Ready to wow everyone with this restaurant-quality Empress Gin Cocktail? This 5-ingredient drink tastes just like you’re at a big city cocktail bar. It’s perfect for dinner or cocktail parties and is guaranteed to impress.
A great cocktail at home can sometimes be a bit of a process. Many have long lists of ingredients and specialty liqueurs that can be challenging to find (I’m guilty of sharing cocktails like this). So let me introduce my Empress Gin Cocktail. It’s refined and elevated, but uses just 5 simple ingredients and takes about 5 minutes to whip up. It’s one of my favorite cocktails to shake up for a happy hour with friends or an elegant dinner party at home.
The base of this gorgeous drink is Empress 1908 gin which is a vibrant blue-hued gin with earthy floral flavors and mild citrus and tea undertones. It’s a beautiful addition to any bar cart or liqueur cabinet if you don’t have a bottle already. And if you’re worried about the gin being gimmicky and fakey—it’s not. The vibrant color is all-natural thanks to butterfly pea leaves being used to make the gin.
I love Empress gin is from its bitter, herbal, floral and citrus flavors from grapefruit rind and botanicals.
It’s delicious just with tonic water but transforms in color, from blue to purple, when mixed with acid like lemon or lime juice. If you love a gin drink, be sure to also try our Blueberry Gin Cocktail or Cranberry Gin Cocktail.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Gorgeous color that impresses. The gin is indigo blue but transforms into a light purple color when acid is added to it. The gin itself is stunning and the transformation is impressive!
- 5-Ingredient restaurant-style cocktail at home. Why go out for craft cocktails when you can stay in and make them yourself? This recipe is easy and approachable.
- Versatile. Lemon and St. Germain make a great flavor combination in this drink. But so does lemon and ginger liqueur. Or try lime and chambord. The options are endless!
What is Empress Gin?
Also known as Empress 1908 gin, it’s a little different than classic gin and London dry gin but can be used interchangeably (most of the time). The gin is deep blue in color and has an earthy floral flavor with notes of citrus from grapefruit rind. This blue color is all-natural and comes from butterfly pea blossoms that are steeped in the gin.
The butterfly pea blossom adds an earthy flavor that beautifully compliments the floral and citrus notes of the Empress gin recipe.
Ingredients
- Empress 1908 Gin: The star of the show! You can find Empress gin at most liquor stores these days. You can also order online.
- Simple syrup: Make it homemade or buy it at the grocery store. But it’s so easy to make at home by simmering equal parts water and sugar together and letting it cool to room temperature. Simple syrup will last up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Fresh lemon juice: Fresh is best, always. Lime can also be used.
- St. Germain liqueur: This floral liqueur has notes of pear, honey, peach and honeysuckle and compliments the Empress gin nicely. Use it in my French 77 as well.
- Egg white or aquafaba, optional: For a foamy top and silky mouthfeel, add an egg white or the liquid from a can of chickpeas (aquafaba) for a vegan version. Be sure to shake the cocktail very vigorously to aerate the drink and create the beautiful white foam top.
How to Make and Empress Gin Cocktail
- Add everything to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously to chill.
- Strain the cocktail into one half of the shaker, discard the ice, and dry shake for 15 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass and serve.
Pro Tips
- Chill your ingredients in advance. This allows them to stay extra cold in the cocktail shaker which yields a flavorful cocktail that isn’t watered down.
- Pop the coupe glass and cocktail shaker in the freezer for 5 minutes prior to making. This is another trick you can do to keep the cocktail very cold and not watered down.
- Use freshly squeezed citrus. Don’t use bottled juice—it just isn’t the same as fresh squeezed citrus juice.
- Pop a protein shaker ball into the cocktail shaker for even more aeration. This makes frothing the egg white or aquafaba very easy.
Storage
We recommend you enjoy the Empress Gin cocktail immediately after pouring into the coupe glass.
If you are serving a crowd, you make a big batch of the cocktail base. When ready to serve, add a single serving to the shaker with the egg white, shake and serve for quick and easy cocktails for a crowd.
Variations
There are so many fun ways to play with the flavor of this Empress gin drink. Here are some of our suggestions.
- Jazz up the simple syrup. Add some spices, citrus peel, or even fresh herbs to the simple syrup. Simmer it all together then remove it from heat, cover and let steep. We love rosemary, lemon peel, or orange peel for this recipe. A hint of whole allspice would be delicious too.
- Muddle some herbs or citrus. If you want extra flavor in your cocktail, simply muddle some lemon peel in the bottom of the cocktail shaker prior to adding the ingredients and shaking to perfection.
- Add soda water if you don’t like egg white foam. You can top the drink off with a splash of soda water for a hint of bubbles in this refreshing drink.
- Using other gins. You can use other types of gin for this cocktail, but we strongly recommend the Empress gin for its floral flavor.
FAQs
A special kind of gin with a indigo color thanks to the steeping of butterfly pea leaves in the gin. The pea leaves give it a slight earthy flavor that compliments the floral gin flavors nicely.
Similar to a French 75, it’s made with Empress gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and sparkling wine.
Empress gin is made with grapefruit peel while regular gin is not. This gives it a more bitter herbal flavor that pairs nicely with tonic.
It’s made with lots of citrus, specifically grapefruit rind that makes it delicious when paired with tonic or a sweeter liqueur.
More Restaurant-Quality Cocktails
Empress Gin Cocktail
Description
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Empress 1908 gin
- ¾ ounce simple syrup
- ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
- ½ ounce St. Germain liqueur
- 1 ounce egg white or aquafaba, optional
Instructions
- Add everything to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously to chill.
- Strain cocktail into one half of shaker, discard ice, and dry shake for 15 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass and serve.
