Sour · Anytime · Summer

South Side

Gin shaken with lemon, sugar and mint leaves. A Mojito's cousin — sharper, and served up.

Base: Gin
Glass: Coupe glass
Method: Shake
Strength: 20% ABV

Ingredients

60 mlLondon Dry Gin1 swap
Any London dry ginhigh
Depends on the brand’s botanicals
30 mlFresh Lemon Juice1 swap
Fresh lime juicemedium
A touch sharper
15 mlSimple Syrup1 swap
Sugar syrup or agavehigh
Little change
6 leavesMint Leaves
few dropsEgg White optional

How to make

Technique

Shake · 10–15s

Shaking chills the drink fast while adding dilution and a light texture.

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, shake well with ice, double-strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Serve

Glass

Coupe glassAlso fine: Martini glass, Nick & Nora glass

Garnish

Garnish with mint springs.Stand the sprigs next to the straw so you meet them on every sip.

Taste & nutrition

20%ABV

170kcal

2.07Drinks

StrengthMedium

Sweet to dryDry

Estimated from ingredient amounts and assumed ABVs — not a lab measurement.

Good to know

Using egg white? Shake vigorously so it aerates properly.
Dry-shake without ice first to build the foam, then shake again with ice.
Use freshly squeezed juice — bottled tastes flat.
Press the mint gently; shredding it turns the drink bitter.

History

Year1900s–20s

PlaceNew York, USA

Created byDisputed (assoc. 21 Club)

The South Side is essentially a gin sour brightened with fresh mint — gin, lemon or lime, sugar and mint, shaken and served up. It rose to fame in early 20th-century New York and is associated with the 21 Club. Think of it as a Mojito's crisp, spirit-forward cousin. Clean and herbaceous, it is a timeless warm-weather drink.

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