Garnish with a mint sprig.
2. Spicy Mint Avocado Margarita
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Agave spirits and culinary ingredients always make for an exceptional pairing, so this Margarita riff with spicy jalapeño peppers, savory-creamy avocado, and fresh mint hits the mark. The avocado, jalapeño, mint, and lime juice are gently muddled together, then the tequila, Cointreau, and simple syrup are added with ice before being shaken up for a vegetal, complex take on the Mexican favorite.
Ingredients
- 1 slice avocado (approximately 2 tablespoons)
- 3 slices jalapeño (seeds removed)
- 4 fresh mint leaves
- 1-ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 ounces Blanco tequila
- 1-ounce orange liqueur
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- 1 pinch salt
- Garnish: salt rim
- Garnish: mint sprig
Steps
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Rim a double rocks glass with salt and set aside.
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Add the avocado, jalapeño, mint, and lime juice into a shaker and muddle until the avocado is mashed.
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Add the tequila, orange liqueur, simple syrup, and salt.
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Fill the shaker with ice, and shake until well-chilled.
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Strain into the prepared rocks glasses over fresh ice.
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Garnish with a mint sprig.
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3. Mint Green Old Fashioned
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This drink was created by legendary bartender Dale DeGroff, aka King Cocktail, and employs mint in four different ways: mint sprigs, mint syrup, mint jelly, and mint bitters. The four get muddled with a cherry and a bit of orange before being stirred together with scotch whisky. The cocktail gets garnished with an additional mint sprig to aromatically emphasize the theme.
Ingredients
- 1 Bordeaux maraschino cherry
- 1 quarter of an orange wheel
- 1 mint sprig
- 1/4 ounce Monin mint syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon mint jelly*
- 1 dash Fee Brothers mint bitters
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
- 2 ounces Dewar’s 12-year-old scotch
- Garnish: mint sprig
Steps
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Add all ingredients except the scotch into a mixing glass with a splash of water and muddle, carefully crushing into a paste-like consistency.
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Remove the spent fruit husks and crushed leaves and stems, but keep the flavored paste in the mixing glass.
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Add the whisky and ice, and stir until well-chilled.
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Strain into a rock’s glass over fresh ice.
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Garnish with a mint sprig.
4. Pineapple Mint Caipirinha
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If you’re a fan of the classic Caipirinha, get ready to elevate it with pineapple and mint. Just add some pineapple chunks, mint leaves, and simple syrup into a shaker and gently muddle, then add cachaça and ice and shake it all up. It’s so fresh it’s almost transportive.
Ingredients
- 4 1.5-inch pineapple chunks
- 2 mint leaves
- 1-ounce simple syrup
- 2 ounces unaged cachaça
- Garnish: pineapple wedge
Steps
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In a shaker, muddle the pineapple chunks, mint leaves, and simple syrup.
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Add the cachaça and ice and shake vigorously until well-chilled.
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Pour (unstrained) into a rock glass.
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Garnish with a pineapple wedge.
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5. Gin Gin Mule
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Falling somewhere between a Moscow Mule and Mojito, this drink, another from Saunders and a staple at the former Pegu Club, is well on its way to becoming a modern classic. It’s made with gin, lime juice, simple syrup, and mint and topped with the secret ingredient: homemade ginger beer.
Ingredients
- 1-ounce simple syrup
- 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1 mint sprig
- 1 3/4 ounces Tanqueray London dry gin
- 1 ounce Audrey Saunders’ Ginger Beer
- Garnish: 1 mint sprig
Steps
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In a mixing tin, muddle the simple syrup, lime juice, and 1 mint sprig.
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Add the gin, ginger beer, and ice, and shake well.
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Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice.
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Garnish with 1 mint sprig and serve with a straw.
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