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Army & Navy

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (489)
Army & Navy image
Measurements in:
Serves:
1
Ingredients
2 fl oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
3⁄4 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1⁄2 fl oz Monin Almond (Orgeat) Syrup
2 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2 drop Saline solution (20g sea salt to 80g water) or merest pinch of s (optional)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

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How to make

Glassware

Serve in a Coupe glass

Prepare

  1. Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

Method

  1. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  2. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

  1. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Army & Navy contains 183 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 18.72% alc./vol. (37.45° proof)
  • 19.7 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

  • Orgeat (almond) sugar syrup (2:1) — Nuts

Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

History

This cocktail first appears in David A. Embury's 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks so establishing a 'made before' date. Little else is known but based upon its name, folk suggest it originated at The Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C.. The club's lounge is also said to be "where the famous Daiquiri cocktail was introduced to the United States."

Thanks to Embury, we know the original recipe comprised a 2:1:1 formula, but the lawyer-turned-cocktail writer opts for an 8:2:1 formula, describing the original formulation as "horrible". I've ended up with an 8:3:2 formula in the quest for balance and deliciousness.

ARMY & NAVY.
1 part Lemon Juice
1 part Orgeat
2 parts Gin
1 have given the original recipe which, to my mind, is horrible. If made to my 1:2:8 formula, it is merely the Gin Sour with orgeat used in place of sugar syrup.

David A. Embury, 1948

More cocktails by David A. Embury

Review

Almond and lemon flavoured gin. Subtle, citrus and, despite generous orgeat, fairly dry.

Variations/similar cocktails

With amaretto: 60ml (2oz) gin, 20ml (⅔oz) lemon juice, 10ml (⅓oz) orgeat syrup, 7.5ml (¼oz) amaretto liqueur, and 1 dash aromatic bitters.

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$3.09 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 12.5 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


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Gallery

Comments & Discussion

Mike Jameson
My absolute favorite cocktail, perfect for any season but especially summer. I found this a great way to test different bitters such as Lemon or Almond to enhance the existing citrus and nuttiness.
score: 2
Frederic D. Premium Member
I often like my drinks a tad sweeter than Simon, but even for me this shouldn't be any sweeter. It's well balanced as is, but it wouldn't take much for the orgeat to take it into cloying territory. The 8:3:2 works well, resulting in a delicate botanical sour with almond hints.
score: 1
rebdecassis
Delicious! Tastes like the winter holidays to me for some reason. Speaking as someone currently in April. So that's interesting.
score: 0
Florian Ruf Premium Member
Due to a misreading I put 2,25cl Orgeat in the tin. But I noticed it before shaking used more lemon and the saline solution and resulted in a very good, maybe a bit too Orgeat-forward cocktail.
score: 1
Peter Griffith Premium Member
Great drink. Instead of mixing the bitters, I dotted them on the surface of the drink in the glass. Makes it look fancy!
score: 1
Martin Boyer Premium Member
Wonderful drink. At the suggestion of a local restaurant that introduced me to this cocktail, I used 1.5 Highclere Castle gin, 0.5 Lustau cream sherry, 0.75 lemon, 0.5 Giffard orgeat and 2 dashes AB. Wonderful.
score: 3
Widmann Alcântara
Hi,Martin. I tried your recipe. It's wonderful indeed.
score: 2
Erik Lindgren
Not really surprisingly I’ve found that this cocktail is all about having a good orgeat. The first time I made this I used Monin and wasn’t too impressed since it was a tad too sweet and one dimensional. Now I’ve made homemade orgeat, and the cocktail is now much more complex. I used No 3 London dry gin which worked perfectly.
score: 2
John CARR Premium Member
As described, subtle and surprisingly dry.
score: 1
John Hinojos Premium Member
Made again but added 1/2 oz more gin. Was perfectly balanced on the sweetness. Also added two drops of Difford's Daiquiri Bitters.
score: 4
Annabelle Egginton
Just delicious. I am not an orgeat syrup fan but it is perfectly contrasted with the lemon. The angostura gives that finishing touch. Makes a good mid summer pre dinner drink.
score: 3

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Difford’s Shop logo
$3.09 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 12.5 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


Orders are processed by a licensed Fulproof retailer. The buy now button is added simply for convenience.

Checkout

* 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.

Visit Difford’s Shop USA

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