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Imperial Army

Name: Imperial Army
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Gin; 15 ml Lime juice; 10 ml Orgeat syrup; 6 drop Tonka bitters; 3 drop Saline solution 4:1; 22.5 ml Brut sparkling wine

Difford’s Guide

Discerning Drinkers (2)

Measurements in:

Serves:

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Ingredients
1 1/2 fl oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
1/2 fl oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
1/3 fl oz	Monin Almond (Orgeat) Syrup
6 drop	Tonka bitters (optional)
3 drop	Saline solution (20g sea salt to 80g water) or merest pinch of s
3/4 fl oz	Brut champagne/sparkling wine (chilled)

How to make

Glassware

Serve in a Coupe glass

Prepare

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of lime zest twist.

Method

SHAKE first 5 ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
TOP with sparkling wine.

Garnish

Express lime zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Imperial Army contains 148 calories

Alcohol content:

1.2 standard drinks
16.89% alc./vol. (33.78° proof)
16.8 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Orgeat (almond) sugar syrup (2:1) — Nuts
Brut champagne/sparkling wine — Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

History

This vintage cocktail was apparently written about by Gustav Selmer Fougner in his Along the Wine Trail column in the New York Sun newspaper, which he wrote from 1933 until his death in 1941. So far, I've not been able to find this piece, or an original recipe, so the above is my own interpretation. I discovered this cocktail, referenced to Fougner on the menu of London's Luggage Room bar in September 2025.

Review

An Army & Navy with a splash of brut sparkling wine, which dries the cocktail, so it benefits from a tad more orgeat than you may expect. Strike the right balance and the Imperial Army's layers of flavour are delicious.

Variations/similar cocktails

Sabot
French 75
North By Northwest

Hayman's London Dry Gin 750ml - makes 16.5 cocktails
$67.99 $4.12 per cocktail Hayman's London Dry Gin image

Monin Almond (Orgeat) Syrup (US) 750ml - makes 75 cocktails
$14.99 $0.20 per cocktail

$4.32 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 16.5 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.

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* 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.

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Comments & Discussion

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Andrew Parsons Premium Member 45w

Surely this is just an Army and Navy made long by the sparkling wine?

Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member 45w

Thanks for pointing out, Andrew. I've added a note above to make this clear. Army & Navy is usually with lemon, and I wonder if the above was also originally with lemon rather than lime.