Yuzu Gin Cocktail

Our yuzu gin cocktail is our favorite go-to drink to serve to our guest as it is so delicious, yet so easy to make. Yuzu gives any drink or dish this incredibly fragrant flavor, giving the impression that you spend so much time concocting this recipe! Classic drink, with an asian twist.

We first made this yuzu gin cocktail in 2020 during the pandemic, and instantly fell in love. Since then, we've served it to multiple small gatherings, and every time we've received so many compliments. It's such a simple drink to whip up, yet is a crowd pleaser.

Why we love this Yuzu Gin Cocktail

First of all, we love a good classic Gin and Tonic. We're not big alcohol drinkers, but we do enjoy a good cocktail, and that's one of those that we like to have once in awhile. In addition, gin and tonic was created as a cure against malaria, so it's healthy right? All jokes aside, it's the perfect cocktail to pair with citrus, and is traditionally made with a squeeze of lime. However, adding yuzu juice brings it to another level! The citrus and floral flavor from the yuzu gives a nice twist to a classic drink.

Gin and Tonic ratio

Typically, the gin to tonic ration varies between 1:1 and 1:3. As we are not heavy alcohol drinkers, we opted for the 1:2 ratio in this recipe, but feel free to adjust to your preference. However, we do think that the 1:2 ratio is the perfect amount to let the yuzu shine.

More Related Recipes:

• Mango Green Tea
• Bailey's Cinnamon Iced Chocolate

What is Yuzu (柚子)

Yuzu is a citrus fruit that resembles grapefruit, and has taste similar to lemon and lime. Although it is believed to have originated in China, it's become a very popular cuisine ingredient in Japan. It is rarely eaten as a fruit, and instead used to make ponzu sauce, teas, and vinegar. Yuzu has a sour and tart taste similar to lemon, but is incredibly flagrant and floral, so much that it is sometimes use to make perfumes. Many people compare yuzu to hybrid of mandarin and grapefruit. It is very popular to make gin or sake drinks.

Where to find Yuzu

Yuzu trees take in average 10 years to grow fruits and each yuzu yields very little juice for a citrus, hence why it is a very expensive ingredients. Here in North America, it is very hard to find the fresh fruit, although where we live, there's actually a Yuzu farm and we feel incredibly lucky to have one! But because of our harsh winters, it is only open during summer, so we often result in using yuzu juice. Here's a very similar one. However, you should easily find it in your local asian grocery store.

Ingredients

• Yuzu juice: The star of the show! Yuzu is very sour so we use equal parts yuzu to simple syrup to balance out the flavors. If you're able to use fresh yuzu, you need about 1 entire yuzu fruit for 1 cocktail glass.
• Gin: We used Hendricks gin as it has floral notes and pairs beautifully with yuzu. We haven't tried it with Japanese gin, but we're sure it would be equally as good.
• Club Soda: We love the bubbles of Perrier carbonated soda, but feel free to used your preferred club soda.
• Simple syrup: We always have simple syrup on hand at home to make homemade cocktails and mocktails. If you don't have any, it's super easy to make! It's basically equal parts sugar and water that you boil, and let cool down.
• Mint: We love to add fresh mint to our yuzu gin cocktail for that extra touch!

Instructions

1. Assemble. Place ice cubes in cocktail glass, and pour gin, yuzu juice, simple syrup and club soda. Gently stir.
2. Garnish. Top with fresh mint.