The South Side Is a Minty Summer Delight

A treat to help you beat the heat.

I like a complex, too-many-ingredient cocktail that takes a full day to prep as much as the next cocktail enthusiast. And at times I also like to take readers through that sort of cocktail project. 

But I also understand that making drinks at home often means focusing on relatively simple structures with easy-to-find ingredients — the sort of thing you can put together in a few minutes on a weeknight. Not every cocktail needs to be a second job. 

At the same time, I strongly believe that minimum effort cocktails can and should still be excellent and interesting. 

As I have mentioned before, I’m also a mint fanatic. Mint chocolate chip ice cream is basically Kryptonite to me; it’s a personal weakness I can’t resist. (Please do not leave any in my refrigerator.)

Mint, of course, is a common ingredient in cocktails as well, from the Mint Julep to many forms of Swizzle and even the Mai Tai, which traditionally calls for a big bouquet of mint as garnish. When used well, mint can be quite appealing in boozy form. 

It’s also fairly straightforward to incorporate into otherwise conventional cocktail formats. A sprig or two of mint can take a familiar favorite and give it an entirely new identity. 

So today we’re going to make a South Side — a bright, shaken, gin sour with a delicious minty kick.