There is no settled story for the Southside. It might be a New York 21 Club drink. It might be a Chicago Prohibition-era trick to mask cheap gin. It might be from a country club. What is settled is the recipe: gin sour, plus mint, shaken into a coupe. It sits exactly between a Daiquiri and a Mojito, and at the right ratio it is the cocktail that converts gin sceptics.

Ingredients

  • 60ml London Dry gin
  • 22.5ml fresh lime juice
  • 15ml simple syrup (1:1)
  • 8 to 10 fresh mint leaves
  • Mint sprig to garnish

Method

  1. Add mint leaves to the shaker. Do not muddle hard; a light press is enough.
  2. Add gin, lime, and syrup.
  3. Fill with ice. Shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
  4. Double-strain (Hawthorne plus fine mesh) into a chilled coupe.
  5. Slap a mint sprig between your palms and lay it on the surface.

Why don't muddle the mint

Mint leaves are delicate. Hard muddling breaks the chlorophyll-rich cell walls and releases bitter compounds that you do not want in a clean, bright drink. A firm press with the muddler, or just throwing the leaves into the shaker and letting the ice do the work, gives you only the essential oils, which is the part that smells like mint. The result is a drink that tastes of mint without tasting like a lawn.

Which gin and which mint

A medium-weight London Dry. Heavy juniper bombs (Beefeater Navy strength) overpower the mint; ultra-soft contemporary gins disappear. Tanqueray is the textbook. For mint, fresh and bright; spearmint reads sweeter, peppermint reads sharper. We use spearmint for the Southside.

Where it comes from

The Southside has at least three competing origin stories, none of them fully verifiable. One traces it to the 21 Club in New York around the 1930s, where it was a house-favourite gin sour. A second puts it at the Southside Sportsmen's Club on Long Island in the 1890s. A third pins it on Chicago's South Side speakeasies during Prohibition, where bartenders added sugar and mint to disguise harsh bathtub gin. The drink mattered because it locked in the gin-lime-mint template that the Eastside, the Bloomsbury, and a dozen contemporary house drinks now riff on.

In Petaling Jaya the Southside reads as the perfect humid-afternoon order, bright enough to refresh and stiff enough to count as a real drink. It pairs well with raw seafood from a Western dinner, or as a palate cleanser between sharing plates, and it tends to be the cocktail we recommend when a guest asks for "something gin, but lighter than a Negroni".

Variations

Southside Fizz: top with a small splash of soda in a fizz glass. Lighter, longer, refreshing on a humid evening.

Eastside: add cucumber. Cleaner, greener, more spa.

Related

Frequently asked questions

What glass is the Southside served in?

A chilled coupe. The mint leaves go into the shaker first, with a light press (do not hard-muddle), then gin, lime, and syrup over ice. Shaken hard for 10 to 12 seconds and double-strained (Hawthorne plus fine mesh) into the coupe. A mint sprig is slapped between the palms to release oils and laid on the surface. A Nick & Nora glass works equally well.

Can I substitute the mint in a Southside?

Spearmint is the standard, with a sweeter, gentler character; peppermint is sharper. Fresh is non-negotiable; dried mint produces a flat drink. The gin should be a medium-weight London Dry (Tanqueray is textbook). Heavy juniper bombs (Beefeater Navy strength) overpower the mint; ultra-soft contemporary gins disappear. Lime can be partially replaced with calamansi for a Malaysian twist.

How strong is the Southside?

Around 22 to 25 percent ABV in the finished drink. The build is 60ml gin (around 40 percent) against 22.5ml lime, 15ml syrup, and 8 to 10 mint leaves, shaken with ice dilution. The mint and the acid mask the alcohol perceptibly; the drink reads bright and refreshing. Stiff enough to count as a real drink, but easy enough to order two.

Where can I order a Southside in PJ or KL?

At Dissolved Solids in Damansara Kim, 43-1 Jalan SS20/11, Petaling Jaya. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 15:00 to 01:00. WhatsApp +60 11-4008 7607. Also at Soluble Solids in SS2, 50-1 Jalan SS2/24. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 18:00 to 01:00. WhatsApp +60 11-1682 8651. Tell the bartender if you want the Southside Fizz version with a small soda top.

What food pairs with a Southside?

Raw seafood and light starters. Oysters, ceviche, sashimi, prawn cocktail, smoked salmon, gazpacho. The mint and lime mirror the herb-and-citrus profile of Southeast Asian salads (kerabu, larb, summer rolls), so it pairs naturally with those too. Strong as a palate cleanser between sharing plates. Skip with very rich or smoky food; the cocktail's brightness disappears under heavy umami.