If you were to order a Gin Daisy at a restaurant or bar there’s a good chance you’d receive this version instead of the classic rendition. There are a number of bars that love breaking out the grenadine whenever possible (it boosts the sugar content and sweetness of a cocktail with just a quick splash). This recipe keeps the gin and lemon juice, but takes out the orange liqueur and swaps it for simple syrup and grenadine. So if you’re a fan of the original Gin Daisy but would realistically like more sugar (with a red presentation), this modern Gin Daisy is the cocktail option for you.

With Daisy in the name you just knew there would be some flower references at some point. That’s what the Yellow Daisy brings to the table. However, this variation is more martini than sugar cocktail. It uses gin and the Grand Marnier (orange liqueur), but instead of lemon juice or simple syrup it uses dry vermouth. Essentially it is a dry gin martini with Grand Marnier. This makes it an especially interesting cocktail, as it works for both Daisy lovers and martini lovers. Toss in a cherry and you’ve really got an excellent gin cocktail.

The Cherry Gin Daisy builds exceptionally well on the previous Gin Daises mentioned here. It keeps the gin and lemon juice element of the traditional Daisy, only this one swaps out the orange liqueur for agave nectar. So it has a unique taste to it while keeping to the basic fundamentals of the Gin Daisy. The one real difference here in terms of complexity is it doesn’t have any carbonation (of course, you’re more than welcome to add club soda to the cocktail if you’d like as there is extra room at the top of the glass).

There are enough modern Gin Daisy options out there you need to make sure and ask what you’re actually getting at the bar if it doesn’t include the ingredients. This is another slight variation of the Gin Daisy plenty of bars serve. So ask the bartender how they make the drink before you order it (unless you like to be surprised when ordering a cocktail). This still keeps the dry gin and lemon juice. It also brings in the grenadine (although the brand of grenadine can vary and does play a role in the overall flavor of the drink). This version comes topped either with soda, club soda, or sparkling water and is served in a Collins glass. When ordering a modern Gin Daisy feel free to request for it to be topped with soda instead of sparkling water. Make it your own when ordering.

The Celery Gin Daisy has all kinds of interesting flavors going on with it, which is what makes it not only unusual but a great variation to check out. In fact, this daisy doesn’t even use gin in it. Instead, it swaps out gin for silver tequila. When picking out a silver tequila it is important to go with a quality tequila. You can also go with a mescal, as each mescal has more of a unique, regional taste to it (mescals are not as heavily regulated on production as tequila, so some will have a whiskey-like smokiness to it while others will run cleaner). So basically the only crossover between this Daisy and others is the inclusion of lime juice. Add in elderflower, fresh pressed celery juice, a dab of raw honey (instead of simple syrup) and a few other flavor enhancements and you truly have something that is different from the other Daisy drinks out there. Of course, you are more than welcome to test the Celery Daisy out using a gin. Tequila just happens to contain a rather interesting new flavor palette.