Gin Thuya Snowball Cocktail

Over the years we have developed a series of Snowball cocktails, the most recent of which is the Gin Thuya Snowball cocktail.

I shared a photo of one and was asked how to make a Snowball, so I decided to post the full recipe here.

Gin Thuya Snowball

the Gin Thuya Snowball cocktail is perhaps the easiest of all our Snowball cocktails. The most complex part of the recipe is preparing the snowball.

  • First prepare a highball glass by placing it close to your door.
  • Walk out the door and look for the cleanest snow you can find. (NOT yellow, not brown, not speckled, but white.) Often I find the best snowball snow under the top snow crust. Don’t be afraid to dig a bit to find the cleanest, nicest snow. (Warning if the snow is yellow or brown on top, no amount of digging is going to help.)
  • Grab a large handful of clean snow and squeeze until you get a nice round ball. Best if you do this bare handed so the outside gets a little wet and the ball is hard.
  • Then run back inside, drop it into your glass, swear a little about how cold it is outside and how cold you hands are.
  • Pour 2-3 ounces of Gin Thuya onto the snowball.
  • Sip and enjoy.

Note: swearing is optional but usually adds spice to the experience, if not the cocktail.

Variations: For a slightly more complex version, locate snow under a spruce or pine tree. The snow often has a little, almost invisible, sap in it which adds interesting evergreen notes to the cocktail which echo some of the juniper notes from the gin. (Seriously, it’s surprising but true)

This is inspired by a more complex drink –

Dubonnet Snowball Cocktail

For the dubonnet snowball cocktail:

  • take 1/2 a mandarin
  • squeeze juice over the snowball(s),
  • pour in 2-3 ounces of dubonnet and
  • 1/2 an ounce of Gin Thuya.

Alexa Clark

Alexa is a digital marketer and author with over 20 years in digital & interactive communications in the food and tech industries. Alexa's CheapEats Restaurant Guides, for both Toronto & Ottawa, were Canadian best sellers. She is a recognized authority on social media and has been named one of Canada's 20 Leading Women in Social Media.

One thought on “Gin Thuya Snowball Cocktail

  • February 17, 2014 at 7:23 pm
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    My father adds: if you see a little round things in the snow discard that snowball and start again. That might be OK with rum but its not good with gin, everyone knows that. The little round things from the long-eared creatures that go hop hop hop are good in tea but not in snowball cocktails

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