Bored with your usual drink menu? Gin can add a whole new dimension to the idea of summer cocktails. It’s been 71 years since the repeal of Prohibition and gin—the ultimate "bathtub alcohol" made during the Prohibition years—is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance. Of course, gin was in style throughout the 1950s, 60s, and beyond, until at some point, people began to shy away from it.

Indeed, until fairly recently, if one ordered a Martini it was always made of gin. Vodkas did not become part of the Martini culture until much later. Now, however, bar and restaurant industry experts are reporting a new interest in gin. Customers are now discovering the layers of flavor that a well-made gin cocktail can offer. People are also finding that this clear spirit can be elegant and "food friendly", since gin is more complex and has more layered flavors than something like a Cosmopolitan made with vodka and fruit juice.

Besides the element of nostalgia, part of the renewed interest in gin has to do with the fact that the gin market has changed and expanded. Today’s gin goes way behind the typical "London Dry" experience of yesteryear. Newer brands such as Damrack Gin, Hendrick’s Gin and Tanqueray No. TEN are being used to create subtle and savory cocktails that appeal to a sophisticated drinking crowd.

In fact, thanks to innovative bartenders and mixologists, gin has moved well beyond that once summer sipping staple—the gin and tonic. Gin has proven to be an excellent base for making cocktails because there are so many different flavors in it. It’s a dry spirit, with a little bit of juniper and some citrus overtones that provide good chemistry with other ingredients.

Among the popular gin-based drinks that are making the rounds in urban hot spots is The Crimson, a favorite at the Onyx Hotel in Boston, which combines Bombay Sapphire, Ruby Port, fresh lemon juice and grenadine.

At The View, the revolving rooftop restaurant at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan, there is the Seventh Avenue Highball, made with Beefeater Gin, ginger ale, fresh orange juice and a dash of Angostura Bitters; and the Park Avenue Cocktail, made with Hendrick’s Gin, Hiram Walker Crème de Menthe, simple syrup and fresh lime juice.

At the Zig Zag Café in Seattle, among the best sellers are: the Jasmine, a refreshing mix of Boodles or Tanqueray gin, Cointreau, Campari and lemon juice; and the Pegu, made from Tanqueray, Cointreau, lime juice, Angostura Bitters and Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitters.

Gin martini drinkers will enjoy some of the more distinctively flavored gins for savoring on their own, such as Martin Miller’s, Tanqueray No. TEN, a Citadelle Gin from France and Junipero, distilled by the Anchor Steam Brewing Co. in San Francisco. So put some gin on your shopping list, and you’ll open up some exciting opportunities for your next cocktail party.