Gin Cocktail

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (21 ratings)

Serve in a

Coupe glass

Garnish:

Lemon zest twist

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.

Read about cocktail measures and measuring.

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AKA:

Fancy Gin Cocktail, Improved Gin Cocktail

Review:

Bready genever with a hint of orange curaçao adding flavour and the merest touch of sweetness balancing Boker's Bitters. If you don't have Boker's to hand then use the more widely stocked Peychaud's Bitters which produce a different but very tasty drink. I'd go as far as to suggest that Peychaud's produces better cocktail, one with an attractive pale shade of salmon pink – if you like that kind of thing.

History:

A close relation to the Martinez, and so by default also the Martini, this cocktail is adapted from one of the oldest known cocktail recipes. Some say this recipe dates back to 1824, coincidentally the same year Dr Siegert created Angostura Bitters. However, the first known recipe appears in Jerry Thomas' 1862 The Bartender's Guide.

111. Gin Cocktail
(use small bar glass)
3 or 4 dashes gum syrup.
2 do. bitters (Bogart's). [it's widely accepted that he meant Boker's Bitters]
1 wine-glass of gin.
1 or 2 dashes of Curaçao.
1 small piece lemon peel; fill one-third full of fine ice
shake well, and strain in a glass.

112. Fancy Gin Cocktail
(use small bar glass)
This drink is made the same as the gin cocktail, except that it is strained in a fancy wine-glass and a piece of lemon peel thrown on top, and the edge of the glass moistened with lemon.

Jerry Thomas, 1862

There are conflicting claims as to what constitutes a "Fancy" or "Improved" Gin Cocktail as opposed to a bog-standard "Gin Cocktail", some stating it's the style of glass used and others the inclusion of either lemon peel and or orange curaçao. Incidentally, some versions of this recipe suggest switching absinthe for curaçao. Rather than substituting, we recommend adding a couple of dashes of absinthe in addition to curaçao, or alternatively, absinthe rinsing the glass before mixing the drink.

Gin, sugar and bitters can make for a perfectly delicious cocktail without the addition of either curaçao or absinthe – a combination best known as a 'Gin Old Fashioned'.

Nutrition:

One serving of Gin Cocktail contains 147 calories.

Alcohol content:

  • 1.5 standard drinks
  • 28.21% alc./vol. (56.42° proof)
  • 21.3 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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Buy direct from
the_whisky_exchange store logo
£ -.--

Makes a minimum of ... cocktails
Just £ -.-- per cocktail*

* This list may not include all required ingredients.
Price per cocktail is an estimate based on the cost of making one cocktail with the available ingredients shown above and does not include any postage charges.
Buy direct from Difford’s Guide
Difford's Easy Jigger
£8.72 £8.72 exc VAT
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