Name: Army and Navy
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Gin; 22.5 ml Lemon juice; 15 ml Orgeat syrup; 2 dash Aromatic bitters; 2 drop Saline solution 4:1

Army & Navy
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Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
³⁄₄ oz	Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₂ oz	Monin Almond (Orgeat) Syrup
2 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2 drop	Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water) optional

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Orgeat (almond) sugar syrup (2:1) - Nuts

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

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Review:

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

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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

More cocktails by David A. Embury

Nutrition:

One serving of Army & Navy contains 183 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
18.72% alc./vol. (18.72° proof)
18.4 grams of pure alcohol

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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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Martin Boyer

8th July 2024 at 23:22

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.

Erik Lindgren

7th July 2024 at 20:41

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.

John CARR

8th January 2024 at 11:54

As described, subtle and surprisingly dry.

John Hinojos

12th November 2023 at 01:08

Made again but added 1/2 oz more gin. Was perfectly balanced on the sweetness. Also added two drops of Difford's Daiquiri Bitters.

Annabelle Egginton

29th July 2023 at 19:05

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.

Andrew Parsons

29th July 2023 at 13:44

Without doubt one of my all time favourites. Naturally we make it with Sky Wave Grapefruit Bitters!

Jill Ghosh

20th July 2023 at 22:01

How have we never had this cocktail?! It's a mystery. We really enjoyed it on a muggy July evening! Well balanced as written. I didn't think "refreshing" when I read the ingredients, but it was. This will go into our rotation for sure!

Chris Dimal

3rd February 2023 at 08:19

Quite sour. I was hoping the orgeat would come through a lot more. I eventually added a barspoon more of Orgeat, and that improved the taste, though it also cut through the lemon, maybe a bit too much. Also, it looks extremely orange due to the bitters. Was it too much?

Martin Boyer

8th July 2024 at 23:23

Mine was orange as well. Tasted fine.

Chris Dimal

24th March 2023 at 17:58

@Simon Difford You were correct. Made it yet again with only one dash. It finally hit the spot. An absolute dance of botanicals, almond richness and citrus. So beautiful. Thanks for the response.