Category Archives: Gin

Gin, Green Chartreuse, Maraschino Liqueur No comments

The Last Word

I had this prohibition-era cocktail for the first time in a restaurant in Chicago earlier this year and was well and duely impressed. So I had to try it for myself. After trying a couple of gins, I found that Gin Xoriguer, a grape-based gin from Mahón on Menorca, Spain, which has a distinctive Mediterranean feel to it of juniper, pine, herbs and citrus that combines well with the herbal taste of the Green Chartreuse, the maraschino cherry liqueur and the fresh lime juice.

¾ oz 22.5 ml Gin Xoriguer de Mahón, ABV 38%
¾ oz 22.5 ml Green Chartreuse
¾ oz 22.5 ml Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
¾ oz 22.5 ml Fresh lime juice

Shake the ingredients with ice cubes and then double strain into a chilled coupé glass. Garnish with a slice of lime or even better a dried slice of lime.

Cocktails, French Vermouth, Gin 2 Comments

Martini

Have finally got around to taking a closer look at one of the classic cocktails, the Martini. The basic recipe is, of course, gin and dry vermouth. But the problem is that in every cocktail book you read, you encounter a different ratio of gin to vermouth. The ratio also depends on when the cocktail book was published, with the Martini becoming drier over the years as tastes changed, that is the ratio of gin to vermouth becoming larger.

If that was difficult enough, the resulting flavour of the Martini also depends very much on the brands used, with the result that for different brands, different ratios work best. This was a revelation that for a given recipe the final result was so different when different spirit brands were used. More so than I ever expected, so much so that you cannot really recommend a given recipe (ratio) without specifying the brands to use! Below are some pairings that I personally prefer. Again, taste is subjective – I prefer my Martinis less dry – and this post encourages you to vary the ratios for each brand used until you find your own personal favourite brand pairings and ratios. Feel free to discuss such pairings here.

Tanqueray No. Ten Gin: Ratio 3:1

1½ oz 45 ml Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, 47.3% ABV
½ oz 15 ml Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry Dry, 17.5% ABV

Portobello Road No.171 London Dry Gin: Ratio 4.5:1

At a ratio of 3:1, I find that the vermouth is too dominate when using Portobello Road No.171 London Dry Gin, so I upped the ratio of gin to 4.5:1, which I found better balanced.

1½ oz 45 ml Portobello Road No.171 London Dry Gin, 42% ABV
⅔ oz 10 ml Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry Dry, 17.5% ABV

Add plenty of ice to a mixing glass. Add the gin and vermouth. The best Martinis should remain crystal clear, so stir gently for about 1½ minutes and then double strain into a Martini or coupé glass to ensure no small pieces of ice remain in the drink.

Absinthe, Angostura Bitters, Cinnamon Syrup, Falernum, Gin, Lime Juice, London Dry Gin, Navy Strength Gin, Old Tom Gin, Pomegranate Juice, Simple Syrup, Tiki No comments

Lunipela Zombie – Another twist on the Zombie

Having read “Professor Cocktail’s Zombie Horde” by David J. Montgomery (ISBN:9781-494352806), a book devoted to just Zombie recipes, I noticed that there were really very few Zombie recipes that used other spirits than rum. One that caught my eye though was a single Zombie recipe based on gin. This sounded interesting, so I went about creating a gin-based Zombie, starting from Don the Beachcomber’s original Zombie recipe, replacing the rum with gin and the grenadine with fresh pomegranate juice as described in an earlier post.

I found that the recipe was astoundingly well balanced. The absinthe played well against the juniper coming from the gin. Try it out and see what you think.

1 oz 30 ml Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, 47.3% ABV
1 oz 30 ml Haymans Old Tom Gin, 40% ABV
1 oz 30 ml Haymans Royal Dock of Deptford Gin, 57% ABV
½ oz 15 ml John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum Liqueur, 11% ABV
¾ oz 22 ½ ml Fresh lime juice
¾ oz 22 ½ ml Fresh pomegranate juice
½ oz 15 ml Simple syrup
6 drops / 1/8 tsp 0.5 ml Absinthe Libertine 55, 55% ABV
1 dash Angostura Bitters
2 tsp 10 ml Fresh grapefruit juice*
1 tsp 5 ml Cinnamon syrup*
6 oz /
¾ cup		 180 g Ice cubes

Place all ingredients but the overproof gin in a blender, adding the ice last, and blend at medium speed for no more than 5 seconds. Pour into a Tiki mug or, to better experience the beautiful vibrant colour of the cocktail, a tall glass (at least 15 oz/450 ml). Add ice cubes to fill. Layer the overproof gin over the ice at the top of the drink. Garnish with a wedge of fresh pineapple sandwiched between 2 maraschino cherries. Enjoy.

I have called this the Lunipela Zombie; lunipela in Hawaiian means Juniper, referring to the gin and also keeping it in the Tiki mold.

* Don’s Mix.