Army & Navy

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (280 ratings)

Serve in a

Coupe glass

Garnish:

Lemon zest twist

How to make:

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

2 fl oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
3/4 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/2 fl oz Giffard Orgeat Syrup
2 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2 drop Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water) (optional)
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Hazardous ingredients

Giffard Orgeat Syrup is potentially hazardous to those with allergy or intolerance.

Review:

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

Variant:

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

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

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 20.54% alc./vol. (41.08° proof)
  • 20.2 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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