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 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 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 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 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 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.

Cocktail No 74 - The Bees Knees Cannabis cocktail (CBD)

A variation on the gin sour, but with a twist - its laced with Cannabis - or Cannabindiol (CBD) to be precise. This the safe form extracted from hemp that doesn't give a high, but its meant to help with all sorts of things. Its apparently the new wonder food supllement that everyone is experimenting with in food and drinks.

Its very sharp as a good sour should be. The honey makes an interesting alternative sweetener to sugar syrup and nicely rounds out the drink. The CBD is subtle adding an almost green tea flavour, which is quite pleasant.

Its quite expensive with the CBD extract costing £4.00 at retail prices.

Recipe

2 parts Birkdale gin
1 part pourable honey
1 part lemon juice
1 ml CBD oil extract (NB go for an extract in alcohol rather than an oil extract as the latter will not mix into the drink)

Shake vigourously on ice to ensure the honey is incorporated and serve in a coupé or Martini glass

Cocktail No 72 Green Fizz

So after making the Gin Oyster I had an egg white going spare. What to do? Make some tiny meringues or another gin cocktail - you can guess which one won the contest.

As with other fizz's the shaking of the egg white creates a froth or crema that float to the top of the dring. The gin is hidden by the mint and the tang of lemon juice. The sugar made it a little sweet for my taste and if I was to remake it I would be heavier on the lemon and lighter on th sugar, but that is just personal taste.

I am becoming a real fan of soda water. When younger I disliked it for the slight bicarbonate taste and the fact it didn't really add much of anything else - to be fair that was with whisky & soda and I'm still not a fan of that, but in this drink it provides the bubbles and lets all the other flavours come through without distortion.

And don't forget to drink the crema at the end of the drink - like drinking liquid minty meringues.

A great cooler for a summer's day, but I still think the Green Hat has the edge on this one.

Recipe

4-5 ice cubes
1 egg white
2 teaspoons sugar syrup
1 measure lemon juice
2 measure Birkdale Gin
1 teaspoon green Crême de Menthe
Soda water

Crack ice and add to shaker with egg white, sugar syrup, lemon juice,
Birkdale Gin, and crême de menthe. Shake very well and strain into a tall glass. Top up with soda water and serve with a straw.

Cocktail No 71 Gin Oyster

Its 30 years since I had one of these beauties. Volume control is important otherwise you can't swallow it all down in one.

The raw egg yolk is the Oyster, nestling in luscious tomato juice, gin, worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice. Salt, pepper, paprika, nutmeg and tobasco provide the spice and fire.

Unless you are taking it as a hangover cure, its more for the ceremony than the taste - its over so quickly that there isn't much sensation to it, but it is fun.

The yolk goes down very easily and then a brief taste of tomato & gin, before the spices and heat kick in.

Everyone should try it once in their life!

Recipe

1 teaspoon Birkdale gin
1 raw egg yolk
2 teaspoons tomato juice
1 dash worcestershire sauce
1 dash lemon juice
1 dash tabasco
salt, pepper, paprika, nutmeg.

Slide egg yolk into shallow glass making sure it does not break. Add Birkdale Gin and the other liquids. Sprinkle with salt, pepper & paprika. Grate over a little nutmeg.

Do not stir this drink, but swallow it down in one.

Cocktail no 68 - Eton Blazer

It helps if you like Kirsch, that fiery eau de vie made from morello cherries & their stones. The Kirsch is the dominant taste, with the lemon undercutting it and highlighting that unique sour cherry flavour. The gin follows as an afterthought, with the sugar syrup compensating for the tartness of the lemon juice. The soda gives some bubbles and dilution that prevents these very strong flavours being over-powering.

It is incredible refreshing and perfect for a hot summers afternoon as we have today and the Cherries are even better after their soak in the drink

Certainly worth adding to your to-try list.

Recipe

25 ml Birkdale Gin
25 ml Kirsch
15 ml Lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar syrup
Soda water
2 cocktail cherries

Place ice, Birkdale Gin, Kirsch, lemon juice and sugar syrup in a tumbler. Stir, then top up with soda water. decorate with cherries.

Cocktail No 64 - Clover Club

Bright strawberry coloured from the grenadine, with a creamy head from the shaken egg white, it tastes as sweet as it looks. The grenadine dominates and if you like pomagranates, that's great. The gin is there, but I initially mistook it for the chill of the drink.

Don't be put off by the egg white - you can't taste it and its there to thicken up the drink and give it some texture.

Very pleasant for a hot summer's day. If you are new to gin and unsure, this is a very good starting point as the gin is there, but not over present.

Personally I think a little more lemon juice, but that's just personal taste.

Edit

Wow - wait for the end and the crema - its like drinking liquid meringue - wonderful

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
1 egg white
15 ml lemon juice
40 ml Birkdale Gin
20 ml grenadine

Crack ice and put in shaker with other ingredients. Shake very well (more so than usual to incorporate and "whip" the egg white). Strain into a small goblet.

Cocktail No 63 - Blue Lady

Highly recommended to try.

Icy Chilled, the first impression is of a sherbet dipper, if you remember those from your childhood. The tart lemon juice gives the "fizz"and the Blue Curacao the sweetness. The citrus in the gin complements the bitter orange in the curacao and the colour - just look at the wonderful shade of turquoise blue.

Sweet & sour play against each other, with orange the dominant flavour. It is also very refreshing - shame the day has clouded over after brilliant sunshine all day. A perfect sundowner for a hot & humid evening, with the delicious reward of the maraschino cherry at the end.

Recipe

2 measures Birkdale Gin
1 measure Blue Curacao
1 measure lemon juice

Add Birkdale Gin, Curacao and lemon juice to shaker with ice. Shake well until very chilled and strain into cocktail glass. Decorate with Maraschino cherry, impaled on a cocktail stick.

Cocktail No 56 - The Mango Sidecar

Version 2 with the Mago fruit brandy substituting normal brandy, halving the quantity of lemon juice and topping up with a splash of water to balance the volumes.

Much more successful IMHO. Mango is again the dominant flavour, but the orange and the sweetness of the Triple Sec blend perfectly into it supporting the flavour and altering it. The lemon juice is there with a hint of acidity, but it is more sweet than sour - I normally don't like sweet drinks, but the Triple Sec with its bitter orange overtone adds an element that helps balance the drink.

I think I rather like this one.

Recipe

1 part Mango Fruit Brandy

1 Part Triple Sec or Cointreau

1/2 part freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 part water

Shake on ice and serve in a Martini glass.

Cocktail No 55 - The Oriental Sidecar

Another novelty ingredient that I created last week - Mango fruit brandy.

This drink is a twist on the classic Sidecar, where the Mango Fruit brandy is substituted in place of the Triple Sec. Its a bit tart as the Mango isn't as sweet, so addition of some sugar syrup would help. The Mango is quite dominant, so playing around with the proportions would be a good idea. The acidity of the lemons is there, but the taste has combined with the Mango in a very pleasant manner. The brandy is there, but only just detectable.

Recipe

1 part Mango Fruit Brandy

1 part Triple Sec or Cointreau

1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice

Shake on ice and serve in a Martini glass

Cocktail No 54 - Fraquiri

Its been over a year, but the muse has struck again.

You may struggle to find the ingredients for this one, as it uses Eau de Vie de Frais (Strawberry brandy), which I made myself. You can buy it, but it is expensive in Britain. It a variant of the daquiri family, substituting the strawberry spirit in place of rum.

Its a classic eau de vie, if you have tried grappa or kirch or poire william, you will recognise immediately that harsh kick on first taste of the neat spirit, followed by a burning glow throughout the body. Whilst a popular digestif after dinner in Europe, this one is completely transformed when diluted in weird and wonderful ways. Adding 3 parts water to 1 part spirit removes that harshness and leaves a wonderfully mellow white spirit with the taste of strawberry leaves (or how you think they taste when you smell them). Adding tonic brings out a sweetness that was undetectable in the raw or diluted spirit.

The Fraquiri combines the bitterness of the lemon with the astringency of the eau de vie. The strawberry is definitely there. Triple Sec doesn't have enough sweetness to really play its part and Cointreau would be a better balance.

A bit more experimenting needed I think - perhaps reduce the lemon juice to 1/2 the volume and replace with water to balance the sweet / sour aspect.

Recipe

1 part Eau de vie de Frais1 part Triple Sec (suggest Cointreau)1 part lemon juice (suggest 1/2 lemon juice + 1/2 water)Shake on ice and add to Martini glass.