Mixology Monday: The Bramble
Monday, July 16th, 2007
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Greetings, and happy Mixology Monday! Paul over at Cocktail Chronicles is hosting this month’s get-together, and the theme is Blog Love. Yikes, what a name, huh?
But it’s a great idea: we’re all going to try out recipes that we’ve seen on each other’s sites, and report on our findings.
Because we’re bloggers.
And we have love.
Blog love.
Got it?
Originally, I wanted to pick up my very own iSi whipper and make Jimmy Patrick’s cassis foam as Jimmy’s skills have been a great source of envy for me for a long time, but I settled on something I’ve been keeping quiet about for a long time, the Bramble.
I learned about the Bramble from my friend George Sinclair’s website a few months ago, and I’ve been making them for a select few customers at the bar ever since. I like to call it “the best-kept secret in town”.
Here’s a little history from George:
The Bramble is a cocktail that has seen its way onto almost every UK cocktail bars menu, And although a correct recipe is not always used, it is still a testament to its excellence, of both flavour, and memorable naming, that others are continually trying to improve its simple formula.
Created in the mid-1980s by Dick Bradsell at Fred’s Club in Soho, London
So, in short, the Bramble exemplifies everything I strive to do with my cocktail menus. Time to rip it off!
The Bridgeport Bramble
I didn’t have a bottle of Plymouth gin on hand when I started exploring this drink, so I substituted Portland, Oregon’s own Aviation gin. It’s similar to Plymouth in its herbaceous nose and creamy mouthfeel, and since blackberries grow wild in Oregon, this seemed like a natural choice.
1.5 oz Aviation gin
.75 oz lemon juice
.5 oz simple syrup
.75 oz creme de mure (blackberry liqueur)Shake the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup with cracked ice and strain into a double rocks glass. Top with crushed ice and gently float creme de mure on top. Garnish with a skewer of four wild, organic Oregon blackberries.
This post wouldn’t be complete with a fair amount of gushing on my part, so if you’re not already in-the-know, let me be the first to introduce you to George Sinclair, the Thinking Bartender. Now, I consider myself to be a cocktail history buff. I have a good-sized library of books (original editions of The Gentleman’s Companion and the South American Gentleman’s Companion, anyone?) and I consult them every time I’m looking to explore a new cocktail. But George puts my knowledge and adherence to classic methodologies to shame. His relentless quest for perfection stands, to me, as an ultimate goal and a reminder that while the cocktail renaissance here in the United States is just getting underway, it has been in full swing on the other side of the pond for a good long time.
So, thanks, George, and here’s to many more brilliant posts.
Oh, and check out Phil at Lamb Martini, who has a new-found love for the Richmond Gimlet, and Chris at Nonjatta who, through a trial-and-error process, discovered that a Tomato Daiquiri beats all other fruit daiquiris!
Thanks for hosting this one, Paul.
27 Jul 2007 at 9:00 pm 1. Sean Boudreau
Jeffrey,
I used Plymouth GIN instead of Aviation and it was great! I could not find Aviation Gin around here… The drink is a new favorite though! Thanks!
Cheers