Outdoor entertaining season is here, and with it every year come new ideas for refreshing cocktails that also make for great social media posts. And while you may have heard a lot about the Dirty Shirley and the Espresso Martini as “it” drinks of the season, we’re still in the thrall of our personal summer favorite: the pink G&T. Millennial pink gin is the basis for a perfectly pretty and refreshing cocktail, and here’s how to make a proper drink with the best premium brands and tonic.
what is pink gin, and why is it trending?
The approach of the spring summer season always seems to herald the arrival of a new “it” cocktail. It’s usually pink, refreshing, and highly photogenic.
So what is this season’s must-serve cocktail? Two words: pink gin. Here’s why millennial pink gin is the perfectly pretty modern new cocktail, and how to make a proper drink with the best premium brands and tonic.
The term “pink gin” covers a fairly wide variety of products. Originally, the name referred to a combination of gin and Angostura bitters, often tempered with ice water. The same drink would sometimes be described as a “gin and bitters.” It was also called “a sea farers breakfast,” as bitters were believed to prevent motion sickness on the high seas.
In 2021, the premium brands of pink gin are made of more romantic, local, foraged botanicals and fruits. These new luxury pink gins are infused with pink fruit, plants or spice, with ingredients like pink grapefruit, rhubarb, strawberry, rose petals or raspberry. Cocktails made with these artisanal spirits are often garnished with those same ingredients, making them a perfect summer cocktail hour star.
You’re starting to see why millennial pink gin may be the new rosé this summer, right?
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If you’re intrigued, here are 10 of the best premium brands of pink gin for your next luxury cocktail party.
15 best brands of premium pink gin
1. Mirabeau Rosé Gin
Inspired by the abundance of botanicals growing wild on the Mirabeau wine estate, this rosé gin is made with a combination of juniper, orris root, Angelica root, coriander seed, rose petals and garden herbs. The estate is located in France’s perfume capital, Grasse – so you know the rose petals are haute couture-level. A chic foundation for a pink gin and tonic, indeed.
BUY NOW: $41.90.
2. Musgrave Pink Gin
Infused with rosehips and rosewater, this premium gin from South Africa is all about the romance of flowers and sunsets. Distilled with Musgrave’s signature 11 botanicals, it features top notes of cardamom, African ginger and grains of paradise. The juniper is tempered by the softer rose elements.
BUY NOW: $45.99.
3. Wölffer Estate Pink Gin
This East End winery is best known for its rosé wines. But the owners note that they’ve been growing their own Juniper berries since 1996, which is all the reason one needs to make a small-batch pink gin. Tasting notes describe this spirit as featuring “distilled rosé, enhanced by juniper aromas and a range of botanicals including anise, fennel, coriander, cumin, and cardamom. Ginger and lime zest add just enough bite for a refreshing tipple.
BUY NOW: $50.
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4. Isle of Bute Heather Gin
The Isle of Bute Distillery, based on the small Scottish island that bears its name, produces small batch, hand-crafted gins using local botanicals. Distilled using hand-picked local heather, a wild purple flower, their Heather gin has a vibrant floral nose and a lovely color. There are also notes of pink grapefruit, creating a sweet and citrus finish. Bottled on Bute, this is a wonderful way to taste the wildness of the island’s stunning ecosystem.
BUY NOW: £39
5. Stockholms Branneri Pink Gin
Crafted in a former Jaguar manufacturing facility on the island of Södermalm, this premium pink gin is inspired by the pink summer skies in Sweden. The organic small-batch gin is infused with rose petals and rhubarb. After distillation, locally-foraged lingonberries are steeped in the gin, which gives it a distinctive pink hue.
BUY NOW: $169.99
6. The Isle of Wight Mermaid Pink Gin
This highly-rated spirit is infused with strawberries from the Isle of Wight. They’re tempered with lemon zest and rock sapphire, making it a bit less sweet than other pink gins. The brand notes that the perfect G&T made from this gin should “garnished with strawberries, fresh mint and or a slice of lime.” Sold.
BUY NOW: $39.33.
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7. Elsker Pink Gin
At the World Gin Awards 2020, the tasting comments included this summary: “rich strawberry nose with hints of mint, thick mouthfeel sweet berry moving into classic gin flavors on the finish.” Along with these accolades, the Elsker dry pink gin from Oss Craft Distillery won the country award for best flavored gin in Norway that year, and again in 2021.
BUY NOW: £38
8. Bitter Truth Pink Gin
A pink-tinged gin from German producer Bitter Truth, this spirit is colored and lightly flavored by the addition of specially-designed aromatic bitters, along with juniper, lemons and warm spices.
BUY NOW: $38.81.
9. Manly Spirits Lilly Pilly Pink Gin
Inspired by the berries and flowers of the Lilly Pilly plant that grows in the coastal dunes of the Northern Beaches, this pink gin from Australia’s Manly Spirits wins the prize for most whimsical name. It is made with 12 botanicals, including Lilly Pilly, Riberry, native Australian limes, raspberry, blood orange and juniper berries.
BUY NOW: $39.53.
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10. Salcombe Rosé Sainte Marie
Salcombe Rose Sainte Marie is one of only two pink gins in the world to have been awarded Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It’s named after the lighthouse in the Old Port of Marseille.
Macedonian juniper berries are the base, softened with strawberries and angelica. Fresh hand-peeled lemon and orange are combined with ten botanicals, including lemon verbena, rose petals, orange blossom and pink peppercorns.
BUY NOW: $39.99.
11. Malfy Rosa Italy Gin
A delicate blend of Sicilian pink grapefruits, lemons, and hand-picked junipers, this is a bright, tart gin from Italy that tastes floral in all the best ways. We’re loving citrus fruits this summer, and this pink gin puts this flavors on display.
BUY NOW – $39.99
12. Collective Arts Rhubarb and Hibiscus Gin
From Canadian craft brewery Collective Arts, a pink gin made with rhubarb and hibiscus. The Ontario brewing company says they use a “copious,” amount of both fruits and you can taste the results. Very few gins have the same fresh, juicy flavor – and the ginger finish seals the deal.
BUY NOW – $36.99
13. Kyrö Pink Gin
Strawberries. Rhubarb. Ligonberries. This pink gin from Kyrö sure sounds like the drink of summer, and its pale pink hue has us craving a sip. Suggested pairings are a light tonic, or even a slice of pink grapefruit – we’re sensing a theme here.
BUY NOW – $25.45
14. Gin Lane 1751 “Victoria” Pink Gin
From Gin Lane 1751, a rosy colored gin that uses herbs and bitters to balance out the taste of the juniper. So if you want that pretty pink color without an overpowering taste of gin, this might be the drink for you. This is considered easy-to-drink, and an easy choice for a G&T – and that’s what we like to hear.
BUY NOW – $39.95
15. Beefeater Pink Strawberry Gin
Take Beefeater’s classic London Dry Gin recipe, and add some strawberries – and you’ve got their delightful offering. There are ten botanicals in all, including almonds, licorice root, Seville orange peel, lemon peel, and of course, juniper. Beefeater’s founder loved to experiment with different flavors of gin, and he would have been a big fan of this special pink edition.
BUY NOW – $22.78
Is a pink gin and tonic the new glass of rosé?
That’s what we’ve learned about the best brands of premium pink gin, perfect for concocting a pink gin and tonic for your next outdoor party. Who needs rosé?
join our community
For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier Newsletter here. And see luxury in a new light.
This article contains affiliate links to products independently selected by our editors. As an Amazon Associate, Dandelion Chandelier receives a commission for qualifying purchases made through these links.
Pamela Thomas-Graham is the Founder & CEO of Dandelion Chandelier. A Detroit native, she has 3 Harvard degrees and has written 3 mystery novels published by Simon & Schuster. After serving as a senior corporate executive, CEO of CNBC and partner at McKinsey, she now serves on the boards of several tech companies. She loves fashion, Paris, New York, books, contemporary art, running, skiing, coffee, Corgis and violets.
