Thirty Two: Drake's Fortune

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I've been thinking a bit about gin cocktails of late, which is useful given that all the recipes I'm currently owe various people and competitions are supposed to be rum based. I set myself to making a summery drink that wouldn't be torture to make - essentially the polar opposite of A Walk In The Clouds.

Drake's Fortune

50ml Tanqueray Gin
25ml pink grapefruit juice
10ml St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
1 dash Angostura Bitters
6 mint leaves

Shake all ingredients with ice and fine-strain into a chilled martini glass. 

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The recipe is inspired by the Victorian Mojito - basically a standard Mojito, but with gin and apple juice instead of rum and soda - but I wanted to get away from the shorthand of using crushed ice to signify summer drinks. From there, it seemed obvious to use elderflower to complement the gin and a touch of Angostura to bring everything together.

And yes, more drinks should be named after videogames.

Sixteen: Centre

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The galaxy is filled with wonderful things, not least the news that its centre tastes of raspberries and smells of rum. This is great news because both raspberries and rum are themselves wonderful things and because the centre of the galaxy is not actually made of raspberries and rum - rather it contains ethyl formate, a molecule that exhibits both traits. They're good traits to incorporate into a cocktail, too.

Centre

15ml handcrushed raspberry juice
10ml sugar syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
60ml Havana Club Especial

Place the raspberry juice, syrup and bitters in the base of a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Add the rum gradually while stirring. Garnish with a couple of raspberries.

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To make the handcrushed raspberry juice, simply use a barspoon or muddler to force some fresh raspberries through a fine-strainer. You'll need about 10 or so to yield 15ml. Commercially available raspberry purée works as a substitute.

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There's a point to made, I think, about stirring drinks. The handcrushed raspberry juice is opaque so you lose the clarity that you associate with stirred drinks, but the idea behind stirring this drink is to give it the smooth texture you always get.