Name: Gin Sling
Ingredients: 2 slices of lemon; 1 tablespoon powdered white sugar; shaved ice; 1 glass gin

Why it works: Lemon and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Gin Sling

Ingredients

2 slices of lemon
1 tablespoon powdered white sugar
shaved ice
1 glass gin

Directions

In a soda-water glass, add 2 slices of lemon and 1 tablespoon of powdered white sugar.
Fill the glass with shaved ice.
Pour in 1 glass of gin and shake well.
Sip through 2 straws.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + gintop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together344 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Lemon + gintop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together306 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lemon: Adds acidity and bright citrus aroma that balances the sugar and gin.
Powdered white sugar: Adds sweetness and dissolves easily to balance the lemon's sourness.
Gin: Provides the spirit base and its botanical aroma and alcohol flavor.