These Ginger Infused Gin Cocktails are easy to whip up and the perfect cocktail gift to surprise your friends this holiday.
With the holidays usually comes a little bit of gifting anxiety.
I, Colleen absolutely love to give just about everybody on my 21+ list some sort of homemade alcohol infusion.
If you’re looking for the perfect DIY gift (especially a mason jar gift idea for Christmas) to stand out in a sea of same olds, you really need to try this Ginger Infused Gin holiday gift recipe!
There’s something particularly merry about bringing a bottle of cheer to the door of your friend or relative this time of year.
A bottle of wine is as easy to grab as a drug store card.
But for that exact reason, it isn’t exactly the ace of the gifting playbook.
Gifts that involve just a touch of DIY are, in my opinion, the very best. They sometimes get a bad rap.
And let’s be honest, we’ve all received a #pinterestfail or two in our time.
But in my experience, that’s totally undeserved.
This particular DIY involves very little work (like insanely little, see below) for huge payoff.
Ginger and cardamom are the perfect complement to gin’s citrusy, spicy, floral profile, bringing a spirit often underutilized in the winter months very much into the holiday flavor family.
3 Ingredient Cocktail | Ingredients Needed to Make Ginger Infused Gin
Also, a little shout out here to infused booze in general.
It is EASY AS SIN, and you should try it even if you don’t gift it.
We’re talking a three ingredient recipe that doesn’t involve heating, freezing, or even stirring.
You just put things in a bottle and take them out later. That’s truly it.
To make ginger infused gin, you’ll need:
— Gin — I prefer something floral or citrusy and not juniper-forward for this recipe.
— Cardamom pods
— Ginger
How to Make a Ginger Infused Gin Cocktail
Time does all the heavy lifting here, so you need to start these at least a week in advance.
Best get moving now, ’cause you’re gonna want to drink this Ginger Cardamom Infused Gin all season long!
Recipe Notes and Tips
Can you substitute the gin?
This recipe is also great with vodka. I know many people out there have a thing against gin. So vodka can be a safer bet when you don’t know your giftee’s preferences.
Serving sizes:
You can scale the recipe up or down. Just double the ingredients for a 1.5L handle, etc. depending on how many you want to gift and how big your gifting vessels are.
You can also put them in little one cup mason jars as party favors or gift someone an entire 750ml bottle’s worth. Lucky them!
Decorating Cocktail Gift Jars
I used my Cricut to make vinyl labels for my mason jars.
But you can be as ambitious or unambitious as you want to!
Stores like Target and Paper Source have adorable pre-made labels that would make this project even easier.
More Fun Cocktail Recipes to Try
Anyone else out there tried their own infusions?
It’s such an easy way to add pure flavor to a drink, especially for recipes like martinis and Manhattans that don’t call for citrus or sweeteners (my usual go-to place for adding flavor).
You can infuse pretty much anything in alcohol.
Just make sure you test the flavor every day if you aren’t following a recipe. Some things only need a day or two, and others take weeks!
For more easy cocktail recipes, check out a few of our favorites —
- Whiskey Ice Sphere Cocktail Recipe That Will Surely Impress Your Guests
- The Best Whiskey Dreamsicle Cocktail Recipe
- White Chocolate Candy Cane Cocktail Recipe
- Spring Fling Cocktail Recipe
- Slushy Coconut Mint Margarita Cocktail
Equipment
- Mesh strainer
- Cheesecloth
Ingredients
- 750 ml gin
- 15 cardamom pods lightly crushed
- 1 knot fresh ginger about a 1" by 4" piece, peeled and thinly sliced
Nutrition
Notes
- You can scale the recipe up or down. Just double the ingredients for a 1.5L handle, etc. depending on how many you want to gift and how big your gifting vessels are.
- You can also put them in little one cup mason jars as party favors or gift someone an entire 750ml bottle's worth. Lucky them!
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a sealable container and give it a shake.
- Leave it in a cool dark place for 1 week and give it a shake everyday.
- Strain out the cardamom and ginger through two layers of cheesecloth.
- Transfer gin into gifting vessels.
Don’t forget to share your Ginger Infused Gin cocktail with us on Instagram using the hashtag #sugarandclothloves. We always love seeing all of your creations! Looking for more quick and delicious recipes? You can find them all right here with a few bites to go along with them!
Hi! I’d like to make this for friends. Can you suggest some mixers to give with the infusion? For example- club soda or tonic water? Or, what else would someone use to make a cocktail with the infusion? Thanks!
Hi Angelique! Great question. Honestly, we would just drink it without any mixers which is totally fine to do! Club soda and tonic water are always great traditional mixers for any cocktail. Some fancy bottled ginger beer or ginger ale would also pair well. Hope this helps!
I absolutely love those jars! Do you sell them or is there a DIY instruction post on how to make them somewhere? Thanks!
Hi Anna! Colleen stored them in mason jars and used her Circuit maker to make the labels. You can easily make them on your computer and buy some Avery labels also! Hope this helps!
Can you give some examples of gins and vodkas that work well? Not well versed in the different types…
I cant wait to make this! In the recipe, you mention straining out the ginger and cardamom, but the photos show those ingreDients in the jar. If you slice fresh giNger and cardamom pods and add them in to the final gift, does the bottle need to be refrigerated? Does it Need thag regardless? Thanks!
Hi Marissa! Colleen strained out most of the ginger and cardamon, but left a little for garnish. If you choose to leave the garnish in, the gin should be REFRIGERAted!
do you just drink it straight? what does “not juniper forward” mean??????
Hi Lucy! This is just a recipe for infused gin, so it’s perfect for mixing into cocktails. Colleen was just saying she prefers for her drinks to not rely too heavily on the juniper flavor :)
The recipe + label design drew me in immediately! Loving these collabs, can’t wait to start following Colleen :)
She’s the best :)
Oh my gosh this sounds heavenly. I genuinely never knew that infused alcohol was so easy, not quite sure how?! But this has opened up a world of possibilities – thank you!
– Natalie
http://www.workovereasy.com
Collen is pretty much a cocktail genius :)