Name: Bramble
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Gin; 30 ml Lemon juice; 12.5 ml Sugar syrup 'rich' (2:1); 12.5 ml Blackberry liqueur

Ingredients

1 1/2 fl oz

Hayman's London Dry Gin

1 fl oz

Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

5/12 fl oz

Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water) 65.0°Brix

5/12 fl oz

Giffard Crème de Mûre liqueur

How to make

Glassware

Prepare

Select and pre-chill a DOUBLE OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.

Prepare garnish of blackberry, lemon slice wheel and icing sugar.

Method

SHAKE first 3 ingredients with ice.

STRAIN into glass filled with crushed ice.

Top with more crushed ice and compact ice to form a volcano-shaped mound.

DRIZZLE liqueur over this mound to create a 'bleeding' effect in the glass.

Garnish

Garnish with blackberry and lemon slice dusted with icing sugar.

Serve with a straw.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Bramble contains 177 calories

Alcohol content:

1.2 standard drinks
15.1% alc./vol. (30.21° proof)
16.2 grams of pure alcohol

History

Created in the mid-80s by Dick Bradsell at Fred's Club, Soho, London, England.

In 2001 and again in 2015, Dick wrote about how he came to create this contemporary classic and you can read the Bramble Cocktail - its inception told by its creator here.

Comments & Discussion

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Chris Dimal 1y

Of course, one of (if not the best) drinks of the 1980s and a true indicator of where cocktails were heading towards. I tip my (non existent) hat off to you, Dick Bradsell. Slightly tart sour with moreish blackberry fruit.

Simon Sedgley Premium Member 1y

We went a bit off the reservation on this one, substituting Merlet Creme de Fraise des Bois for the Creme de Mure. And we just shook everything and strained into a standard old-fashioned glass with a large block of ice. Strawberry and lemon for the garnish. Hardly a Bramble but was delicious.

Henry Tran 1y

Change the ratio a bit and it was good as well.
- 45 ml gin
- 22.5 ml lemon juice
- 12.5 ml rich syrup
- 15 ml Crème de mure

Michael Cronin 3y

I was looking for cocktails for my bottle of Barr Hill, Kingdom Strength Tom Cat Gin and a blackberry bramble was the one. I had made some blackberry syrup a few weeks before so I substituted about half an ounce for the sugar syrup and creme de mure and it was delicious.

Lee Clarke Premium Member 3y

A couple of years ago I commented that this was a great drink. Just reading the new book about Dick’s life- Dicktales or "Thankyous and Sluggings". It’s a great read and I notice Simon and Paloma get a couple of nice mentions.
Made myself the drink again and I really think it’s deserving of a 5 Star rating. Never met anyone who doesn’t like it.

Koorosh Roodbaraky 4y

Why shake over stir like Bradsell advocates? Presumably incorporation of citrus and syrup etc, but then do we not need to worry about over-diluting when serving over crushed?

Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member 4y

If you make your crushed ice from cubes just removed from a freezer then you should not have a problem with over-dilution. The quality of ice used is key.

Maciej Pawlikowski 4y

On the contrary, I would even say that thanks to that good shaking and cooling our cocktail serving it over crushed ice will mostly keep it cool without diluting it much. Furthermore the more crushed ice we use the more we prevent dilution

Koorosh Roodbaraky 4y

@maciej, because crushed means you can fit more ice in the glass --> more thermal mass? I'd assume cubed is better just for surface area reasons for preventing dilution.

Leigh Leppard 4y

Great recipe, but this doesn’t need a DOF glass in my opinion. Fits fine in an old fashioned glass and it felt to
me that the volume of crushed ice is more than enough.