Cocktail No 103 Brandy Cocktail

I had overlooked this one and what a gem. There is a caramelised undertone, coming from the combination of the brandy and the rosso vermouth and whilst they have combined to give this rich, sensuous taste, but they are both very distinctive and punch through their own unique tastes.

Stirring gives a more viscous liquid than shaking, adding interest to the mouth feel.

It's simplicity itself

Recipe

1-2 ice cubes

40ml Brandy

20 ml Rosso Vermouth

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Twist of lemon peel

Add all ingregients except lemon peel to a mixing glass. Stir well to chill until the liquid takes and on a slighty oily texture. Strain into a cocktail glass and add twist of lemon peel.

Cocktail No 102 Pisco Sour

An old school friend has been cycling from the bottom of South America to the north. He had reached Chile by the time the COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and can't leave the country. He has introduced to the the local spirit and I can see why Simon is so taken with it. The spirit is Pisco.

Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisco

Pisco itself has a very minor grappa taste, which makes sense as its a grape Eua de Vie, but without the pips or made from a 3rd presing, so a lot milder on that distinctly grappa taste. 

Initially I forgot the Angostura bitters. It is very pleasant - a perfect sour, smooth, well balanced between the sweet and sour, the spirit doesn't contribute much to the flavour, its somewhere between and rum and a brandy sour. That is not denigrating the Pisco. That it blends everything else together in harmony is a compliment. 

I am a fan.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes

50ml Pisco

50 ml lime juice (not lemon)

50ml Sugar syrup

1 egg white (I omitted this to save on washing. It doesn't affect the taste, but gives a froth and different mouth feel).

Dash of Angostura bitters

Add all ingredients except the bitters to a shaker and shake vigorously to incorporate the egg white. Strain into a cocktail glass and add a dash of bitters.

Cocktail No 101 Monty YTC Gold!

I have been challenged by an old school friend to make a cocktail, who is Scottish and partial to the odd wee dram of the spirit of life.I was provided the name of the cocktail so worked around it  - a quote I believe from Withnail and I.

So this is a variation on the Sidecar, using Malt Whisky instead of Brandy, but with a few twists. 

Y is an egg yolk, making this cocktail into a gold! For T, I was thinking Talisker Whisky, but consulting Charlie he would prefer Tamnavulin, if you can ever find it. The C of course is Cointreau and the ! lemon. The tasting notes on the Tamnavulin mentions chocholate mouse and extra thick cream, hence a teaspoon of Crème de Cacau. The creaminess comes from the egg yolk.

The lemon is bittingly sharp, I squeezed half a lemon instead of a measure, so perhaps too much. The whisky is prominant. The Cointreau is hidden in the background and the egg yolk, gives a silkiness and texture that is quite delightful. 

As I come to the bottom of the glass I find that I really enjoyed this one

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes

25 mls Malt Whisky (preferably Tamnavulin)

15 mls Cointreau

15 mls Lemon juice

1 teaspoon Crème de Cacau

1 egg yolk

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake really well to mix the egg yolk and create a luscious silky smooth emulsion. Pour into a cocktail glass and enjoy

Cocktail No 100 White Lady

This is the last gin cocktail in my book and it is so worth waiting for. Its a Fizz, so that delightful meringuey crema from the egg white is the first sensation. Next is the sweetness from the Cointreau, which is a real surprise, because a) there is only a splash of it and b) its usually more bitter than sweet. Then it is cut by the sour of the lemon juice. Finally the Gin makes itself known.

All the hallmarks of a great cocktail - texture with mouth feel, complex flavours that compete and change as you drink it, the perfect balance of sweet and sout and the bedrock of the gin underpinning it all. And it has a maraschino cherry - almost as good as the one picked fresh from the tree but not quite. 

Recipe

2-3 Ice cubes

1/2 egg white

2 teaspoons lemon juice

25 ml Birkdale gin

2 teaspoons Cointreau

1 cocktail cherry.

Crack ice and put in shaker with egg white, lemon juice, gin and Cointreau. Shake really well - this is more important than usual as we are are not just chilling the cocktail, but frothing the egg white into a crema. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with cherry on a stick

Cocktail No 99 Sake Special

To be honest, I wasn't expecting very much from this one and am very pleasantly surprised. In some ways it is a watered down pink gin, but the Sake does add its own distinctiveness, which I suspect would not be the case with a grape based white wine. 

The Gin and Angosture bitter are the commanding flavours and make this cocktail great. The Sake, stops it being too harsh as neat gin can be. I am struggling to describe it. It adds a mellowness, almost an earthy undertone to the drink and a lingering almost floral after taste. Despite that it is a deliciously clean and dry taste. The bitters gives a wonderful nutty brown colour to the drink - very appealing on the eye.

I had to buy a whole bottle of Sake for this, so the dilemma is do I make more of these, or warm it to go with beef teriyake?

Perhaps both.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes

50 ml Birkdale gin

25 ml Sake

2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Put ice in a mixing glass with other ingredients. Stir well and strain into a cocktail glass - enjoy.

Cocktail No 98 Take Two

Very much along the lines of a Negroni, so of course I am going to like this one - a lot. The Campari is surprisingly strong considering the small volume used. The Cointreau provides the sweetness to balance the bitters and the gin just binds it all together. I used Triple Sec, so bitter orange working hand-in-hand with the Campari.

Its a really interesting mouth feel, velvety and viscous, with a slight "burn" as you swallow. The colour is wonderful as well, sort of orangy, rosé pink. I don't think I have every seen this hue before.

A lovely complex drink with many things going on - well worth a try.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes

25 ml Birkdale gin

15 ml Cointreau

2 teaspoons Campari

Add ice and ingredients to a mixing glass. Stir well until icy cold. Strain into a cocktail glass and serve.

Cocktail No 97 Singapore Gin Sling

One of the most famous cocktails in the world. The following from Wikipedia:

The Singapore Sling is a gin-based sling cocktail from Singapore. This long drink was developed sometime before 1915^[1] by Ngiam Tong Boon (traditional Chinese: 嚴崇文; simplified Chinese: 严崇文; pinyin: Yán Chóngwén; Wade–Giles: Yen Ch'ung-wen), a Hainanese bartender working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel, Singapore. It was initially called the gin sling^[2] – a sling was originally a North American drink composed of spirit and water, sweetened and flavored.

When you look at the recipe, it was obvious it is going to be sweet, but the dilution with soda water compensates a lot and the sour of the lemon juice makes a pleasing counter. Cherry and a hint of orange is the dominant flavour. Considering how much gin is in there it is not really noticable. 

All in all quite pleasant and if you have a sweet tooth you will love it, but perhaps short without the soda water.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
50 ml Birkdale gin
25 ml Lemon juice
15 ml Cherry Brandy
15 ml Cointreau
2 teaspoons caster sugar
soda water
1 lemon slice

Put ice in tall glass with gin, lemon juice. Cherry Brandy. Cointreau and sugar. Stir and top up with soda water. Garnish with lemon slice.

Cocktail No 96 Rolls-Royce

As the name would suggest this is a first class gin cocktail.The gin is king here. so make sure you use a premium gin for best taste. The Bianco vermouth adds a hint of sweekness, but not too much, being tempered by the dry vermouth A hint of herbs and complexity ends it off from the Benedictine.

Very nice indeed.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
25 ml Birkdale gin
15 ml Dry vermouth
15 ml Bianco vermouth
1-2 dashes Bénédictine

Put ice in a mixing glass with gin, vermouths and Bénédictine. Stir well until icy cold and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a masaschino cherry

Cocktail No 95 Rose

I was a little unsure when I saw this contained Apricot Brandy as that can often be too sweet for me, but I was light on my measures for both the Apricot Brandy and the Vermouth and it has turned out really well. It has the base of a dry martini, with a hint of sweetness and flavours from the apricots and sour from them lemon juice - classic sweet & sour mix. The herbs in the vermouth are also very pleasantly evident.

The grenadine provides the lovely Rose colour, somewhere between a light red and pink.

Really nice on the sunny Bank Holiday Sunday Evening.

Recipe

15 ml Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon caster sugar
3 Ice cubes
25 ml Birkdale gin
15 ml Apricot Brandy
15 ml Dry Vermouth or Noilly Prat
1 dash Grenadine
1 Cocktail cherry

Dip the rim of a cocktail glass in the lemon juice  and then in the sugar. Allow the frosting to dry. Since we are in lockdown and everyone is baking I can't get hold of caster sugar, so I skipped this step.

Add ice and liquids into mixing glass and stir until icy cold. Strain into the cocktail glass and garnish with the cherry.

Cocktail No 94 Ramona Cocktail

This one is a keeper - for me at least. A wonderful sour, the lemon juice bites at the back of the throat, contrasting with the gin, whilst a hint of sweetness from the grenadine redeems it. Its suprisingly minty, but delicately, not like the overpowering you get with Creme de menthe if your hand is too heavy.

A lovely start to a sunny bank holiday Sunday evening.

I recommend you try this one folks.

Recipe

1 sprig of mint
2-3 ice cubes
25 ml Birkdale gin
25 ml Lemon juice
2 dashes Grenadine

Chop the mint coursely and add to a shaker along with the other ingredients. Shake vigoursly and strain into a cocktail glass. You don't want to chop the mint too fine as it should mostly remain in the shaker when you strain it.

Cocktain No 93 Queen Elizabeth

First taste was very disapointing, but I think that was because of the overly sweet one I had just before as its growing on me. Its a very complex mix of flavours and whilst I usually eyeball quantities I think this one shouldbe measured accurately for the right balance.

The sweet/sour combo of the lemon juice and the Cointreau are the striking flavours, but the gin and the anise are definitely present and the aniseed is getting stronger as time goes on. And of course there is the cherry at the end.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
25 ml Birkdale gin
15 ml Cointreau
15 ml Lemon juice
Splash of Pernot or Ricard

Cocktail No 92 Queen Bee

I knew this was going to be too sweet for me looking at the ingredients. It is, but the combination of the sloe with the bitter orange and a splash of aniseed does work quite well. I might have a go at making a dry sloe gin this autumn and see how the recipe works with that.

If you have a sweet tooth, give it a go. If, not give it a miss.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
25 ml Sloe Gin
25 ml Cointeau
Dash of Pernod or Ricard

Put ice in shaker with other ingredients. Shake well and strain into a glass.

Cocktail No 91 Pink Lady Fizz

A fizz is then you add and egg white to a cocktail and shake it to create a froth. This version is a sour, with a hint of sweet from the genadine, but its really there for the colour. It is sharp from the lemon juice. Not too aggressive due to the dilution with the soda water and the Crema leaves you with a white tache. The egg white is otherwise tasteless.

Remember to chill your soda water before hand, otherwise you will have to add extra ice.

A pleasant refreshing cocktail.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
1 egg white
1 teaspoon grenadine
25 ml lemon juice
50 ml Birkdale gin
Soda water

Crack ice and put in shaker. Add egg white, grenadine, lemon juice and gin. Shake very vigourously and strain into a tumbler. Top up with soda water.

Cocktail No 90 Opera

Bellissimo! With thanks to my brother Michael and sister-in-law Carole who ensure I am stocked with Maraschino from his base in Napoli. Did anyone else's parent drink Dubonnet back in the 70/80s? Very much out of fashion at present and I had to go to a specialist wine merchants to get a bottle.

A compete change in style to fruity and sweetish, but not cloyingly so. The interplay of the cherries in the Marachino with the herbs in Dubonnet and gin is quite delightful. It tastes very light, almost alcohol free, but don't kid yourrself, this is in the 30% range.

Mild cherry is the predominant flavour, with an earthiness kicking in after a few seconds. Great for a sunny day. Don't miss out the orange peel twist, it definitaly adds extra citrus.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
25 ml Birkdale gin
15 ml Dubonnet
15 ml Maraschino
Piece of orange peel

Put all liquids and ice into a shaker and shake well until ice cold. Strain into a cocktail glass. Twist the orange peel to release the citrus oils and drop into the glass.

Cocktail No 89 Pink Gin

I had forgotten how wonderfully scrumptious this drink is on a warm summers afternoon. Gin and Angostura bitters are a perfect combination, each bringing out flavours from the other. Its perfect with Birkdale gin with its 15 botanical mix.

Its pretty much neat gin, so a mild burning sensation on the roof of the mouth and the tongue from the 40% ethanol. Then the complex flavours in the gin and the bitters come through. Its fiery and earthy at the same time.

A perfect way to kick off the evening.

Recipe

3-4 ice cubes
50 ml Birkdale gin
3 dashes of Angostura Bitters

Place all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir thouroughly until ice cold. Strain into a Cocktail glass and consume before it can warm up.

Cocktail No 88 Negroni

There is nothing quite like a perfectly mixed Negroni. Whoever created it was a genius. The combination of herbs and spices from the gin, herbs and sweetness from the vermouth and the herbs and bitterness from the Campari create a unique taste that is simpy wonderful. Mind you my taste leans more to bitter / sour than sweet, so it isn't going to be to everyones taste. Lovely colour down to the Rosso.

If you are new to cocktails, I recommend to follow the measures for this one. It is easy to over do the Campari.

I usually serve my Negronis short, i.e. without the soda water, but today as the sun is shining I added an equal volume of soda water to spirit and it is a perfect refreshing drink - try both ways and decide

Recipe

3 ice cubes
50 ml Birkdale gin
15 ml Campari
15 ml Rosso Vermouth
Soda Water
1 orange slice

Add Gin, Campari and vermouth to a tall tumbler. Top up with soda water. Add Ice and stir. Garnish with orange slice.

Cocktail No 87 Martini Sweet

I was dreaing this one, but is far better than I was expecting. Yes it is sweet, which I normally dislike, but rich herbal complexity of the rosso vermouth compensates and give a real deepness to the flavour. I also was quite light in the amount, so pehaps less sweet than the recipe calls for. I went for grenadine instead of sugar syrup which also added to the flavour.

Lovely colour

A dry Martini will win out every time, but I am glad I tried this.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
40 ml Birkdale gin
15 ml Rosso Vermouth
1 teaspoon sugar syrup or genadine.
1 Cocktail cherry

Put ice in a mixing glass with gin, vermouth and sugar syrup or grenadine. Stir until icy cold and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry.

Cocktail No 86 Martini on the Rocks

Slight spin on the classic. The traditional Martini is stirred or shaken on ice to chill it and the strained into a cocktail glass. The objective is to chill it rapidly and get it off the ice before it can melt and dilute the spirit. This version will get gradually diluted depending on how long you take to drink it.

Same flavour as the classic Martini, so look that up for tasting notes, but with the volume of vermouth this is very dry!

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
50 ml Birkdale gin
5 ml Noily Prat (or any vermouth if you want it sweeter)
1 lemon slice

Put ice in small tumbler with gin and Noilly Prat. Stir. Garnish with lemon slice and stir.

Cocktail No 85 Martini Medium

I was going to skip this, but as I planned to do every gin cocktail in the book, taking one for the team. As I expected, it is too sweet for me. Don't get me wrong, Birkdale gin is the perfect gin for a Martini. The 15 botanicals I use to make it are a perfect complement to the herbs in vermouth, I just prefer it very dry as in the vermouth, not necessarily the amount. Some people add dry vermouth to the cocktail glass, pour it away and then add chilled gin - bit strong for me. This recipe has a bit too much vermouth for my taste at 50%, 25% is better IMHO.

The Rosso Vermouth does bring a much richer and earthier flavour than the dry vermouth which is very interesting but it does bring that extra sweetness, which kills it for me I am afraid. Still for those with a sweet palate, who have not tried or like a Dry Martini, this could be a welcome introduction.

Recipe

Ice cubes
40 ml Birkdale gin
10 ml Dry Vermouth or Noilly Prat (I would go for the former and save your money on this one)
10 ml Rosso Vermouth
Piece of orange peel.

Put Ice, gin and vermouths in a mixing glass. Stir well and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with orange peel.

ps, with a surname of Bond, I naturally have to have my Martinis shaken, not stirred.

Cocktail No 84 Mule's Hind Leg

I knew this was going to be sweet when I read the ingredient list, but for me it is too cloying. This not one of my favourites. The taste is quite good, the herbiness of the syrup, benedictine and the body of the brandy does make a complex and interesting taste profile, but the sweetness and viscosity from the apricot brandy, benedictine and syrup is something I can do without.

I didn't have calvados or maple syrup so substituted brandy and honey instead - I don't think the correct ingredients would redeem this one for me.

Recipe

2-3 Ice cubes
15 ml Birkdale gin
15 ml Calvados
15 ml Apricot Brandy
2 teaspoons maple syrup.

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass, stir well and strain into a cocktail glass.

Cocktail No 83 Maiden

This is one of my favourites. Its warming, rich, complex loveliness. The Cointreau adds a deep orangeness that complements the real orange juice. Be light with the lemon juice as this one shouldn't be a sour.

Recipe

Ice cubes
25 ml Orange juice
20 ml Birkdale gin
20 ml Cointreau
15 ml Lemon juice

Crack ice and put in shaker along with other ingredients. Shake well and strain into a large cocktail glass.

Cocktail No 82 Moulin Rouge

This one is really interesting. Very complex.

Quite sweet which we would expect from the inclusion of apricot brandy. The lemon juice completes the classic sweet & sour for this style of cocktail. The gin is noticeable but not overwhelming. The grenadine privides more colour than flavour. The sparkling wine works very well, in contrast to my previous comments on not enjoying sparkling wine with gin.

Its the apricot brandy that makes this one work so well.

Recipe

Ice cubes
25 ml Birkdale Gin
20 ml Apricot Brandy
20 ml Lemon juice
1 teaspoon grenadine
Sparkling wine

Add gin, apricot brandy, lemon juice and grenadine to shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into shallow glass and top up with sparkling wine.

Cocktail No 81 Monte Carlo Imperial

I was a bit unsure about this one as the amount of Crème to menthe is quite high and that usually makes it taste like toothpaste, but rest assured it doesn't. It is minty, but the lemon juice and the Champagne counter it. The gin isn't terribly noticeable as a flavour, but it does make a subtle contribution and binds the flavours together.

Refreshing, light and the more I taste it, the more I am growing to like it.

Recipe

25 ml Birkdale Gin
15 ml Crème de Menthe
10 ml Lime Juice
Champagne
Ice

Add ice to shaker with Gin, crème de menthe and lime juice. Shake and strain into a tall champagne flute. Top up with Champagne.

Cocktail No 80 Hawaii Kiss

I was looking forward to this one, but an sadly disapointed. The concept sounds fabulous and tropical, but it doesn't live upto the idea. Generally I am not a fan of gin and prosecco and this one confirms it.

I used a dry prosecco. The drink is too dry and the pineapple juice without sweetner lacks the delicious taste we associate with it. Its actually quite bitter. Perhaps with some sugar syrup or a sweeter wine would work, but I am not getting that tropical pineapple taste I was hoping for.

Still I get to make pineapple icecream with the residue.

Recipe

1 pineapple
25 ml Birkdale gin
2 ice cubes
Sparkling wine

Scoop out flesh from the pineapple and press juice out of it, use a juicer, or blend the flesh and pass through a strainer. Return juice to hollowed out shell. Add gin and ice and top up with sparkling wine. Serve with straws and share if you are able.

Cocktail No 79 Gin Sling

A nice and simple sweet and sour. It's very easy to over do the lemon juice, so a light touch please. Using mineral water instead of soda makes a huge difference - much lighter and refreshing. One dash of Angostura bitters is usually a bit light for me, but in this it is right. It's not intrusive but is there and gives a hint of complexity to the drink. The gin itself is masked by the other flavours, so probably best with a cheaper brand than a premium gin, but as I have litres of the stuff, I went ahead and used Birkdale gin of course!

It is a lot nicer than I was expecting - well worth trying

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
40 ml Birkdale gin
20 ml Lemon juice
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 dash Angostura bitters
Mineral water

Put ice in a tumbler (Tiffany naturally) with gin, lemon juice, caster sugar and bitters. Stir until sugar dissolves and top up with mineral water (I used sparkling)

Cocktail No 78 Lady Brown

Wow this one is a keeper!

The gin comes through very strongly (maybe I had a heavy hand!) and in an extremely good way. The grand marnier and the mandarin orange juice (I cheated and used regular OJ) provide the sweetness, not not over the top, whilst the lemon juice cuts through this to give the sour compliment.

There is burnt caramel in there - heavens knows where from, but it is extremely pleasant and I don't have a sweet tooth, so its subtle and just balances against the lemon acidity. And relatively low in alcohol, which is an interesting concept in cocktails as the gin is diluted with almost equal volumes of low ABV GM and 0% lemon juice. Probably only 15-16%. I could work it out, but hey it is Easter Sunday on lockdown due to COVID-19

Recipe

Ice cubes
40 ml Birkdale gin
20 ml Grand Marnier (or Cointreau - its a bit sweeter)
20 ml Mandarin Orange Juice (or regular orange juice)
15 ml Lemon juice
2 Mandarin Orange segments

Crack Ice and put in shaker with the gin, Grand Marnier, mandarin orange juice and lemon juice. Shake well and strai into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the 2 mandarin segments and serve with a straw.

Cocktail No 77 John Collins

Another really simple one to make. Its another sweet & sour play balanced by the bicarb in the soda water. The gin is quite subtle - I was expecting it to be more dominant.

Its very refreshing and perfect for a sunny afternoon like today.

Happy Easter everyone.

Recipe

Ice cubes
25 ml Birkdale gin
15 ml lemon juice
2 teaspoons caster sugar
Soda water

Add gin, lemon juice and sugar to a tumbler. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Top up with soda water and add ice.

Cocktail No 76 Horse's Neck

When I do a gin course one of the questions I ask is "what is the most distinctive taste in almost every gin?" and it isn't Juniper. Its pepper, in my case coming from Grains of Paradise and Cubeb berries. Next time you drink a G&T look out for it - its a fire at the back of the throat. As soon as it is pointed out to them practically everyone can taste it.

But this isn't the only fiery botanical in gin. The other is Ginger. I use dried ginger as the aroma and the bite is so much stonger than fresh ginger.

The Horse's Neck is basically Gin & Ginger. It a perfect combination if you like it on the spicy side. The lemon tones it back a touch. Couldn't be simpler.

Recipe

Spiral of lemon peel
Ice Cubes
50 ml Birkdale Gin
Dry Ginger Ale

Place one end of the lemon peel over the edge of the tumbler, letting the remainder to curl inside. Anchor with two ice cubes. Add Birkdale gin and top up with ginger ale.

Cocktail No 75 - Gin Punch

Nice and simple for a warm sunny evening on Easter Saturday.

Its strong and sweet.The Maraschino and juice from the cocktail cherries is really pronounced, but the lemon juice cuts through and prevent it being too sweet. Really refreshing.

Recipe

Ice Cubes
40ml Birkdale Gin
15 lemon juice
2 teaspoons caster sugar
2 dashes Maraschino
Cocktail Cherries
Pineapple chunks (if you have them)

Crush Ice and add to a shallow tumbler. Add gin, lemon juice, sugar and Maraschino. Stir, then decorate with cherries and pineapple chunks.