Name: Death In The Gulf Stream
Total time: 2 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Oude genever; 30 ml Lime juice; 15 ml Sugar syrup (2:1); 4 dash Aromatic bitters; 1 grated zest of Lime (fresh)

Death In The Gulf Stream
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Serve in a Collins glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Rutte Old Simon Genever
1 oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₂ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
4 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters
1 grated zest of	Lime (fresh)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Garnish: Lime wedge

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain into glass filled with crushed ice. CHURN (stir) and add more ice until glass is filled.

Review:

Remembering that Hemingway was a diabetic so had a very sour tooth, we believe this drink needs more than 'one teaspoon' of sugar. Thus we've added half a shot of sugar syrup to the original recipe. It also benefits from dilution, so be sure to shake well and churn in the glass.

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History:

According to Charles H. Baker's 1946 The Gentleman's Companion, this libation was a favourite of Ernest Hemingway.

"We got Hemingway's other picker-upper, and liked it. Take a tall thin water tumbler and fill it with finely cracked ice. Lace this broken debris with four good purple splashes of Angostura, add the juice and crushed peel of one green lime, and fill the glass almost full with Holland gin... No sugar, no fancying. It's strong, it's bitter - but so is English ale strong and bitter, in many cases. We don't add sugar to ale, and we don't need sugar in a Death In The Gulf Stream - or at least not more than one teaspoon. Its tartness and its bitterness are its chief charm. It is reviving and refreshing; cools the blood and inspires renewed interest in food, companions and life."
Charles H. Baker, 1946

More cocktails by Ernest Hemingway

More Classic/vintage cocktails

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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John Hinojos

22nd July 2023 at 01:44

Very good cocktail. Would be nice on a hot day or at a picnic. Flavours work well together. The lime zest is critical to the overall falvour, it should not be omitted.

meng fa

26th February 2022 at 11:49

Everyone .who knows how to make classic gulf steam？I was seem before.
sharing recipe for me .thanks

Doug Charnock

21st July 2021 at 01:58

Yum! This is going to be a regular feature of our evening cocktail on the veranda. The generous helping of the grated lime produces an unexpected complexity and bitterness for such a simple cocktail.

Hunter Newsome

25th April 2021 at 19:02

I go 0.25oz syrup for an oude and double for a jonge. The fresh, almost camphor-like effect of the grated lime zest sets this apart from other drinks.

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