Pink Gin cocktail

There are a few cocktails that are designed for the drinker who, for one reason or another, doesn't care for gin.  These are meant, I imagine, as a kind of gentle gateway tipple to the dark world of gin drinking. The gin is almost always hidden away behind other ingredients so while the overall flavor profile leverages the botanical ingredients, the actual flavor of gin isn't really obvious. The uninitiated can claim bragging rights for having tried and enjoyed a gin-based cocktail without ever having tasted the stuff.  This is, I imagine, not unlike drenching broiled snails in enough garlic and butter that when you enjoy escargot, you are, in effect, not experiencing anything new or particularly dangerous.  If you want such a drink, there are many fine beverages to choose from.  I might recommend the Corpse Reviver #2 which serves as a precursor to the somewhat more pedestrian Lemon Drop. The Fog Cutter is another excellent choice.  With these examples of mixological excellence, you will be guaranteed a delight for your senses that will not, even for a moment, reveal the notorious flavor of gin to your palette. These drinks are, at least in that regard, safe.


The Pink Gin cocktail is not one of those drinks.


 Pink Gin is, in the opinion of this writer, a varsity level cocktail. At it's core, it's really just gin and bitters, served as close to ice cold as you can. It's herbaceous and intense with an aroma not entirely unlike a good Indian curry... little wonder when you consider that this drink was probably concocted by the British military as a way to get the troops to take their bitters promptly before and after consuming a vindaloo whilst occupying India.  It's actually a beautiful cocktail but the gin has nothing to hide behind which is fine, as long as you like gin. Ian Fleming liked gin.  So much of it, he was known to drink a full bottle of the stuff per day. And the Pink Gin cocktail, macho drink that it is, was his favorite.  Little wonder then, that he had 007 quaff one.  The only oddity is that he waited so long to have him order one up.  It isn't until Fleming's final (and never truly finished) novel The Man with the Golden Gun that Bond has one.  And it's a pity because as cocktails go, Pink Gin is far more sophisticated and deserving of world wide recognition than is the "vodka martini".

Something of a misnomer, Pink Gin is more of a muddy orange, owing to the color of the Angostura aromatic bitters in it.

When James Bond orders one as he waits for Francisco Scaramaga, the villain of the piece, he calls the gin, specifying Beefeater and asks for "plenty of bitters".  He's on to something with the bitters but I prefer either Plymouth or Broker's gin.  Not only is Plymouth the traditional choice but it's a slightly sweeter gin and melds better with the bitters.  It's also a better product, in my opinion than the Beefeater.  Broker's is a London Dry style but it's strong citrus notes make it an excellent choice for this drink.

Here's how I like mine:

• 3 oz. Plymouth or Broker's gin
• 6 goodly dashes of Angostura bitters (sometimes if I'm feeling frisky, I'll add a couple dashes of orange bitters)

Shaken and served up.

I know what you're thinking.   You're thinking the old boy has forgotten his own rule about stirring the clear drinks and shaking the opaque.  And you are certainly welcome to stir. However, I find that the oxygenation (aka "brusing") that takes place when you shake this cocktail actually mellows it out a little bit.  Usually I'd argue against doing away with any of the flavor but as I said before, this is an intense drink.  A little buffing off of the edges is a fine thing.

Some bartenders will garnish with a twist of lemon and while this makes for a somewhat gentler experience, I find the lemon interrupts the delicate interplay between the gin and the bitters. If you find you must have one for courage, then at least try your second round without.

Cheers!