The last time Maurice and I were down in London we visited Mr Fogg’s, a cocktail bar and gin parlour in the West End, themed around Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. As I love a bit of whimsy, I was quite in my element perched on a chaise longue, sipping literary-inspired libations and nibbling quails’ eggs. (And yes, I know that statement opens me up to merciless yet justified teasing by my friends and family!)
I usually like my cocktails short and strong, but as the evening was young, decided I’d go for a longer drink of gin, spiced rum, lime juice and homemade pineapple soda. When it arrived I was suspicious – it looked sweet and (dare I say it) a bit too girly for me – but in fact, it was delicious, and probably went down faster than it should.
When we returned home I started thinking about how I might make a similar style of drink with the ingredients that were available in our garden and fridge, and this is the resulting creation.
As the rhubarb was running rampant in our flower bed I cut (technically pulled) it back hard, and made a spiced rhubarb syrup to serve with sparkling water as a soda (see the recipe here). Once I’d tasted that, the other ingredients simply fell into place. A gin with good botanicals seemed the obvious choice for a base spirit, and I added maraschino liqueur for sweetness and a little cherry, floral complexity.
The other big player here (despite the small amount used) is Pimento Dram, a liqueur made by The Bitter Truth by macerating allspice berries in rum. It’s sweet, spicy and very intense, with flavours of clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. This is a real delight, and pairs with the rhubarb beautifully, but a too-generous glug would dominate the other ingredients, so go gently with the pouring!
In the pictures I’ve made individual drinks and served them with maraschino cherries and orange slices, but this recipe would also work really well as a pitcher for a party.
Ingredients
30ml London dry gin
20ml maraschino liqueur
5ml Pimento Dram
25ml lime juice
A couple of dashes of orange bitters
Spiced rhubarb soda (see recipe here)
Ice
Maraschino cherry and orange slice to serve (optional)
Method
- Add the gin, maraschino liqueur, Pimento Dram, lime juice and orange bitters to a highball glass.
- Fill the rest of the glass with a good handful of ice and top up with the rhubarb soda. Stir to ensure all of the ingredients combined and very cold.
- Serve with a maraschino cherry and an orange slice.
