gin

Gin and Cabernet Sour | A Sophisticated and Easy Wine Cocktail

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A Gin and Cabernet Sour is an uncommon sip. It's sophisticated, simple, and looks beautiful, too. This easy wine cocktail is the perfect drink to serve the next time you're hosting a meal or wanting to pour yourself something special.

A Gin and Cabernet Sour is an uncommon sip. It’s sophisticated, simple, and looks beautiful, too. Next time you’re hosting a meal or wanting to pour yourself something special, make this easy wine cocktail. Your only regret will be not making it sooner.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

I’ve made quite a few wine cocktails lately. The most recent two were made with white wine: the Bishop of Bordeaux and a delicious Mulled White Wine. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them and will make them again in the near future. But red wine has my heart. Given the choice, I will always choose red over white. And of all the reds out there, Cabernet Sauvignon is my favorite. So when I first heard of this cocktail that combined my two favorite alcoholic liquids– gin and Cabernet— I knew I had to try it.

Those two words were first spoken together to me by my good Instagram pal @ebbydranks. We were brainstorming different drinks to make together on an Instagram Live fundraising event and the first drink he suggested was a New York Sour. But that’s seriously the only classic cocktail I’ve ever made that I didn’t like. I didn’t even finish it. If you read that recipe post, though, you might see where I went wrong. Anyway, I told him a big fat NO to that idea and he countered with a Gin and Cabernet Sour.

All of those words together intrigued me. So I obliged. And I’m glad I did.

This is now my all-time favorite easy wine cocktail. It seriously tastes soooo good. And it looks stunning, too. There’s no need for a garnish when you’ve got a red wine float. What is a red wine “float”, though? Floating is the bartending technique of carefully layering one liquid ingredient on top of another. Floats only work if the liquid with the lighter density is poured slowly over the liquid with the heavier density.

A Gin and Cabernet Sour is an uncommon sip. It's sophisticated, simple, and looks beautiful, too. This easy wine cocktail is the perfect drink to serve the next time you're hosting a meal or wanting to pour yourself something special.

If you’ve never attempted a red wine float before, or if you have and it didn’t work, these tips might help:

  1. Pour the wine over the back of a bar spoon. This will help distribute it more evenly over the surface of the denser liquid.
  2. Keep your spoon close to the surface of the cocktail without actually touching it.
  3. Pour it slowly.

You can also check out a video of the red wine float I did for the New York Sour here.

I’ll be honest and say that the first time I made this drink with @ebbydranks on IG Live, I just dumped the red wine in the glass. I started off trying to float it and then I lost my patience and plopped it in. But it actually worked out okay because I can now say with full assurance that it tastes great both ways!

This drink is dying to be served in a Nick and Nora glass. Nick and Nora glasses are essential small wine glasses that are used for spirit-forward cocktails. If you don’t have one, a smaller lowball glass will do the trick.

A Gin and Cabernet Sour is an uncommon sip. It's sophisticated, simple, and looks beautiful, too. This easy wine cocktail is the perfect drink to serve the next time you're hosting a meal or wanting to pour yourself something special.

If you’re thinking about cocktails to serve for the holidays, this Gin and Cabernet Sour is a great option. It marries the mixed drink world and the wine world together in one beautiful glass. Plus if someone just really isn’t a liquor fan, they can just drink the rest of the wine. Or if they don’t like gin, simply swap it out for some whiskey and they can have something pretty close to a New York Sour.

Have you ever had a Gin and Cabernet Sour? Will you be trying one soon? I’d love to hear your thoughts about this unique and easy wine cocktail so comment below and tag me on Instagram.

Ingredients for a Gin and Cabernet Sour

  • 1 1/2 oz gin
  • 3/4 oz orange liqueur
  • 3/4 oz simple syrup (make your own!)
  • 3/4 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • 1/2 oz Cabernet Sauvignon

How to Make a Gin and Cabernet Sour

Add the gin, orange liqueur, simple syrup, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, about 15-20 seconds. Strain into a Nick and Nora glass or a small lowball glass. Float the red wine on top by slowly pouring it over the back of a bar spoon, keeping the spoon close to the surface without touching it. 

Gin and Cabernet Sour

A simple yet sophisticated cocktail made with red wine and gin.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz gin
  • ¾ oz orange liqueur
  • ¾ oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • ¾ oz simple syrup
  • ¾ oz Cabernet Sauvignon

Instructions
 

  • Add the gin, orange liqueur, simple syrup, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  • Shake well, about 15-20 seconds.
  • Strain into an empty Nick and Nora glass or a small lowball glass.
  • Float the red wine on top by slowly pouring it over the back of a bar spoon, keeping the spoon close to the surface without touching it. 
Keyword cabernet, easy wine cocktail, gin, gin and cabernet sour, lemon juice, orange liqueur, simple syrup

Looking for another easy wine cocktail? Check these options out:

Bishop of Bordeaux

Mulled White Wine with Apple Cider

New York Sour

A Gin and Cabernet Sour is an uncommon sip. It's sophisticated, simple, and looks beautiful, too. This easy wine cocktail is the perfect drink to serve the next time you're hosting a meal or wanting to pour yourself something special.
vodka

Spiced Pear Cocktail | The Best Fall Cocktail Recipe with 5 Simple Ingredients

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This simple spiced pear cocktail is an easy fall cocktail made with vodka, fresh pear, cinnamon simple syrup, and a splash of ginger beer.

This simple spiced pear cocktail is made with vodka, fresh pear, cinnamon simple syrup, and a splash of ginger beer. It’s sweet and warming–the perfect cocktail to sip on a crisp autumn evening.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

More days than not, it’s feeling like fall here in Texas. Finally. I mean, we’re already halfway through season and I wore boots for the first time this morning. Granted, it’ll be too warm for me to wear this afternoon when I do my grocery pick-up but it was a momentous occasion nonetheless.

Few things embody the flavor of fall to me the way cinnamon does. I recently made some cinnamon simple syrup to put in a spiced pomegranate cocktail and I’ve been itching to use it in another cocktail recipe ever since. Pears and cinnamon are a match made in heaven. After making this spiced pear cocktail I can’t stop thinking about how it tastes like a spiced poached pear in liquid form. I think I’ll be making this easy recipe soon because now I’m dying to have one in, well, edible form.

This spiced pear cocktail recipe would be a great cocktail to serve on Thanksgiving. It’s also easy to make ahead of time so you can spend less time mixing drinks and more time mixing it up with your guests (see what I did there?). Simply multiply the ingredients by the number of guests you’ll be serving and add all of the ingredients except for the ginger beer to a large pitcher. When you’re ready to serve the cocktail, pour into a lowball glass and add about an inch of ginger beer into each glass.

This simple spiced pear cocktail is an easy fall cocktail made with vodka, fresh pear, cinnamon simple syrup, and a splash of ginger beer.

Alternatively, you can serve this cocktail on a coupe glass without ice and add only a splash of ginger beer. This cocktail is honestly delicious both ways!

If you make this spiced pear cocktail, be sure to tag me on Instagram and let me know in a comment down below!

Cheers!

This simple spiced pear cocktail is an easy fall cocktail made with vodka, fresh pear, cinnamon simple syrup, and a splash of ginger beer.

Ingredients for a Spiced Pear Cocktail

  • 1 1/2 oz vodka
  • 3/4 oz fresh pear juice*
  • 1/4 oz lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz cinnamon simple syrup
  • splash of ginger beer

*If you don’t have a juicer, store-bought will work. If it’s not in your store’s juice aisle, check the baby section. If you can’t find it, apple cider will taste great, too!

How to Make a Spiced Pear Cocktail

Add the vodka, pear juice, lemon juice, and cinnamon simple syrup to a cocktail shaker that’s filled with ice. Shake well, about 15-20 seconds. Strain the cocktail into a coupe glass. Add a splash of ginger beer. Garnish with a dehydrated pear.

Spiced Pear Cocktail Recipe

An easy vodka cocktail made with pear juice, cinnamon simple syrup, and ginger beer.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz vodka
  • ¾ oz fresh pear juice*
  • ¼ oz fresh lemon juice
  • ½ oz cinnamon simple syrup**
  • 1 oz ginger beer

Instructions
 

  • Add the vodka, pear juice, lemon juice, and cinnamon simple syrup to a cocktail shaker that's filled with ice.
  • Shake well, about 15-20 seconds.
  • Strain the cocktail into a lowball glass.
  • Top off the glass with ginger beer.
  • Garnish with a dehydrated pear or a slice of fresh pear.

Notes

*If you don’t have a juicer, store-bought will work. If it’s not in your store’s juice aisle, check the baby section. If you can’t find it, apple cider will taste great, too!
**Making cinnamon simple syrup at home is very easy. Find the 2 ingredient recipe here. 
Keyword cinnamon, cinnamon simple syrup, ginger beer, lemon, lemon juice, pear, pear juice, spiced pear cocktail, vodka
gin

White Lady | An Easy Classic Gin Cocktail with 5 Ingredients

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The White Lady is a classic gin cocktail that's tart and smooth. You'll only need 5 simple ingredients and you probably already have all of them on hand.

The White Lady is a classic gin cocktail that’s tart and smooth. You’ll only need 5 simple ingredients and you probably already have all of them on hand.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

You can never go wrong with a classic cocktail. Especially if it’s a classic gin cocktail. Gin is my favorite spirit because each brand varies so wildly from the next. If you think you’re not a gin fan, I challenge you to keep trying different brands. Your match is out there.

Whenever I try a new brand of gin, I love using it in classic cocktail recipes. If you’re used to knowing what a classic cocktail like a White Lady or a Gimlet tastes like, it’ll be easy to see how much a particular gin changes the feel and profile of the drink.

For months now I’ve had a White Lady cocktail on my list of recipes to try. Don’t know if I have the right to call myself a lover of classic gin cocktail recipes without ever having tried a White Lady. Now I can though. Because I finally made one. And it’s dang good.

The White Lady is a classic gin cocktail that's tart and smooth. You'll only need 5 simple ingredients and you probably already have all of them on hand.

If you’re a fan of classic sour drinks like a Daiquiri or a Whiskey Sour, the White Lady is a must-try. It’s a gin sour made with a silky egg white. If you’re weirded out by the thought of using a raw egg white in your cocktail, I understand. Really, I get it. I waited years before trying one and I only wish I’d tried it sooner. You can read this post to see that the chances of getting sick from a raw egg white are actually pretty slim.

I also feel a lot better about consuming raw or undercooked eggs at my house because I’ve got my own supply of eggs. We live in a rural part of Texas and currently have 5 hens in our backyard flock. I was never a fan of birds until we got chickens. Now I’m the person who bypasses the monkeys to get to the bird exhibits at the zoo.

The White Lady is a classic gin cocktail that's tart and smooth. You'll only need 5 simple ingredients and you probably already have all of them on hand. Egg white cocktails using backyard chicken eggs.

It only seemed fitting to put our own little white lady in these pics. Although the egg white in this cocktail definitely does not belong to her because she’s a freeloader. She only lays eggs when she feels like it. Which is apparently never. At least she’s sweet.

You can always make the White Lady without an egg white. It’ll still be good– it just won’t be as smooth or as silky. And you won’t have that pretty foam on the top, either. If you’re wanting the foam and the silkiness but don’t want the egg, you can use aquafaba. It’s a great vegan option and lots of mixologists use it in place of egg whites.

If you love a good classic gin cocktail, check these other recipes out:

The White Lady is a classic gin cocktail that's tart and smooth. You'll only need 5 simple ingredients and you probably already have all of them on hand.

Ingredients for a White Lady

How to Make a White Lady

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker without ice. (This is called a “dry shake”.) Shake for 20-30 seconds. You may want to shake over a sink because the lack of ice will mean that the metal cocktail shaker won’t contract to create a tight seal. I.e. it’s gonna leak. Then, add ice and shake for another 30-45 seconds. Your arm is going to scream but the more you shake, the better your foam will be. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

White Lady

A classic gin cocktail that's tart and silky smooth.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz gin
  • ½ oz Cointreau/orange liqueur
  • ¾ oz lemon juice
  • ¼ oz simple syrup
  • 1 egg white

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker without ice. (This is called a “dry shake”.) Shake for 20-30 seconds.*
  • Then, add ice and shake for another 30-45 seconds.
  • Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Notes

*You may want to shake over a sink because the lack of ice will mean that the metal cocktail shaker won’t contract to create a tight seal. I.e. it’s gonna leak.
Keyword egg white, gin, lemon, lemon juice, orange liqueur, simple syrup, white lady
The White Lady is a classic gin cocktail that's tart and smooth. You'll only need 5 simple ingredients and you probably already have all of them on hand.
vodka

Chai White Russian | An Effortless 4 Ingredient Fall Cocktail Recipe

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This Chai White Russian is an easy fall cocktail recipe. Only 4 ingredients stand between you and this cozy and caffeinated delight: vodka, coffee liqueur, cream, and chai tea.

This Chai White Russian is an easy fall cocktail recipe. Only 4 ingredients stand between you and this cozy and caffeinated delight: vodka, coffee liqueur, cream, and chai tea.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

I love chai tea. The spices… the richness… it’s one of my favorite teas to drink. Chai tea also varies wildly from brand to brand or person to person. The best chai tea I’ve ever had was at an Indian restaurant in Xi’an, China. Yep. They also made the best Indian food I’ve ever eaten.

For years I’ve tried to recreate it, but I never can. The taste will just have to live on in my memory. I haven’t made my own in a while, but after making this Chai White Russian last night, I’m inspired to try again. Finding the right black tea is foundational to a good chai recipe. Go ahead and forget trying to find a good one at your local grocery store and opt to look on Amazon or at an Indian grocery store instead. Once I finish my current not-so-great box of black tea, I’m going to be trying this one. I have high hopes for it.

For this recipe, I used a carton of chai concentrate. It’s pretty decent. It’s not my favorite chai recipe but it satisfies my chai craving when it hits. I also don’t hate the fact that it’s incredibly convenient. Just add an equal amount of milk and concentrate then heat it or add ice.

This Chai White Russian is an easy fall cocktail recipe. Only 4 ingredients stand between you and this cozy and caffeinated delight: vodka, coffee liqueur, cream, and chai tea.

If you’ve never had a White Russian before, it’s a delicious coffee and cream cocktail. I’m not a big sweet drink drinker… but I love a White Russian in the evening. I’ve long fantasized about making a Chai White Russian and I finally made those dreams come true last night.

If you have bagged chai tea, you can steep some tea and use that instead. Alternatively, you could steep the tea in the vodka and make a Chai White Russian that way. I think they’d all turn out well.

And when it comes to coffee liqueur, you can certainly buy a bottle of Kahlúa. But you can also make your own. If you make your own, you can use your favorite coffee and adjust the amount of sweetness to your liking. Here’s my super easy recipe.

This *might* be my new favorite fall cocktail recipe. I’m still really digging the Autumn In Tuscany but since that one is citrusy, this Chai White Russian definitely wins the Best Sweet Dessert Cocktail Recipe award. If you try it, be sure to tag me on Instagram or comment down below. I’d love to hear what you think!

This Chai White Russian is an easy fall cocktail recipe. Only 4 ingredients stand between you and this cozy and caffeinated delight: vodka, coffee liqueur, cream, and chai tea.

Ingredients for a Chai White Russian

How to Make a Chai White Russian

Add a large ice cube to a lowball glass. Pour in the vodka, coffee liqueur, cream, and chai concentrate. Stir to combine.

Chai White Russian

This Chai White Russian is an easy fall cocktail recipe. Only 4 ingredients stand between you and this cozy and caffeinated delight: vodka, coffee liqueur, cream, and chai tea.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 min
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 1 oz vodka
  • 1 oz coffee liqueur (see notes for a homemade recipe)
  • 1 oz cream*
  • 1 oz chai tea concentrate

Instructions
 

  • Add a large ice cube to a lowball glass.
  • Pour in the vodka, coffee liqueur, cream, and chai concentrate.
  • Stir to combine.

Notes

Click here to learn how to make your own easy homemade coffee liqueur.
*you can use half & half, heavy cream, or your favorite milk substitute. 
Keyword chai, chai tea, coffee liqueur, cream, cucumber-infused vodka, half and half, white russian
This Chai White Russian is an easy fall cocktail recipe. Only 4 ingredients stand between you and this cozy and caffeinated delight: vodka, coffee liqueur, cream, and chai tea.
rum

Kraken’s Cavern | A Spiced Pomegranate Cocktail That’s Perfect for Fall

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Kraken's Cavern is a delicious, spiced pomegranate cocktail. It's bright and fruity, thanks to the pomegranate juice, but has some warm complexity thanks to the spiced rum, cinnamon syrup, and ginger beer.

Kraken’s Cavern is a delicious, spiced pomegranate cocktail. It’s bright and fruity, thanks to the pomegranate juice, but has some warm complexity thanks to the spiced rum, cinnamon syrup, and ginger beer.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

I’ve been brainstorming ideas for a Halloween cocktail all week. I knew I wanted something that was going to be dark in color. There isn’t a lot of food out that is naturally super-rich in pigment. At least not rich enough for a small amount to saturate an entire cocktail. But then I thought about those dark, almost-black crimson bottles of pomegranate juice that I see at the grocery store all the time. If you’ve never had pomegranate juice, it’s uber tart and ultra-pigmented. Perfect for a Halloween cocktail.

Pears, apples, cranberries, and figs get all the attention in fall but did you know that pomegranates actually belong on the list of fall fruits, too? I didn’t until recently. As in, just now when I looked it up to see if I could justify making a fall pomegranate cocktail. Turns out they’re in season from late September into early December. Yep. Fall fruits.

Kraken's Cavern is a delicious, spiced pomegranate cocktail. It's bright and fruity, thanks to the pomegranate juice, but has some warm complexity thanks to the spiced rum, cinnamon syrup, and ginger beer.

If you’ve noticed a trend here on Girl & Tonic, gin is kinda my go-to spirit. I just love it so much. Each brand varies wildly from the next and it’s an extremely versatile spirit. The first time I attempted to make this Kraken’s Cavern, I used gin. And it was okay. It just… didn’t feel very fall-y. And the cinnamon simple syrup that I was so excited to use didn’t quite mesh with the gin I had chosen. I was wanting this recipe to come across much warmer… How could I warm it up?

I was already using cinnamon syrup (very warming) and ginger beer (lots of great spice & kick). Aside from actually serving the drink warm, I didn’t know what to do. Then it hit me. Spiced rum. YES. I could already imagine what it tasted like before it hit my tongue. One of my favorite go-to cocktails of all time is the Sea Monster. Unfortunately for the tastebuds of the world, it’s not a well-known drink. But I’ve been seeking to change that for a few years now.

The 4 building blocks of the Sea Monster are spiced rum, grapefruit juice, grenadine, and ginger beer. And since grenadine is a pomegranate-flavored syrup (not cherry, like many believe), I knew that the pomegranate and the spiced rum would marry wonderfully in Kraken’s Cavern. Kraken is also my favorite brand of spiced rum but any spiced rum would work well in this recipe.

Kraken's Cavern is a delicious, spiced pomegranate cocktail. It's bright and fruity, thanks to the pomegranate juice, but has some warm complexity thanks to the spiced rum, cinnamon syrup, and ginger beer.

This cocktail is so good y’all. It’s got some depth and complexity while remaining pretty simple. I used some Pomegranate Margarita mix in this recipe because I had a gifted bottle on hand. But you can definitely just use more pomegranate juice in its place. You may also want to add a little more cinnamon syrup, too, since the Pom Marg mix was pretty sweet. Or you know, keep it tart. That’s the beautiful thing about cocktails– they’re completely customizable. I mean, I used pomegranate margarita mix with rum. All cocktail “rules” are meant to be bent and broken.

If you’re looking for a more traditional fall cocktail, check out my Mulled White Wine, the Autumn in Tuscany, or Morgan Mends the Line. A good ol’ Rum Old Fashioned also makes for a great fall cocktail. But if you’re in the mood for a unique recipe, don’t sleep on Kraken’s Cavern. Or should I say in?

Kraken's Cavern is a delicious, spiced pomegranate cocktail. It's bright and fruity, thanks to the pomegranate juice, but has some warm complexity thanks to the spiced rum, cinnamon syrup, and ginger beer.

Ingredients for a Kraken’s Cavern

  • 1 1/2 oz spiced rum (Use Kraken if you’ve got it!)
  • 3/4 oz pomegranate juice
  • 3/4 oz pomegranate margarita mixer
  • 3/4 oz lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz cinnamon simple syrup (here’s an easy recipe)
  • 1+ oz ginger beer

How to Make a Kraken’s Cavern

Add all ingredients, except for the ginger beer, into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, about 20 seconds. Pour into a lowball glass filled with ice. Top the glass off with the ginger beer and stir to incorporate. Add another small splash of pomegranate juice on top for spooky dramatic effect.

Kraken’s Cavern

A spiced pomegranate cocktail with spiced rum, cinnamon syrup, and ginger beer.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz spiced rum (Kraken, if you've got it!)
  • ¾ oz pomegranate juice
  • ¾ oz pomegranate Margarita mixer*
  • ¾ oz lemon juice
  • ½ oz cinnamon simple syrup**
  • 1+ oz ginger beer

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients, except for the ginger beer, into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  • Shake well, about 20 seconds. Pour into a lowball glass filled with ice.
  • Top the glass off with the ginger beer and stir to incorporate.
  • Optional – Add another small splash of pomegranate juice on top for spooky dramatic effect.

Notes

*If you can’t find a pomegranate Margarita mixer, add in another 1/4 oz of pomegranate juice and another 1/4 oz of cinnamon simple syrup.
**It’s super easy to make your own cinnamon simple syrup. Here’s a recipe.
Keyword cinnamon, cinnamon simple syrup, kraken’s cavern, lemon, lemon juice, margarita mixer, pomegranate, pomegranate juice, spiced rum