David has always been one that enjoys a drink now and then, and once in a while, I will too. My drink of choice is usually tequila, but gin has always been one of those things I never really knew what to do with beyond the basics. I could make a pour a hot of gin, but anything beyond that and I was pretty much guessing.
That’s why this new cocktail recipe deck The Gin Edit: A curated collection of gin cocktails caught my attention. Because as I started flipping through it, I quickly realized I was in a whole different world than I expected. I found myself reading names and immediately stopping, not because I recognized them, but because I didn’t. In fact, there were several I couldn’t even pronounce correctly, and I knew right away I would never confidently walk up to a bar and order half of these without second guessing myself.
One of the first ones that did that to me was the Negroni. I looked at it, said it out loud, and immediately thought, I don’t even know if I’m saying that right, much less ordering it at a bar without sounding completely lost. And that set the tone for the rest of the deck.
Because then you have things like the Martini, which of course I know from James Bond—shaken, not stirred—but even that felt different once I started seeing the variations and the was to actually make something I thought was simple.
Then I got to the Tom Collins, and that one really stopped me for a second. I always thought a Tom Collins was just a Tom Collins. One drink, one name, nothing complicated. But this Author showed more than one version of it, and I had to sit there and reread it because I genuinely didn’t expect that. It made me realize pretty quickly that I was dealing with something way bigger than I thought.
And that kind of became the pattern as I kept going through it. Gin Fizz. Gimlet. Gin Rickey. Martinez. Singapore Sling. Clover Club. Some of them sounded familiar in passing, but not familiar enough to feel comfortable with. Others just sounded completely foreign, like I had stepped into a conversation mid-sentence and had no idea what anyone was talking about.
And the more I read, the more I realized it wasn’t just about recipes. It was about realizing there’s a whole world of drinks out there that I’ve never really paid attention to. Names that people say casually like they’ve known them forever, while I’m still sitting there trying to figure out how to pronounce them correctly in my head before I ever say them out loud.
There were a few that caught my attention just because they sounded pretty or interesting, like anything with rose, lavender, or cucumber. The Rose Martini stood out for that reason alone. It just sounded soft and pretty, like something you would almost hesitate to drink because it looks like it should just sit there and be admired.
And while I was going through all of this, I couldn’t help but think about David too. He’s always been pretty simple when it comes to drinks. Nothing complicated, nothing that requires a long explanation. I could see him flipping through something like this and just picking whatever looked easiest or least confusing without overthinking it.
Me, on the other hand, I’m somewhere in between. I like tequila, always have, but this deck actually made me think maybe I’ve been playing it too safe just sticking to what I already know. It might be time to visit the Liquor Store and give Gin a try.
Because even though I couldn’t pronounce half of what I was reading, there was something kind of fun about it too. It made it feel less like a list of instructions and more like an invitation to try something new without needing to be an expert first.
And it even made me think ahead a little bit. Not fancy, not planned out, just simple. Maybe inviting a few friends over, nothing big, just sitting somewhere comfortable like Lisa Marie’s backyard since our pool in our Apartment Complex still isn’t open, and just trying a few of these drinks one by one. Nothing perfect. Nothing staged. Just people, conversation, and something new in the glass.
Because that’s really what The Gin Edit: A curated collection of gin cocktailsended up being to me. Not just recipes, but ideas. Moments. Little “maybe we should try this” kind of thoughts that make you look at an ordinary evening a little differently.
And honestly, I think that’s my favorite part of it so far.
About: The Gin Edit: A curated collection of gin cocktails
50 delicious gin cocktails.
Whether you prefer the humble Gin and Tonic, the iconic French 75, or more modern creations like the Honeysuckle Sour, gin is the foundation to some truly great libations. Without it, we wouldn’t have the Martini, the Tom Collins, or the Negroni.
The Gin Edit distills the best of gin cocktails, featuring 48 recipes for any mood, whether you’d like to get effervescent with a Rosewater Fizz, sip on an Aviation, or curl up with a Clover Club.
With recipes for every palette, get ready to shake, mix, and stir your way through the world of juniper.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
