Eastside
An Eastside is 60ml of gin, 25ml of fresh lime juice and 20ml of simple syrup, with three slices of cucumber and six mint leaves pressed gently in the shaker first. It is shaken hard for 10 to 12 seconds and double strained into a chilled coupe, with a cucumber ribbon to finish. About 2.4 UK units. It is a Southside with two changes: lime where the Southside takes lemon, and cucumber, which adds a green, watery coolness under the mint. Difford’s Guide says George Delgado created it in 2004 at Libation in New York, originally as a long drink, and VinePair notes a competing account that credits Chad Solomon. The care goes into the muddling. Press the cucumber enough to release its juice and the mint only enough to bruise it. Torn mint tastes bitter and grassy, and no amount of syrup covers it.
Glassware: Coupe Glass
Garnish: Cucumber ribbon
Ingredients
60ml
London Dry gin at 40% ABV. Its juniper gives the cucumber and mint a frame; a cucumber-led modern gin pushes the green further.
25ml
Squeezed the same day. The only acid in the drink, and the sharp line the cucumber cools.
20ml
Sugar and water, 1:1 by weight. At 20ml against 25ml of lime it lands just on the sharp side once the cucumber adds its water.
3 slices
Three slices, cut fresh and pressed with the syrup to release their juice. Leave the skin on for colour and a faint bitterness.
6 leaves
Six spearmint leaves, pressed gently. Peppermint tastes medicinal here, and torn leaves turn bitter.
Instructions
Chill a coupe.
Press the cucumber slices gently with the syrup in a shaker.
Add the mint leaves and press once or twice, without tearing them.
Add the gin and lime juice and fill with ice.
Shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe and garnish with a cucumber ribbon.
Expert Tip
Muddle in order. Press the cucumber with the syrup first, enough to release its juice, then add the mint and press it once or twice so the leaves darken but stay whole. Torn mint gives a bitter, grassy taste that does not strain out. Cut the cucumber the same day. Slices that have sat in the fridge taste of the fridge, and nothing else in the glass hides it. Double strain without fail. Cucumber pulp and flecks of mint cloud the coupe and catch in the teeth.
Behind the Eastside
Flavour Profile
The Origin
VinePair calls the Eastside a product of the early aughts and an east Manhattan-born riff on the Southside, and adds a second account that credits Chad Solomon. Difford’s Guide says George Delgado created it in 2004 at Libation, originally as a long drink.
It is a lime Southside with cucumber added, and it travelled under several names, the Eastside Gimlet among them. The Eastern Standard, a Soho House drink, later pared it back.
Cucumber and Mint
The two do different jobs. Mint perfumes the top of the drink and arrives first on the nose. Cucumber works underneath, adding cool water and a green note that softens the lime.
Both need a light hand. Cucumber gives up its juice under a firm press; mint wants bruising, not grinding, because torn leaves release a bitter, grassy taste.
What Each Part Does
The Eastside, ingredient by ingredient
Gin
- Measure
- 60ml
- Job
- Strength and a juniper frame
Fresh lime juice
- Measure
- 25ml
- Job
- The only acid
Simple syrup
- Measure
- 20ml
- Job
- Balances the lime
Cucumber
- Measure
- Three slices
- Job
- Cool, green, softens the lime
Mint
- Measure
- Six leaves
- Job
- Aroma on top
| Ingredient | Measure | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Gin | 60ml | Strength and a juniper frame |
| Fresh lime juice | 25ml | The only acid |
| Simple syrup | 20ml | Balances the lime |
| Cucumber | Three slices | Cool, green, softens the lime |
| Mint | Six leaves | Aroma on top |
Take the cucumber out and the result is a Southside made with lime. Take the mint out as well and you are close to a Gimlet made with fresh lime.
The Gin
Juniper on its own is what most people who dislike gin dislike. Here it arrives with cucumber and mint, and reads as part of the same green flavour.
A London Dry keeps the drink sharp and dry. A cucumber-led modern gin leans into the theme, at the risk of tasting of little else.
How to Serve It
Very cold, double strained into a chilled coupe, with a thin cucumber ribbon laid inside the glass. It works well before a meal.
Make it at home
The Spirit
GinGin is a spirit flavoured with juniper berries. Under the retained Regulation (EC) 110/2008, juniper must lead the taste, the floor is 37.5% ABV, and the route the flavour takes sets the grade: plain gin, distilled gin or London gin. Our recipes count it at 40%, and it carries the Martini, the Negroni and the Gin and Tonic.
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in an Eastside cocktail?
What is the difference between an Eastside and a Southside?
How is an Eastside different from an Eastern Standard?
Who created the Eastside?
Do I have to double strain it?
How strong is an Eastside?
Can I make an Eastside with vodka?
Sources.
Correct as of 19 October 2026.
- Difford’s Guide, “Eastside Gimlet” (secondary source: “Created in 2004 by George Delgado at Libation in Manhattan, New York City, originally as a long drink. Christy Pope took the Eastside to Milk & Honey, where this popular straight-up version was created”).
- VinePair, “The Eastside” (secondary source: “an east Manhattan-born riff on the Southside”; two competing accounts: George Delgado at Libation in 2004, or Chad Solomon’s Eastside Fizz (Christy Pope in Sasha Petraske’s Regarding Cocktails, 2016)).
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Southside
A Southside is 60ml of London Dry gin, 30ml of fresh lemon juice, 15ml of simple syrup and five or six mint leaves, shaken hard for 10 to 12 seconds and double strained into a chilled coupe, with a small mint sprig. About 2.4 UK units. Those are the IBA’s measures; 15ml of egg white is optional. The Oxford Companion, in an entry by Eric Felten, says the story that it was born in the speakeasies of Chicago’s South Side is incorrect: the drink evolved from the Mint Juleps made at Snedecor’s Tavern on Long Island, which became the Southside Sportsman’s Club, and it has long been the house drink at New York’s 21 Club. The drink does not depend on any of that. In the glass it is a gin sour scented with mint. Shaken and served up, with no soda or crushed ice, it is more concentrated than a Mojito, and the mint reads as aroma rather than as leaves in the drink.
Gimlet
A Gimlet is 60ml of gin and 22.5ml of lime cordial, stirred with ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained into a chilled coupe, with a lime wheel. About 2.4 UK units. Gin and cordial only, with no fresh juice: the preserved lime is what makes it a Gimlet. The usual story ties it to the Royal Navy. The Oxford Companion says the Merchant Shipping Act of 1867 required British merchant ships to carry lime juice against scurvy, and that Lauchlan Rose patented an alcohol-free way of preserving lime juice the same year. Harry’s ABC of Cocktails calls a Gimlet of equal parts Plymouth gin and Rose’s lime cordial “a very popular beverage in the Navy”, and Cigar Aficionado quotes Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye of 1953: a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s lime juice and nothing else. Ours is drier, a little under three to one. Cordial tastes rounder than fresh lime, with a cooked, marmalade edge, and the stir keeps the drink clear and silky.
Gin Sour
A Gin Sour is 60ml of London Dry gin, 25ml of fresh lemon juice and 20ml of sugar syrup, shaken hard with ice for 10 to 12 seconds and strained over fresh ice in a rocks glass, with a lemon wheel and a cherry. About 2.4 UK units. Add 15ml of egg white for a silkier version, dry shaken first; it is raw, so leave it out for anyone allergic to egg. It is the plain sour with gin as the spirit. Difford’s Guide says Jerry Thomas’s 1862 bar guide has a Gin Sour, and the frame of spirit, citrus and sugar runs under most gin classics since: the White Lady sweetens it with orange liqueur, the Bee’s Knees with honey, the Clover Club with raspberry. With only three ingredients the gin has nowhere to hide. A juniper-led London Dry gives the classic reading; a citrus or floral gin changes the drink more than any change of measure.
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 19 October 2026