Cocktail · Medium strength
Southside
Gin, lime, mint — a mojito that summers in the Hamptons.
How to order it: Shaken and strained, no soda. Speakeasy-era pedigree, country-club uniform.
Flavor profile
The recipe
- 2 oz gin
- 1 oz lime juice
- ¾ oz simple syrup
- 6 mint leaves; shake
- Coupe; mint leaf
The story
The Southside's parentage is disputed with unusual enthusiasm. One story assigns it to Chicago's South Side during Prohibition, where gangsters allegedly smoothed harsh gin with mint and citrus; another points to the Southside Sportsmen's Club on Long Island, where the gentry drank something similar after shooting things; New York's 21 Club has also been a longtime custodian. Wherever it began, it ended up summering with the East Coast establishment, becoming the unofficial cocktail of country clubs from Southampton to Locust Valley. It endures because gin, lime, and mint is simply a fine idea, whoever first had it, in whatever tax bracket.
Classic variation
The Southside is a riff on a classic. Meet the original:
Adjacent pours