South Side

South Side

About the Southside cocktail

The Southside is a classic gin cocktail made with gin, fresh lime or lemon juice, sugar, and mint. It is bright, fresh, and cooling, with the citrus and mint softening the gin into a crisp, refreshing sour that feels somewhere between a Gimlet and a Mojito.

The cocktail is often linked to Prohibition-era Chicago and the South Side territory associated with Al Capone. One popular story says harsher bootleg gin needed extra citrus, sugar, and mint to make it more drinkable, while better gin on the North Side could be served more simply. Whether or not that origin story is perfectly true, the Southside remains a clean, refreshing classic built around gin, citrus, sweetness, and fresh mint.

Glass Coupe glassBase GinMethod Shaken

Ingredients

2 ozGin
5 leafMint leaves
1 ozLemon juice
1/2 ozSimple syrup (2:1)
2 dropEgg white

Instructions

  1. Chill a coupe glass.
  2. Add gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, mint leaves, and egg white to a shaker.
  3. Dry shake (without ice) to start emulsifying (about 10-15 seconds).
  4. Add ice and shake until well chilled (about 10-15 seconds).
  5. Double strain into the chilled coupe glass.
  6. Garnish with mint sprigs.

Garnish

  • Mint sprigs

Flavor profile

FruitySourCitrusCreamyHerbalElegantRefreshingSophisticated

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