Cocktails
Enjoy a few of these seasonal cocktails with a bottle of our Highside Distilling Gin or Amaro Mele. These simple recipes are easy to build and a great way to showcase our Gin and Amaro for family and friends this winter. All you need is a bottle of our booze and the easy-to-make syrups and juices listed below. We’ll continue to add to this list as our seasonal cocktail menu changes. Cheers!

THe Martinez
The Martinez is a riff on a traditional Manhattan, substituting gin for whiskey. Since we aren’t producing a Vermouth (…yet), our version also uses a homemade cranberry simple syrup in place of the traditional sweet Vermouth.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Highside Gin
.25 oz Cranberry Simple Syrup (see below)
1 bar spoon of Luxardo maraschino syrup
4 dashes Angostora Bitters
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters
Garnish: Maraschino cherry and orange twist
Mix all ingredients, add ice, and stir for 10 seconds, or until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with one Luxardo maraschino cherry and a thin orange twist.
Cranberry Simple Syrup: Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and mix in 1 cup of sugar, stirring until fully dissolved. Turn off heat and mix in 6 ounces of cold pressed Cranberry juice (we used Starvation Alley Farms). Let cool and store in the refrigerator.

Autumn apple
The Autumn Apple is a fall favorite using apple cider, cinnamon, and freshly-grated nutmeg, with a slight citrus kick.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Highside Gin
.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
.5 oz Fresh Apple Cider
.5 oz Cinnamon Simple Syrup (see below)
Garnish: Apple slice and grated nutmeg
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake vigorously for 5-10 seconds, or until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass (or similar stemmed glass) and garnish with a thin apple slice and freshly-grated nutmeg (we use a mandolin to get our apple sliced super thin).
Cinnamon Simple Syrup: Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and mix in 1 cup of sugar, stirring until fully dissolved. Reduce heat to a simmer, add 4-6 cinnamon sticks (broken), and cover for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, let cool, then strain solution to remove cinnamon sticks. Store in the refrigerator.

Cranberry Gimlet
The Cranberry Gimlet is a riff on the traditional lime gimlet, using a Cranberry simple syrup in place of plain sugar. The tartness of the cranberry and lime are balanced with the slightly sweet finish of our apple-based gin.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Highside Gin
.5 oz Cranberry Simple Syrup (see ‘The Martinez’ recipe)
.5 oz Fresh Lime Juice
2 dashes Angostora Bitters
Garnish: Cranberries
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake vigorously for 5-10 seconds, or until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass (or similar stemmed glass) and garnish with fresh cranberries (and rosemary if available!).
Highside negroni
A riff on a classic Negroni with our intensely bitter Amaro Mele filling the role of both Campari and Sweet Vermouth. Since our Amaro is light on sweetness, we finish this with just a dash of simple syrup.
Ingredients:
.75 oz Highside Gin
.75 oz Highside Amaro Mele
.25 oz Cranberry Simple Syrup (see ‘The Martinez’ recipe)
Garnish: Thick-sliced orange peel
Mix all ingredients, add ice, and stir for 10 seconds, or until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with a thick slice of orange peel.
amaro y cafe
A savory coffee-based drink with our smokey, rabarbaro-style Amaro. The heavy dose of whole bean coffee and cocoa nibs used in our Amaro are a perfect pair for cold brew and heavy cream.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Highside Amaro Mele
.75 oz Cold Brew Coffee
.25 oz Simple Syrup (1:1 sugar to water ratio)
.25 oz Heavy Cream
2 dashes Aztec Chocolate Bitters (we used Fee Brothers)
Garnish: Fresh-grated nutmeg
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake vigorously for 5-10 seconds, or until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass (or your favorite coffee mug!) and garnish with freshly-grated nutmeg.

Blueberry-thyme Fizz
A light, refreshing, gin-based cocktail made with fresh blueberries and thyme. The vinegar-based shrub is easy to make and pairs great with soda water and our botanical-forward gin for a clean, crisp taste.
Ingredients:
1.25 oz Highside Gin
.5 oz Blueberry-Thyme Shrub (see below)
.25 oz Lemon Juice
Soda water to top
Garnish: Skewered blueberries
Mix the gin, shrub, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake vigorously for 5-10 seconds, or until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass, top with a splash of soda water, and garnish with a skewer of fresh blueberries.
Blueberry-Thyme Shrub: Bring 1 cup water to boil with 1 cup sugar, 1 cup blueberries, and 1 bunch of fresh thyme. Stir and let simmer for 10-15mins. Once finished, stir in 3/4 cup of red wine vinegar. Strain and let cool before storing in the refrigerator. Tip: If you aren’t a huge fan of vinegar, dial down the addition to 1/2 or 1/3 cup.

bitter soda
Think of this as the best sparkling water flavor ever created - boozy, bitter and just a touch of sweet. Despite it’s rich and savory nature, our Amaro Mele translates well into this light, easy-sipping cocktail.
Ingredients:
1 oz Highside Amaro Mele
.25 oz Demerara Simple Syrup (1:1 sugar to water ratio)
.25 oz Fresh Lime Juice
2 dashes Rhubarb Bitters (we used Fee Brothers)
Soda water
Garnish: Lemon Twist
Mix all ingredients (less soda water), add ice, and stir for 10 seconds, or until chilled. Strain into a rocks or highball glass that is over-filled with ice. Top remainder of glass with soda water and lightly stir once. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Rose-pomegranate collins
A crisp, refreshing, and bubbly cocktail, balancing fresh fruit juice with delicate floral notes. The rose water syrup brings out the rose petal used in our gin in this bright Spring cocktail.
Ingredients:
1.25 oz Highside Amaro Mele
.5 oz Rose water-ginger-rosemary syrup (see below)
.25 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
.25 oz Pomegranate Juice
Soda water
Garnish: Frozen pomegranate seeds, rosemary sprig
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker (less soda water), add ice, and shake vigorously for 5-10 seconds, or until chilled. Strain into a highball glass that is over-filled with ice. Top remainder of glass with soda water and lightly stir once. Garnish with frozen pomegranate seeds and fresh rosemary.
Rose Water-Ginger-Rosemary Syrup: Add 1/2 cup dried rose bud/petal to 1 cup warm water and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain to separate rose water from bud/petal. Bring rose water to a boil and mix in 1 cup of sugar, stirring until fully dissolved. Reduce heat to a simmer, add 2-3 rosemary sprigs and 3-4 small slices of ginger root and cover for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, let cool, then strain. Store in the refrigerator.
Highside Hanky Panky
A riff on the traditional Hanky Panky cocktail with Gin, Sweet Vermouth, and Fernet. Our version is a little heavy-handed on the fernet for a bold and bitter kick and a touch of sweetness.
Ingredients:
.75 oz Highside Gin
.5 oz Sweet Vermouth (we use a cranberry simple syrup in the tasting room since we don’t make a vermouth)
.5 oz Highside Fernet Lario
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
Garnish: Citrus Twist
Mix all ingredients, add ice, and stir for 10 seconds, or until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a citrus twist.