When it comes to the realm of tropical cocktails, rum reigns supreme. The preferred spirit of both Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic, the sugarcane distillate is inseparable from the tropical flavors of tiki. But the genre has always experimented with a variety of other base spirits—gin principal among them. That is especially true today. With the expansion of the gin map over the past decade, the category has never been more diverse, making it the perfect candidate for the kind of layered approach that defines tropical drink-making.
Take, for instance, the Double Barrel Winchester. Created by Brian Miller, this play on the Zombie layers gin the same way Donn Beach layered rum. The drink calls on four distinct expressions of gin, showcasing the depth and complexity of the category and its natural affinity for the fruity and spiced notes of the grenadine, Angostura bitters and citrus that comprise the remainder of the cocktail.
The Gin Fizz Tropical, meanwhile, adds a tropical flair to the classic fizz format. Though not exactly new, the recipe has been given new life courtesy of The Slanted Door in San Francisco. The drink was first recorded in Charles H. Baker’s 1939 The Gentleman’s Companion; this updated version swaps the pineapple juice for pineapple gum syrup and heavy cream for orgeat in a drink that is bright, refreshing and light on its feet.
In fact, one of the easiest ways to bring out gin’s tropical side is to pair it with orgeat, a syrup traditionally made from almonds and often flavored with orange blossom water; it’s a staple in the Mai Tai, among other classic tropical cocktails. That pairing, plus lemon juice is all that goes into the Army & Navy—though Dutch Kills adds a couple dashes of bitters to its version of the obscure 1930s-era cocktail that bears a striking resemblance to a number of more modern tropical creations. Chief among these is the Royal Hawaiian, a distant Mai Tai variation that adds pineapple into the equation, and the Sleeping Lotus, which introduces a refreshing cooling element courtesy of fresh mint.
Of course, some early tropical gin cocktails still feel as relevant today as they did at the time of their creation. The Saturn, a 1967 cocktail courtesy of California bartender J. “Popo” Galsini, bears all the hallmarks of classic tiki, albeit with an unexpected gin base, and it continues to evolve today: At New York’s Paradise Lost, the simple drink gets kicked up with Thai bird’s eye chile. It’s a prime example of gin’s ability to do tropical—and take on any profile, fruity to spicy to savory, just as well as any other spirit. As New York bartender Garret Richard summarizes, “The Saturn deserves the mantle of the perfect gin tiki cocktail.”
