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For easy stuff gin and tonic is king. You can also mix it with lemonade and its pretty good.

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If you're feeling adventurous I highly recommend my favorite gin cocktail the Corpse Reviver #2. It was originally invented as a hangover cure but is just overall a really tasty drink.

Rinse your glass in absinthe. Then combine in a shaker with ice the following ingredients:

1 oz Gin

1 oz Cocchi Americano

1 oz Cointreau

1 oz Freshly squeezed Lemon juice

Vigorously shake.

Then use a strainer to remove the ice and pour the contents of the shaker into your glass.

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For the rinse a lot of people have a tendency to leave too much absinthe in the glass which will cause the drink to have too much of an absinthe taste. I recommend buying an atomizer (fancy name for perfume spray bottle) to lightly spray the glass giving it an even coat and just the right amount of flavor.

Also in place of Cocchi Americano you can try Lilet Blanc, to me its a little sweeter. In place of Cointreau you can use Bauchant if you want more of an orangey taste.

It's a fairly strong drink and the old adage is that 1-2 will revive you while "Four of these taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again." So have fun but keep that in mind!

(With this drink it is important to measure all of your ingredients out. A little too much of anything will throw the flavor out of balance. Don't worry there is enough booze in it to get you where you want to be.)

I would agree with most of that equipment list from /u/cptpunk, though I doubt you need a blender for most (any?) good gin cocktails and the pours are fairly unnecessary for a home bar. I'd also add a zester to the list. Ideally a multi-use one that can take different sizes off citrus. Something like this (though that's not the one I have so I can't vouch for it). If you want to spend a little more on something a little bigger, get a Sodastream. Lots of gin cocktails go well with a splash of club soda and with a Sodastream, you can just make that on demand.

The ingredients list is pretty good too, and I want to stress ICE. I can't believe how many people never have ice in their freezer, or just have one tray with 3 cubes in it. Buy an ice bin and some ice cube trays from the dollar store. Crunch out and refill once per day, unless the bin is already full.

My recommendation for ingredients is St. Germaine, an elderflower liqueur. It goes really well with gin. Kinda pricey though, so it's your call. If not that one specifically, another herbal liqueur, maybe violet. I also am a big fan of cucumber & gin together, so that's an ingredient I like to have on hand. Fresh herbs (mint, rosemary, cilantro, basil) also go well with gin.

Last summer I bought most of the tonic syrups I could find, and made my own tonic by mixing with club soda (made in my Sodastream of course!)

My favorite of them all was Tomr's, followed closely by Jack Rudy's.

I like the Jack Rudy Elderflower version with Genever.

I'm still interested in making my own tonic syrup, though. If I could come close to Fevertree, without the Fevertree cost, I'd be very happy!

I went through a huge tonic tasting phase the previous few years. Of the Fever Tree options, I actually prefer their Naturally Light Indian Tonic Water over their standard [Indian] Tonic Water. Less cloying and sugary, so the flavor doesn't overpower the taste of the gin. Not a huge fan of their Mediterranean (probably works better with vodka).

Of all the available tonic syrups that I could find, this guy Bradley that sold his own small batch (originally through Kickstarter) was my favorite: http://www.amazon.com/Bradleys-Kina-Tonic/dp/B00GCW8LQK

I find that the tonic syrup makers play around more with the spice flavors that the tonic bottlers.

You don't really see gins that high up in price, one of the most expensive one around me is Nolet's silver at around $45. You might think about getting him some nice glasses (https://www.amazon.com/Dartington-Crystal-Wine-Tonic-Glasses/dp/B01JMA7TF2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1523210511&sr=8-2&keywords=copa+de+balon). This type of glass is popular in spain for gin and tonics. I bought one and enjoy drinking out of them.

Maybe get him a bottle of both gins you mentioned, the glasses, and some bottles of fever tree tonic.

I'm very happy with these, they're pretty, sturdy and cheap.

I prefer the Boston style shakers personally. They're simple and easy and bulletproof. I have this one, though I didn't pay nearly the price that they want for it at amazon.

https://smile.amazon.com/Beverage-Chilling-Stones-Whiskey-Beverages/dp/B014Q2R6GS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1499446205&sr=8-4&keywords=sipping+stones :)

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000GFYRHQ

UK: Star of Bombay 70cl for £27.50

Another alternative is to use whisky rocks instead of ice if you don't want to deal with dilution.

I'm actually reading this book right now, and it seems likely to me that that phrase is a historical hold-over. Gin isn't aged like other liquors, so it's much cheaper, and in Colonial Britain it was the drink of choice for the lower class, and of course people equate poor with criminal.