Southside Cocktail

A tasty Gin based cocktail combined with lime, mint, and a bit of sugar, the Southside probably reminds you of other simple cocktails with mint (Mint Julep or the Mojito), but, of course, with Gin. This cocktail highlights how you can use different base spirits for similar recipes to completely change up a drink.

Try this drink with different Gins to see how you like it best. There are many great Gins out there these days with wildly different flavour profiles; some may go better with Lime and Mint, some only moderately so.

Give this cocktail a go if you're enjoying some mint but want something a bit different.

Prep Time 5

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

60 mL Gin
30 mL Lime Juice
20 mL Simple Syrup* or to taste.
7 Mint leaves
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Instructions

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with lots of ice until the mint is well bruised and the cocktail is cold.
Strain into a Coupe glass.
Garnish with mint and drink.

Notes

*Find our Simple Syrup recipe here.

For those who aren't too sure about the sugar, you're encouraged to experiment with how much Sugar Syrup you want to use. Lime Juice can be quite tart, making this a difficult drink to consume if not adequately sweetened! The style and brand of Gin you use will also affect this of course; a drier Gin will lead to a drier drink, so plan accordingly.

Either way you make it, the Southside Cocktail is plenty refreshing. As mentioned, it can be tart and sour, but that's the appeal of it! Cocktails don't need to be sugar water. They can be complex with a variety of different flavours to enjoy.

Our Review of the Southside Cocktail

Yummy, yummy Gin and Lime Juice, it kind of reminds me of a Gimlet.

But unlike a Gimlet, the Southside has more Lime Juice, more Simple Syrup to deal with that, and Mint added for good measure. And don’t forget the Angostura Bitters!

So, obviously if you like a Gimlet, the Southside Cocktail will likely be for you. Mint might be a surprising addition to a cocktail recipe like this, but it works pretty well. The amount of Mint here isn’t over the top, and it’s more of a subtle hint to a cocktail that has a lot of Lime flavours coming through. All the Mint is really doing is adding to the many flavours from the Gin, because Gin is full of different flavours, especially depending on what kind of Gin you’re using here.

Although I quite like a Southside Cocktail from time to time, there was a time when I didn’t. Because of this, I’m kind of glad that the first time I had one of these wasn’t to write this review, because otherwise I would have had a much more negative perception of this classic. You may have the same experience as me. If you don’t like the Southside at first, try it again (just not right away). You may change your mind as well, and then find something to have from time to time.

I really do mean “from time to time” though. The Southside is a fun and interesting cocktail, and it’s a little different from a lot of cocktail recipes that use relatively common ingredients, but it’s not something you’ll end up making every time you go to have a cocktail. Instead, it’s a cocktail recipe you’ll use to change things up a bit with. The Southside is the type of cocktail recipe that you’ll remember when you put Mint into our cocktail finder and think “oh yeah, I haven’t had one of those in awhile, why not?”

So make yourself a Southside Cocktail then file it away for something to come back to. It may not be front and centre of your personal menu, but one that will always be there.

7.5/10

Review by Ziggy

Keep the Gin going with some more cocktail recipes

We have plenty of cocktail recipes to keep you going. The Southside Cocktail is made with Gin, so we’ll share our other Gin cocktail recipes with you. If you’re after something with a different spirit, there’s plenty of other ways to browse too:

All Gin cocktail recipes: watch out, there’s a fair few recipes here. Take a look, see what interests you, and maybe try making a few. We’re sure you’ll find something you’ll love!

Top 10 Gin cocktail recipes: if going through all of our Gin recipes is too much, we’ve narrowed things down to our ten favourite. Perhaps that’s better for now.