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London Calling

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (115)
London Calling image
Measurements in:
Serves:
1
Ingredients
1 2/3 fl oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
1/2 fl oz Lustau Jarana Fino Sherry
1/2 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/2 fl oz Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water) 65.0°Brix
2 dash Orange Bitters by Angostura

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

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How to make

Glassware

Serve in a Coupe glass

Prepare

  1. Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of grapefruit zest twist.

Method

  1. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  2. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

  1. EXPRESS grapefruit zest twist over cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of London Calling contains 175 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.3 standard drinks
  • 17.7% alc./vol. (35.4° proof)
  • 18.2 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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History

Adapted from a recipe created in 2002 by Chris Jepson at Milk & Honey in London, England. Originally made for a Drinks International Magazine competition, this cocktail has gone on to be a much-copied contemporary classic, inspiring riffs such as the Banana Calling.

We also discovered a quite different stirred cocktail named London Calling in 2003 at London's Oxo Tower Bar & Brasserie (50ml dry gin, 31.25ml sloe gin, 12.5ml sweet vermouth and 2 dash orange bitters).

More cocktails by Chris Jepson

Review

A gin-based sour with fino sherry adding distinctive, almost salty, celery, notes. Orange bitters and a grapefruit zest twist contribute to this cocktail's delicate balance.

Cocktail of the day:

12th March 2026 is The Internet's birthday

Variations/similar cocktails

Barbara West
Call London
Call Mexico

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Makes a minimum of 15 cocktails.
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Comments & Discussion

Heidi Della Pesca Premium Member
So fresh. Delicate, sophisticated balance. Perfect for a warm evening aperitif
score: 2
Robert Spain
Just outstanding, and so simple that it calls for a second serve.
score: 1
Sally Morgan Premium Member
Don't worry about the amount of sugar syrup - it's needed to balance the dryness of the alcohols and the sourness of the lemons. Use a decent gin as you'll be tasting it come through nicely (I hope!)
score: 2
Nicholas Wilson
Absolutely delightful. Balanced and lovely tension. Used gomme rather than simple to give less sweetness and a floral hint.
score: 2
Miguel Perales Premium Member
A light, citrusy cocktail. But, for a "sour", it is a bit on the sweet side. As recommended by Robert, I will try lowering the sugar syrup next time.
score: 1
Michael Graham
I like the sherry nuance to a standard gin sour. Really quite nice. As I like my drinks on the boozy side I also tried with a full 2 oz of gin, Sipsmith, and liked it even more.
score: 2
Heidi Della Pesca Premium Member
I ran this with 2.5 oz good gin and 3/4 each of the remaining ingredients. It scaled up very well
score: 1
Robert Fielding
Superb cocktail. I used Palo Cortado instead of Fino, which gave a little more punch. I also reduced the sugar syrup slightly as I prefer a 2:1 lemon to sugar ratio. My only issue was that there wasn't enough. Will probably scale up to use 50/60ml gin next time.
score: 1
Jennifer Spencer
I made a small portion of this as written, and loved it. But I wanted something lighter than gin tonight (and to work through that open bottle of fino sherry), so I tried a "reverse" version of this and it was fab... 120ml of fino sherry, 15ml lemon, 10ml simple syrup, just a bar spoon of gin for the flavour, and a couple dashes of orange bitters. Nice if you're in the mood for something slightly less dry.
score: 4
Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member
Many thanks, Jennifer. I loved your suggestion and I've adapted your recipe to create a Call London and in turn, this led me to also make a Call Mexico. Please see the links above.
score: 3
Heather Jones
Tried this with 50ml gin and 25ml fino. With and without bitters. Did not like it AT ALL.
score: 0
Dan Casselman
The Grapefruit came through very nicely (with the Orange bitters help I'm guessing). Not too sweet, not too sour, just the way a cocktail should be. Well balanced. (1 of 8 of the "her Maj's" recommendations)
score: 1

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Difford’s Shop logo
$4.60 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 15 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


Orders are processed by a licensed Fulproof retailer. The buy now button is added simply for convenience.

Checkout

* May not include all ingredients. Price per cocktail is an estimate based on cost of one cocktail with ingredients shown above and does not include shipping.

Visit Difford’s Shop USA

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