• TOM COLLINS

    The classic Tom Collins dates back to 1876 and is thought to have been invented by waiter John Collins in London’s Limmer Hotel. Bit of a cockup on the naming of the cocktail and we’re assuming John wasn’t happy about it.

    Ingredients

    45ml GDC Tweed double distilled gin

    20ml fresh lemon juice

    20ml sugar syrup

    Sparkling water
    (Soda Stream is just fine, but soda water is just a bit better)

    Method

    Add all the ingredients except the sparkling water to a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Strain into a high ball glass filled with ice, then top up with soda water. Garnish with a lemon slice and a cherry held together with a toothpick.

  • BEDE’S BEE’S KNEES

    This gin cocktail has its origins with prohibition in America, with honey added to sweeten the taste of poor quality gin, distilled in a bathtub. No bathtub was used in the making of our GDC Settler gin but a Bede’s Bees Knees has been consumed in the bathtub at one of our director’s homes.

    Ingredients

    50ml GDC Settler double distilled gin

    2 teaspoons of runny Greytown honey

    20ml fresh lemon juice

    20ml fresh orange juice

    Method

    Add the honey to the gin in a cocktail shaker or clean chilled metal or glass container and stir until it dissolves. Then add in the lemon, orange and lots of ice. Pour into glasses and garnish with an orange zest.

  • MR BLACKWELL’S CLASSIC GIN MARTINI

    The pre-dinner date Martini is a Blackwell staple, and usually leads to a chatty wee dinner and a 10% happier wife.

    Ingredients

    50ml GDC Tweed double distilled gin

    15ml Dry Vermouth

    Lemon peel twist

    Method

    The key here is to make sure the glass is well chilled with ice beforehand. Rub a piece of unused lemon peel around the edge of the glass to leave a little citrus oil on there—you’ll notice it on the nose during that all-important first sip. Pour the ingredients into a well iced (use busted up ice you have demolished with a mallet) cocktail shaker or jug and shake it with extreme vigour for at least 15 seconds. Then shake it again for another 15 seconds. Exhausted? Poor baby. Pour it carefully into the glass to ensure you get very little ice travelling into the glass (a few fine shards is ok). Serve with a lemon peel twist.

  • SILVER FOX GIN FIZZ

    Greytown seems to be heaving with silver foxes these days, all without exception rating themselves very highly in the romance arena. Most sadly missing the mark completely. The Silver Fox Gin Fizz is like a Tom Collins without the ice and with some egg white to make it silky in texture. It is a smooth drink for a smooth operator.

    Ingredients

    60ml GDC Small Farms Association double distilled gin

    30ml fresh lemon juice

    1 teaspoon caster sugar or 20ml sugar syrup

    1 egg white

    30ml chilled soda water

    Slice of lemon

    Method

    Shake up all the ingredients (except for the soda water) in a cocktail shaker and strain it into a glass (no ice). Add the soda water. No garnish.

  • GAVIN’S GIMLET

    Gimlets are a classic cocktail, thought to have originated as a drink to prevent scurvy in sailors. Gavin is not a sailor. He is a business advisor. And the last time we checked he doesn’t have scurvy. Fresh fruits and vegetables and a gimlet a day keeps the scurvy away.

    Ingredients

    60ml GDC Small Farms Association double

    distilled gin

    60ml Rose’s lime juice cordial

    Lime wedge

    Method

    Pour the gin and the lime into a glass filled with ice. Add the lime wedge as a garnish.

  • THE FITZGERALD

    The Fitzgerald was invented by Dale Degroff at the Rainbow Room in New York in the 1990s, who preferred the use of fresh juices instead of preserved syrups in his cocktails. When it was first invented, one of the creative geniuses out the back suggested they name it a Gin Thing. That name was mercifully replaced with The Fitzgerald a short time later.

    Ingredients

    40ml GDC Tweed double distilled gin

    20ml fresh lemon juice

    20ml sugar syrup

    2 dashes of Angostura bitters

    Method

    Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge or lemon zest.

  • PETE’S PERFECT GIN AND TONIC

    At the end of a long, sweaty day of double distillation, working in conditions most employees would file complaints over, in the pursuit of the incredibly high standards of libations GDC is now famous for, you would think Peter Warren, our master distiller would want a nice refreshing beer. Nope. An ice cold G&T is Peter’s tipple of choice.

    Ingredients

    Fever Tree Tonic

    50ml GDC Settler double distilled gin, well chilled

    Grapefruit slice, lime wedge, cucumber slice, or fresh herbs

    Method

    Fill a highball glass about two-thirds full with ice, then add about 50ml tonic, followed by the gin and then the remaining tonic. Garnish with a grapefruit slice, lime wedge, cucumber slice, or fresh herbs if desired. Temperature is everything with a G&T. Keep it all as icy cold as possible.

  • TRISHIE’S BREAKFAST MARTINI

    We won’t reveal her last name or place of work, and nor will we imply that Trishie uses this drink to get her through a typical day of warm, joyful customer interaction. But if she did need to deal with any daunting customer service moments, we reckon Trishie would shake herself up a Martini just like this one.

    Ingredients

    50ml GDC Small Farms Association double

    distilled gin

    15ml Cointreau

    15ml fresh lemon juice

    1 full teaspoon of Ruth Pretty’s Seville Orange Marmalade

    Orange peel to garnish

    Method

    Pour all the ingredients into a shaker and stir to dissolve the marmalade. Fill with ice. Shake like your patience depends upon it for at least 20 seconds and then strain the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass. Shred some orange peel on the top of the drink as garnish.

  • THE VESPER MARTINI

    This is probably London’s most famous cocktail, created in the bar of Duke’s Hotel in the 1950s for James Bond author, Ian Fleming. Fleming loved the drink so much he included it in Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel, and named it after the secret agent Vesper Lynd, Bond’s tragic paramour.

    Ingredients

    75ml GDC Small Farms Association double

    distilled gin

    25ml vodka

    12.5ml vermouth

    Method

    Combine the gin, vodka and vermouth in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake well for 20 seconds or until you need to sit, panting. Sieve and serve in a Martini glass with a twist of lemon.

  • GREYTOWN GIN SLING

    People in Greytown would not be considered excessive drinkers and to acknowledge this boldfaced lie, we present to you this deliciously refreshing summer’s day beverage.

    Ingredients

    50ml GDC Tweed double distilled gin

    20ml lemon juice

    15ml sugar syrup

    2 dashes Angostura bitters

    Tonic and soda water

    Rosemary sprig and lemon wedge, to garnish

    Method

    Put the gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and bitters into a cocktail shaker and add a large handful of ice. Shake to combine and strain into a tall glass filled with more ice. Top up with equal parts tonic and soda water. Garnish with a rosemary sprig and lemon wedge. Sit back, sip, and think about your regrets.

  • GREYTOWN FESTIVAL MULLED CHRISTMAS GIN

    Back in 2020, a small group of Greytownians came up with an idea to address the darkest days of the pandemic by staging Christmas a little earlier in July. Most joined in the village festivities, while others expressed anger. The very notion of sharing Christmas to bring locals and visitors a positive, joyful celebration of togetherness? Outrageous.

    The planners of the now famous Festival took the concerns onboard and promptly turned it into an annual event. And the directors of the Greytown Distilling Company shook their heads in disbelief and concocted this mulled gin recipe to make winter nights by the fire even more festive.

    Ingredients

    50ml GDC Small Farms Association double distilled gin

    50ml freshly squeezed orange juice

    50ml lemon juice

    ó lemon, sliced

    2 cloves

    2 cardamom pods, lightly crushed

    1 cinnamon stick

    2 tsp runny Greytown honey

    Method

    Divide the gin between two small heatproof glasses or mugs. Pour 100ml water into a saucepan with the rest of the ingredients, reserving one lemon slice. Heat gently over a low heat until simmering. Strain the mixture into a jug, discard the fruit and spices, then pour the toddy over the gin in the glasses and stir gently to combine. Cut the reserved lemon slice in half, use them to garnish the drinks and serve warm.

  • THE GARDENER’S REWARD

    Home gardeners are the planet’s stewards, lovingly taking care of their little piece of Earth by carefully working with soils, plants and the cycles of nature to create nutrition and beauty. And for that, we at the GDC salute you, raise a glass to your good health and offer you this delicious recipe, all of your own.

    Ingredients

    5 mint leaves, bruised

    30ml GDC Small Farms Association double distilled gin

    2 tsp elderflower cordial
    (use more or less, depending on how sweet you like it)

    2 tsp lemon juice

    Mela apple juice, for topping up

    1 long strip of cucumber, peeled using a vegetable peeler

    Method

    Mix the mint leaves, gin, elderflower cordial and lemon juice together in the bottom of a tall glass using a longhandled spoon. Add a large handful of ice, then top up with the apple juice. Stir well, then drop in the strip of cucumber before serving.

  • MRS BLACKWELL’S BOOK CLUB COCKTAIL

    Can you imagine if someone showed up to a book club meeting and dominated the whole evening with a nonstop download of all the nuances of Atlas Shrugged? Shudder. You would need one of these.

    Ingredients

    20ml GDC Tweed double distilled gin

    20ml dry vermouth

    20ml triple sec

    20ml lemon juice

    2 dashes of absinthe

    1 star anise, to garnish

    Method

    Put a Martini glass into the fridge to chill. Pour the gin, vermouth, triple sec and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Splash in two dashes of absinthe, then shake vigorously for approximately 20 seconds. Strain the cocktail through a fine mesh strainer into the chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a star anise.

  • SHANE’S DIRTY MARTINI

    Most of the GDC management team are white collar boys and are blissfully unaware of the meaning of the term ‘hard work’. Therefore, they called on Shane, a local Greytown guy who is a bit of a jack of all trades and asked him to suggest what a working person should look forward to at the end of a day of physical labour. Shane wheeled in a 50 litre drum of alcohol, double distilled it into a tasty gin, and mixed up four of his signature dirty Martinis while the GDC boys checked their social media. “Need a hand mate?” asked one of them, hoping the answer was no. Shane just laughed.

    Ingredients

    4 – 6 green olives, pitted, plus 25ml of the brine

    150ml GDC Tweed double distilled gin

    25ml dry vermouth

    Method

    Put two Martini glasses in the fridge to chill. Thread the olives onto two cocktail sticks or toothpicks and set aside. Fill a jug or mixing glass with the ice, then pour in the gin, vermouth and olive brine. Stir until the outside of the jug feels cold. Taste to make sure that it’s icy cold and that you’re happy with the dilution. Strain the mix into the chilled glasses and garnish with the olive skewers.