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.