Southside with a dried lime wheel.
The Southside is a Mojito that skipped the soda and put on a suit. Gin, lime, sugar, mint, shaken hard and served up. It's bright and herbal and disappears faster than you expect. The drink that proves mint doesn't only belong in tall glasses.
The dried lime sits on the surface like a stamp and reads green against the pale drink. A fresh slice would just sink and crowd the mint.
What you'll need
- 50ml London dry gin
- 25ml fresh lime juice
- 20ml sugar syrup (1:1 sugar to water)
- 8 fresh mint leaves
- 1 dried lime wheel
- Ice, to shake
How to make it
- Add the mint leaves and sugar syrup to a shaker and press gently with a muddler. Bruise the mint, don't shred it.
- Add the gin, lime juice, and a scoop of ice.
- Shake hard for 10 seconds to chill and bring out the mint.
- Double strain into a chilled coupe so no mint flecks ride through.
- Float a dried lime wheel on the surface.
Why dried beats fresh here
This drink is served up, with nothing but a clean surface and the smell of mint. A fresh lime slice dropped on top breaks that surface, sinks, and adds wet weight that pulls the drink towards sour as it sits.
A dried wheel floats flat and stays put. It gives a lime note that sits alongside the mint instead of fighting it, and it looks deliberate on a glass that's meant to look simple.
Use the Lime jar, about 25 wheels, enough to garnish a long summer of gin.