With the promise of warmer weather to come, I have been thinking a lot about garden parties and dining alfresco. However, my mind has quickly wandered from what to eat to what to drink, and when it comes to mixing cocktails there are so many choices, but in my opinion, gin is the best clear spirit on your bar.
I must confess that despite Pimm’s being heralded as the ultimate drink for lazy summer days, for me it just doesn’t hold much appeal. Perhaps, it’s just that Pimm’s has become too familiar and now feels like a pair of old slippers as opposed to an exciting new outfit.
So, to aid my exploration for a sophisticated liquid libation, I believe it’s time to pull on a flapper dress, bring out the *bathtub gin (bathtub gin refers to any style of homemade spirit made in amateur condition) and strike up some big band jazz music, as we mix up some stylish 1920’s cocktails and celebrate the delights of gin.
Its botanical flavours mean it can lend itself to refreshing cocktails from gimlets and punches to smashes and Martinis. So, chin-chin or bottom’s up, or cheers if you prefer, we are about to embark into the fabulous world of classic 1920’s cocktails, which was a golden age in the world of mixology.
Gin Fizz
50ml gin
30ml lemon juice
10ml sugar syrup
1 tsp sugar
20ml lightly whipped egg white (optional)
Chilled soda water, quantity to taste
Method
Shake up the gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup, sugar and egg white (if using) in a cocktail shaker with a little ice and strain into a highball glass half-filled with ice cubes. Top up with soda water.
Bee’s Knees
The expression “Bees Knees” was popular during the 1920s and means that something was the best. It’s also a cute name for a garden party libation. This cocktail was popular because it used *bathtub gin, which was smoothed out with sweet honey and lemon juice.
Ingredients
50ml gin
10ml runny honey
5ml water
15ml fresh lemon juice
Ice cubes
Method
Stir the honey into the water until dissolved to make a syrup. Pour into a cocktail shaker with the gin, lemon juice and a couple of ice cubes. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass of your choice.
Gin Gimlet
The Gimlet is the Green Goddess of cocktails—lime-heavy with a rich naval history and a sharp kick. Its origins aren’t the most glamorous, after all scurvy has never been sensuous– but it’s long been adopted as a sipping drink by the cocktail drinking masses and it is so very easy to make.
In 1928, D. B. Wesson, in his book I’ll Never Be Cured, described a gimlet as ‘gin, a spot of lime, and soda’. Whilst my recipe is slightly more elaborate than this, it is the simplest of drinks.
Ingredients
60ml gin
15ml lime juice
10ml sugar syrup
Twist of lime zest to garnish
Method
Pour the gin, juice and sugar syrup into a tumbler half-filled with ice. Stir
gently. Garnish with the lime zest.
Ask your favourite bartender to mix you a gin cocktail (Photo by Crew Montreal, Canada)
Vintage-Inspired Garden Gin Martini
A quick chat with Cringletie House’s resident, award-winning bartender, Mark Barrett (and the man responsible for introducing me to saffron gin) yielded a wonderful vintage inspired cocktail that’s great for1920’s-style garden parties.
‘’This drink is based around a health drink recipe I stumbled across and I figured it’ll be good fun to add some booze to it” he said.
He decided a good quality gin was the perfect match for the healthy combination of fruit and vegetables.
Ingredients
One apple, diced
Two kiwis peeled and diced
Juice of 1 lime
A handful of spinach
One stalk of celery
One tsp of honey I used heather honey cause I love the flavour
Ice
50mls gin
Method
Simply blend all the ingredients together with 50mls of your chosen gin after it’s been blended simply strain into a cocktail glass and enjoy.
*The term bathtub first appeared in 1920, in the prohibition-era United States, in reference to the poor-quality alcohol that was being made during the prohibition period, though today you can enjoy some mighty good artisan distillers.
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Author bio: Seren Charrington-Hollins
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