Eclipse Cocktail (by Harry Craddock)

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (7 ratings)

Photographed in an UB Nick and Nora Gold 6oz

Ingredients:
1 unit Black olives
16 oz Monin Grenadine Syrup
1 12 oz Hayman's Sloe Gin
34 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Nick & Nora glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
  3. Drop pitted black olive into glass and cover with grenadine.
  4. STIR gin and sloe gin with ice.
  5. Carefully STRAIN and slowly pour down the shaft of a bar spoon to layer over grenadine.
  6. EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 6/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10

Review:

Gin-laced sweet and tart sloe berry sits over a sweet 'n' savoury base, this Eclipse's final treat.

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 1927 to Harry Craddock to celebrate the 1927 total solar eclipse across England that year and first published in his 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book.

ECLIPSE COCKTAIL.
1/3 Dry Gin. 2/3 Sloe Gin.
Put enough Grenadine in a cocktail glass to cover a ripe olive. Mix the spirits together and pour gently onto the grenadine so that it does not mix. Squeeze orange peel on top.

Harry Craddock, 1930

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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John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
5th August 2024 at 12:49
The gins float worked reasonably well, but the olive floated to the top and had to be pinned down with two (!) cocktail picks. Amusing if rather inelegant. Given the often Heath-Robinson nature of technology at the time, this does not seem inappropriate! The hidden depth charge is scrumptious. Like a Turkish coffee, I didn’t drink the last dregs of basically pure grenadine.
Sally Morgan’s Avatar Sally Morgan
7th January 2024 at 20:05
Ooh - the sweet/savoury depth charge really works here. Worth using high quality / good home made sloe gin for this.
Miguel Perales’ Avatar Miguel Perales
7th October 2023 at 21:51
I also prefer a 2:1 Sloe gin: Dry gin version, like the original version. Watch your Grenadine syrup amount because it can throw it into a "too sweet" version. I used less than 1/6 oz /5 mls Grenadine syrup (home made) and it was pushing the sweetness envelope. I also added 2 dashes of orange bitters since I was out of fresh oranges to squeeze an orange peel. Overall, a very nice cocktail. The Sloe gin is very prevalent with a 2:1 Sloe:Dry gin version and it was very nice evening/fall cocktail
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
25th November 2023 at 18:16
Many thanks for the feedback, Miguel. I've amended the above recipe to be in line with yours.
David Nilsson’s Avatar David Nilsson
20th June 2022 at 21:18
The gin to sloe gin ratios are switched