Make a Gin Bucket
The gin bucket is a gin punch that was made popular in the American Midwest and Northeast, and is especially popular as a tailgating tradition at many universities. A basic gin bucket is made with gin, a type of lemon-lime soda, and fresh citrus fruit, but the differentiating detail is that it’s mixed in a large bucket and served with turkey basters. Gin bucket recipes are generally made to serve four to six people, so make sure you lower the quantities if you want to make single-serving drinks, or increase them to serve more people at a party.
Contents
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (355 ml) gin
- 20 ounces soda
- 12 ounces (355 ml) sparkling water or wine
- 3 citrus fruits, juiced
- 2 citrus fruits, sliced
- Ice
Steps
Selecting Ingredients
- Choose your gin. This is largely a matter of personal preference or budget, but some recipes call for Gordon’s, some call for G'Vine, and others simply call for generic gin. Like many drink recipes, the gin bucket has many variations, and you can experiment with them all until you find your favorite!
- G'Vine has a smooth floral taste because it’s infused with vine flowers, and this floral taste goes well with the citrus component in the gin bucket.
- Gordon’s is recommended by some because it’s a traditional gin and has the classic gin bite.
- Pick your soda. Debates about what kind of soda are best for the gin bucket can get heated, but again this element of the drink is something you can experiment with until you find your desired combination. Among the most popular sodas are:
- Fresca
- Orange dry soda
- Sprite
- 7-Up
- Lemonade or limeade concentrate
- Gather your citrus fruits. You can use any combination of citrus fruits you like, and any combination of those fruits for juicing or garnishing. The fruits that show up in most recipes are:
- Lemon
- Lime
- Grapefruit
- Orange
- Add any extras. A basic gin bucket recipe doesn’t call for anything other than soda, gin, and citrus fruits, but there are other ingredients you can add for additional flavors and to make the drink more complex, such as 12 ounces (355 ml) of:
- Brut sparkling wine
- San Pellegrino Limonata
Mixing the Gin Bucket
- Fill a bucket with ice. You can use a clean metal bucket, an ice bucket, a drink pitcher, or even a large cooler bucket that’s designed for liquids. Fill the bucket about halfway with ice.
- If you're worried about the ice melting and watering down the drink, put the ice into re-sealable plastic bags before placing them in the bucket.
- Cut and juice the citrus. Choose the three citrus fruits you want for juicing and which two you want for garnish slices. Juice the three fruits of your choice and pour the juice over top of the ice. Slice the remaining fruit into wheels and set them aside.
- Combine the remaining ingredients in your bucket. Pour in the gin, the soda, and any additional ingredients you're adding. Stir the mixture well with a large wooden spoon. Garnish with the fruit wheels.
- Serve immediately. At a tailgate party, this beverage is usually served with two turkey basters in the bucket, and the drinks are consumed right from the turkey basters.
- For a different take on this tradition, use a clean turkey baster to serve the gin punch into individual glasses. Otherwise, use a ladle or punch bowl spoon to distribute the punch among your guests.
