Name: Mainbrace
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Gin; 30 ml Triple sec; 30 ml Pink grapefruit juice; 2 drop Saline solution 4:1

Mainbrace
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Photographed in an Urban Bar Freddo Coupe Glass

Ingredients:
1 oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
1 oz	Cointreau triple sec liqueur
1 oz	Pink grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed)
2 drop	Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Tangy grapefruit laced with gin and a hint of orange. Tart finish.

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History:

This gin-based cocktail takes its name from a Navy term, usually associated with rum. However, while the ratings on British Navy ships drank rum, their officers sipped gin.

Braces are the ropes that control the angle of the sails on square-rigged ships, and the mainbrace is the longest rope in the rigging. If the mainbrace were shot away during a battle, then the ship would be rendered unmaneuverable. The mainbrace runs through blocks, so it cannot be repaired with a short splice or a knot. Instead, a long splice is needed, so even outside of battle, this is a difficult and skilled job. Hence, it was customary for the men who spliced the mainbrace to be rewarded with an extra ration of rum. Over time, the order to "splice the mainbrace" came to mean that the whole crew would receive an extra ration of rum, issued after victory or to celebrate a special occasion such as a royal birth.

Nutrition:

One serving of Mainbrace contains 148 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
19.89% alc./vol. (19.89° proof)
17.9 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Sally Morgan

11th March 2024 at 20:31

Sometimes it’s nice to have a really straighforward cocktail that is well balanced. This one ticks all those boxes. Could be thrown together in a trice (or after coming back from an ice water championships holiday) and none the worse for that.

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John Hinojos

11th May 2023 at 00:11

Very refreshing. We were just slightly shy of the amount of grapefruit juice needed so added a few drops of grapefruit bitters to balance the sweetness. Perfect relaxing on a late afternoon.

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