Deliciously refreshing summer cocktails

HENDRICK’S GIN & Tonic is the grand empress of all summer refreshments and remains an unimpeachable selection for those seeking a long cool diversion from the sun’s ultraviolet extravagances. Its beloved simplicity suits slow afternoons on the lawn, sultry trysts in orchards or animated summer lunches with favoured guests. This is the classic gin cocktail beloved by gin lovers across the world.

The Greyhound can be easily made, even in the blasting madness of a July sun, but it lacks a certain something. That certain something is the flavoursome contrast of a salty rim, once so configured you have the wickedly naughty Salty Dog. This classic gin cocktail should be taken for walks in the summer months (and in the other seasons). Woof!

As floral and as fizzy as the mythical carbonated gardens of Alusdusa, the Floradora is a gin cocktail that is not afraid of the seductive power of the raspberry. (Come to think of it, who is fearful of the seductive power of the raspberry?). Serving suggestion: follow with a love poem beneath a meteor shower. The bartender Jimmy O’Brien created the drink for a young actor from the cast of the Edwardian musical comedy ‘Floradora’; she claimed that she had already tried every cocktail, and O’Brien responded by creating this miraculous cocktail just for her. Here is an outrageous summer gin cocktail waiting to seduce gin lovers of every kind.

Fresh and extremely refreshing, the Gin Basil Smash is a cocktail invented by the charismatic Joerg Meyer. Some think of the Gin Basil Smash as a Spring gin cocktail, but it is happy to refuse categorisation.

Summer is, or certainly should be, as fruity and absurdly buoyant as the HENDRICK’S Summer Punch. This is every essence of a gin summer punch whenever you drink it.

Other gin cocktails are of course desirable, but few match the outlandish wonder of the HENDRICK’S NEPTUNIA GIN Fizz. It is impossible to avoid bias when speaking of this masterpiece. Something about the ravishingly refreshing opera of flavour of the HENDRICK’S NEPTUNIA Fizz inspires lifelong loyalty. Judge for yourself, we’re extremely confident you’ll agree.

THE INCURIOUS MAY LOOK AWAY NOW. For those with an unquenchable desire for more, the Curious Margarita awaits you. This gin margarita is an utterly seductive dance of Agave Nectar, fresh lime, HENDRICK’S NEPTUNIA and the noble crisp cucumber. If it was a mythical beast it would be the Hahvyap, a mermaid with the head of a lime and the body of a cucumber. Ideal for sharing overly tall tales. This is the gin margarita that gin lovers long for.