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 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 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 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 52 - Butterfly Flip

A festive twist for the approaching season of goodwill.

This is essentially an enriched and sweetened Brandy Alexander and quite delicious. Well I omitted the sugar by mistake, so mine was closer to the Alexander.

Brandy with Crème de Cacao and cream is always a good combination. Add an egg yolk plus sugar and spice it up with nutmeg. If  you like Bailey's then throw your bottle in the bin and taste what its really meant to be like. Decadently thick on the tongue with a chocolat blast followed by the warmth of brandy coming through as it slips down the throat.  It always reminds me of the scene in Bridehead Revisited when Anthony Blanche drinks 4 Alexanders is quick succession to the outrage of the Oxford matrons doing lunch.

It needs really good shaking to mix in the cream, egg yolk and dissolve the sugar.

Recipe

Add equal measures of Brandy, Crème de Cacao and cream to a shaker. Add 1 egg yolk and a tablespoon of caster sugar. Shake very well to mix everything together and strain into cocktail glass. Sprinkle with grated nutmeg and enjoy!

Cocktail No 20 Old-Fashioned

Another of the classics and well deserved it is.

A sweet blast of ice cold bourbon hits the taste buds, with the unmistakable aftertaste of the bitters resonating across the tongue until the next sip. There is a very slight hint of Southern Comfort in this one, although I have also made it without the sugar and its just as good.

I think I am becoming hooked on these cocktail cherries!

The mixing is simplicity itself:

Recipe:

Add 1 teaspoon caster sugar to a tumbler with 1 teaspoon of water and 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters (I started with 1 dash, but the bourbon overpowers it and it really needs the 2nd one). Stir well until the sugar has dissolved. Add 2 measures of Bourbon and 2-3 ice cubes. Stir until chilled. Garnish with cocktail cherry and orange slice.