Our contributors share their ultimate dinner party menus and gin pairings – the perfect inspiration for your festive gathering
It is a truth universally acknowledged that nothing brings people together like a good meal. The world over, food is symbolic of all the best parts of our societies: family, community, sharing, care, celebration, and a wealth of the kind that cannot be measured in dollars and cents.
Preparing food for others is a wonderful way not only to show them that you care, but also to introduce them to things that you care about: from generations-old family recipes, to the latest new dish or drink that has captured your heart. With the festive season upon us, and with it (hopefully) more opportunities to gather with friends and family, some of our Gin Magazine contributors have shared their show-stopping three-course dinner party menus and the gin drinks they would pair their dishes with. All that’s left to say is, bon appetit!
Vanessa Piromallo (ilgin.it)
Gin cocktail you’d serve to guests on arrival
I’d make an “aperitivo” to open the stomach: a Gin Spritz made with ice, Prosecco, a gin flavoured with saffron (Boigin Saffron Gin from Sardinia would be my choice) and a top of red bitter that contrasts the sweetness of the saffron. All served with cheese, salami and pickled vegetables.
First course, and a gin to accompany
Gin Penne: penne and tomato sauce with onion, olive oil, diced smoked bacon and fresh cream, simmered with gin, with grated juniper berries on top. With it, I’d serve a light gin and tonic made with a classic London dry or juniper-forward gin and dry, bitter tonic, garnished with lemon peel.
Main course, and a gin to accompany
Chicken thighs marinated for at least a couple of hours in soy sauce, gin, lemon juice and a bit of honey and then cooked in the oven with all the liquid. It could be served with baked potatoes and gin mayonnaise. With this, you can have a dry Martini cocktail with olives, or you can keep going with the gin and tonic.
Dessert, and a gin to accompany (or a digestif gin cocktail)
Chocolate pudding with a good aged gin, neat and cold. For a sweeter tooth, I’d make a gin and tonic with sloe gin and berries.
Your suggested soundtrack for the evening
An Oasis compilation would be my cup of tea.
David T. Smith (Gin Magazine contributing editor)
Gin cocktail you’d serve to guests on arrival
Gin and Dubonnet or a Sloe Royale.
First course, and a gin to accompany
Prawn/shrimp cocktail with a light Red Snapper Fizz or an Olive Gin with Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic.
Main course, and a gin to accompany
New York prime steak, hasselback potatoes and roasted asparagus, served with small pitchers of Martini-on-the-Rocks or Station Masters.
Dessert, and a gin to accompany (or a digestif gin cocktail)
Gin and tonic sorbet served with a small glass of pink gin or a White Cargo (dry gin and vanilla ice cream).
Your suggested soundtrack for the evening
Ultra-Lounge: Saxophobia – “a horn-o-copia of sax-yak delights”.
Aaron Knoll (theginisin.com)
Gin cocktail you’d serve to guests on arrival
I’d start with something familiar, but a little bit different. I’d riff on the esteemed Negroni just a bit by pairing Temple Distilling’s citrus-forward Chapter One Navy Strength Gin with Dolin Rouge Vermouth and Aperitivo Cappelletti. Equal parts, stirred, served up and garnished with an orange twist.
First course, and a gin to accompany
Nearly every party I throw begins with a cheese board. I like how it keeps things feeling informal and light. I also love making homemade pickled vegetables. Start with some pickled fennel and pickled carrots, add some dried apricots, Manchego cheese, prosciutto and Marcona almonds. Since there’s a real Spanish influence here, I would lean into it by making Gintonica-style G&Ts: Golden Moon Distillery’s lavender-kissed Golden Moon Gin, Q Tonic and, if seasonally appropriate, garnished with fresh violets (they don’t add much flavour-wise, but they look great suspended in a copa glass).
Main course, and a gin to accompany
One thing I’ve learned through throwing dinner parties is that they’re far less fun if you are the host, and are frantically cooking after guests arrive. Slow-cooked dishes are ideal for this; they’re less demanding time-wise (if the guests are still eating cheese, let them eat cheese!), and fill the home with wonderful aromas. Juniper is an unheralded ingredient in cooking, and it pairs beautifully with meats such as venison or elk. I’d do a slow-cooked venison stew with potatoes and carrots, spiced with juniper. To accompany, a five parts gin to two parts vermouth Martini would highlight a herbal, juniper-forward gin like St George Spirits’ Terroir.
Dessert, and a gin to accompany (or a digestif gin cocktail)
I’d close the evening with an Alexandria cocktail – basically a Gin Alexander where you swap in aged gin. I’d recommend Stonecutter Spirits’ Single Barrel Gin and a light crème de cacao to preserve the colour. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
Your suggested soundtrack for the evening
I like a nice chill vibe. I would spin something from The XX.
Bernadette Pamplin (undertheginfluence.com)
Gin cocktail you’d serve to guests on arrival
A French 75 with Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru Murican Lemon.
First course, and a gin to accompany
Camembert stuffed with garlic and rosemary with vermouth spritz. Served with Gin and It, made with Thunderflower Gin and Sacred English Spiced Vermouth.
Main course, and a gin to accompany
Lasagne made with red snapper ragu (cooked with That Boutique-y Smoked Rosemary Gin). And to go with it, Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Sangria.
Dessert, and a gin to accompany (or a digestif gin cocktail)
A large, warm chocolate chip cookie with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, served with a neat Abingdon Whisky Cask Aged Gin.
Your suggested soundtrack for the evening
A Richard Cheese (lounge cover extraordinaire) mix, including such classics as ‘Gin and Juice’, ‘Rebel Yell’ and ‘Super Freak’. Seriously, check out Richard Cheese if you don’t know him.
Keli Rivers (Sipsmith US brand ambassador)
Gin cocktail you’d serve to guests on arrival
A 50/50 mini Martini (equal parts gin and vermouth) with a lemon twist. I use Sipsmith VJOP and Noilly Prat dry vermouth, but any big juniper gin will work, and I serve them in 4oz glasses to make sure the night starts off right.
First course, and a gin to accompany
Salted potato chips with Osetra caviar, crème fraîche, fresh chives and (if I’m feeling fancy) sieved hard-cooked eggs, separating the whites and the yolks. To drink, a Ford cocktail: Hernö Old Tom gin, Dolin Blanc vermouth, Benedictine and orange bitters, served up with a lemon twist.
Main course, and a gin to accompany
Whatever protein, starch and vegetable of the day, but a favourite American accompaniment from my grandmother’s southern Depression-era days is Pretzel Jello. Let me share the recipe:
- 1 bag salted pretzels
- 1 cup/225g butter
- 1 cup/200g sugar
Melt butter and sugar together. Crush the pretzels, leaving some larger pieces. Mix with the sugar and butter and spread on the bottom of a baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes in 350ºF oven. Let cool.
- 16oz/450g softened cream cheese
- 16oz/450g cool whip
- 1 cup/200g sugar
Mix together with a blender. Spread over cooked pretzel base and put in fridge to set. Mix two boxes of strawberry-flavoured instant jello/jelly with half the recommended amount of water and mix in 12oz/340g frozen raspberries. Spread evenly over the cream layer, then refrigerate until set.
To drink: a nice cold Txakoli Basque white wine (you can’t have gin all the time!).
Dessert, and a gin to accompany (or a digestif gin cocktail)
A room-temperature round of Epoisses cheese, with the top cut off, and sliced crusty French country bread with Barhi dates. To drink, we could have a Tarquin’s Treth Ha Mog Twentieth Century cocktail, a Gin and It with Rock Rose Citrus Coastal Gin, or a chilled glass of Pol Roger Champagne.
Your suggested soundtrack for the evening
Pink Martini’s Sympathique, Traveling Wilburys’ Vol 1, anything by Kishi Bashi, The Highwomen S/T, Harry Styles’ Fine Line.
Caroline Ashford (theginqueen.com)
Gin cocktail you’d serve to guests on arrival
Gin and tonic.
First course, and a gin to accompany
Pacific oysters with a gin and tonic granita. Paired with a riff on the Lawnmower: 60ml gin, 1/2 lime, 2 slices of cucumber, dash of St Germain, topped with soda water.
Main course, and a gin to accompany
Slow-roasted lamb shoulder with roast potatoes, confit garlic and sage. Paired with a Bloody Shiraz Negroni.
Dessert, and a gin to accompany (or a digestif gin cocktail)
Passionfruit pavlova. Paired with a French 75.
Your suggested soundtrack for the evening
My Spotify list called ‘Bangers’ – it’s an eclectic collection…
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