The best thing about a Gin & Jam cocktail is its adaptability; you can use strawberry jam in summer, blackberry in autumn and cranberry in winter. Our favourite preserve, though, and one that fills the mouth with a confectioners dusting of candied fruit, is raspberry.
What gin works best in a Gin & Jam cocktail?
There's no steadfast rule to work off here, rather match your gin to the jam you are using. We tend to prefer using dry gins as the gin and sugar syrup add a lot of sweetness already. If you are using apricot jam, then pick gins with big orange tones (Beefeater, Hayman's), while the likes of a marmalade, try something with lots of coriander seed driving through the profile (like Tanqueray).
A BRIEF, INEBRIATED HISTORY:
The Gin & Jam has been on the scene for a good few years, though there’s no official recipe, rather brands and barmen twist it to their will, creating serves that best suit a time, a place and a day. It’s one to play with, certainly, and the above is little more than a suggested serve; After all it is just one of the many twists on a Gin Sour!
We think the Gin & Jam is a perfect cocktail to try at home as it’s really easy to make and there’s a 99% chance you’ll have all the ingredients there already. All we ask is to not succumb to using one of those faux hipster jam jars come glasses when it comes to serving it up. Just use a nice rocks glass, please…
Play around, get creative, and liven it up as you see fit – a handful of basil will bring a fresh kick, a twist of lemon will give more heft to the citrus, swap out the jam for honey – the possibilities are endless!
