Welcome back gin lovers.
With the holidays upon us it occurred to me that some might be wondering what would be a good way to share Iron Balls with friends and family during this time of mirth and cheer. Well there are a number of known holiday favorites and some of you may have even tried my Christmas Gin Tonic (recipe below), but for this particular article I wanted to go over a few of my favorite hot gin cocktails.
I think one of the easiest ways to share warm gin drinks is by making punches, here are a few easy options for you. Don’t worry I will include detailed recipes for each selection below. One option that goes over well with children of all legal drinking ages is the Gin Spiked Mulled Wine or Gin Vin Chaud. For this we are using a standard recipe but spiking it during the cooking process with gin. This breaks the sweetness a bit and adds considerable amounts of complexity. If you’re worried about too much alcohol just cook it a bit longer and the alcohol will disperse.
Another warm gin punch to share is the Gin and Spiced Apple Punch, for this one you will merely heat your apple juice with spices and demerara sugar then add the gin as it cools. This one works amazingly with Iron Balls as well, since it’s the best gin that ever set foot on this planet 😜
Stay tuned for more recipes !
🫖 🍸 Iron Balls Christmas G&T
In a large burgundy glass add 40ml Iron Balls Gin and fill to the top with large clear ice cubes. Top with 150 to 200ml Fever Tree Aromatic Tonic. Give a quick stir and ensure that your ice is still cresting above the gin tonic. Now garnish with an orange peel skewered with many cloves, a cinnamon stick, a bar spoon or 2 of tawny port and a dollop of sour cranberry jam or frozen cranberries.
🫖 🍸 Gin Spiked Mulled Wine
In a large sauce pan add 1 bottle (750ml) of shiraz or any full bodied red wine with one sliced orange, 1 table spoon of brown sugar and 1 table spoon white sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, 3 whole star anise, and 5 whole cloves. Bring to a simmer while stirring occasionally, turn off the heat and add 100ml of Iron Balls Gin. Serve in footed coffee mugs with candied orange peels for garnish. (Recipe below)
🫖 🍸 Gin and Spiced Apple Punch
In a large Saucepan add 750ml of natural cloudy apple juice, stir in 50ml of maple syrup and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon. Add 1 cinnamon stick, half a grated nutmeg and 5 whole cloves. Bring to a simmer, stir and turn off the heat. Add 250ml of Iron Balls Gin and cover. Strain before serving into any heat resistant cup, I like to use a double walled glass cup for this, and garnish with a brulée apple skewer. (Recipe below)
🫖 🍸 Gin Spiked Mulled Wine
In a large sauce pan add 1 bottle (750ml) of shiraz or any full bodied red wine with one sliced orange, 1 table spoon of brown sugar and 1 table spoon white sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, 3 whole star anise, and 5 whole cloves. Bring to a simmer while stirring occasionally, turn off the heat and add 100ml of Iron Balls Gin. Serve in footed coffee mugs with candied orange peels for garnish. (Recipe below)
Candied Orange Peels:
With a vegetable peeler remove the skin of 3 large oranges. Slice into long strips and put into a saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil and drain. Repeat this 3 times or until the pith of the orange peel becomes slightly translucent. Drain orange peels and set aside. In the sauce pan add 750 grams of white sugar and 500ml of water, bring to a simmer and stir until clear. Add the orange peels and let simmer for one hour. Drain the orange peels making sure to keep the syrup (it’s great in other things). When the peels are nearly dry put them in a large mixing bowl and toss with fine white baking sugar. Spread them on baking paper and let dry, preferably under a fan, for a few hours. Transfer them to plastic storage containers lined with baking paper and keep in cool dry place for up to 6 months.
Bruléed Apple Skewer
Slice a green apple into sixths and pierce each with a wooden skewer. Dust lightly with cinnamon powder and then white sugar making certain the sugar is evenly and thinly coated. Hit the apples with a small kitchen torch ensuring the flame is blue and melts the sugar only to a medium to light brown. Rest on baking paper before serving.