Tequila 75 and Holland Gin Cocktail.
Tequila 75
This weekend brought two new cocktails to the list. One to our classics page; one to the more seasonal recipes. I’ll show the seasonal one first.
I visited the very excellent Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. (as they say- a drinking establishment) in Philadelphia last week and enjoyed a number of cocktails. One that really made me think had many components, including; but not only: tequila, citrus, sparkling wine and cinnamon. What great friends they all seem to be! Time to play.
We ended up with the Tequila 75. Based on the classic French 75 mix of gin, lemon, sugar, and champagne; here we use 2 oz of blanco tequila from Chinaco, 1 oz of fresh lemon juice, and 3/4 oz of a syrup made with cinnamon from Sri Lanka, topped with a couple of ounces of dry Spanish cava. It’s a beautifully sweet and floral cinnamon, and the syrup doesn’t overpower so the cocktail stays refreshingly drinkable in this summer heat. The rim is of that same cinnamon, sugar and a touch of salt. Very simple, very easy to tipple.
Next up is a cocktail using Boker’s bitters. John Boker founded Boker’s Bitters in 1828 and they were very popular up until Prohibititon forced them out of business in the 1920s. Recently barman Adam Elmegirab has begun reproducing them, and with a bottle in hand I reached for my 1887 reprint of ‘Professor’ Jerry Thomas’s Bar-Tenders’s Guide or How to Mix All Kinds of Plain and Fancy Drinks. I took his Improved Gin Cocktail recipe using Holland gin, played with the ratios a bit and ended up with our:
Improved Holland Gin Cocktail
A healthy dose of Boomsma Oude Genever, Luxardo Maraschino, Boker’s bitters, and gum syrup all get shaken and strained with some Mata Hari absinthe misted over the top. Garnished with a twist of lemon.