Dishoom's East India Gimlet

I love this twist on one of my favourite cocktails, the gimlet, from the hugely successful Indian restaurant Dishoom.

The original gimlet was devised to prevent scurvy. When sailors, anxious to avoid death, took to mixing lime cordial with their gin, they created one of the earliest cocktails. Our version adds fresh lime and dill, with a dash of celery bitters.

The cordial must be Rose’s. Accept no imitations. Ensure also that your dill is fresh; anything slightly ailing will ruin the flavour of the drink.

This gimlet will go with almost any recipe in this book. But be warned: there’s a hefty measure of gin contained within this very easy-drinking tipple.

SERVES 1

1 lime wedge

1 small sprig of dill, plus an extra sprig to garnish

40ml Rose’s lime cordial

2 dashes of celery bitters

40ml London Dry Gin

Ice cubes

Squeeze the lime wedge into your cocktail shaker and discard the spent skin. Place the sprig of dill on one palm and give it a short, sharp slap with the other hand; this helps to release the oils. Add to the cocktail shaker.

Add the lime cordial, celery bitters and gin. Top up with lots of ice and shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Taste the drink; it should be sour, sweet, fairly strong and very refreshing.

Strain into a coupe or martini glass and carefully balance a small sprig of dill on the inside of the glass.

Extract taken from Dishoom by Shamil Thakrar, Kavi Thakrar & Naved Nasir (£26, Bloomsbury) Photography © Haarala Hamilton

4 New Orleans cocktails for Mardi Gras

If you want to celebrate Mardi Gras in style you can do no better than go for one of the classic New Orleans cocktails which, according to my learned friend Jared Brown of Mixellany, are the Ramos Gin Fizz, Hurricane, Vieux Carré and the Obituary.

The Ramos gin fizz is basically a creamy sour with a dash of orange flower water though it’s reputedly quite tricky to master.

The Hurricane dates from the 1940s and is basically a rum punch - a mixture of light and dark rums, passionfruit juice, orange juice and a dash of grenadine. It’s actually not named after a hurricane - though in New Orleans that would be justified - but the hurricane lamp-shaped glass it’s served in.

The Vieux Carré, named after New Orleans French quarter, is a heady mix of rye whiskey (or bourbon in some versions), cognac, sweet vermouth and Bénédictine with a dash of Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters. Stirred rather than shaken it's similar to a Manhattan

And the Obituary? A simple if deadly mix of gin, dry vermouth and absinthe - and a beautiful pale green unless you use white absinthe. There’s a good account of its history here.

Image by 12019 on Pixabay

The Corpse Reviver

“What better drink to toast ghouls and witches (or to drown out all the Hallowe’en nonsense) than a Corpse Reviver No.2?” writes award-winning mixologist Jared Brown.

“The first two Corpse Reviver cocktails first appeared in the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, written by Harry Craddock, the world’s top bartender in the 1920s and 30s. His Corpse Revier No.1 was recommended for “before 11am, or whenever extra steam is needed.” However, the No.2 came with a dire warning: “Four of these taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again.”

The Corpse Reviver No.2

40ml gin

40ml fresh lemon juice

40ml Cointreau (or other triple sec)

40ml Lillet Blanc

dash of absinthe

Combine ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

A simpler version of this drink, born in New Orleans, boosts the absinthe while continuing the macabre theme. This is the Obituary Cocktail:

40ml gin

20ml dry vermouth

10-20ml absinthe

Combine in an ice-filled mixing glass. Stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

See Jared and his partner Anistatia Miller’s site Mixellany for details of their events, appearances and cocktail books.

Tanqueray Mexican Collins

I don't often post branded cocktails but this is part of a collaboration between two writers I admire - Anna Jones and Abbie Moulton - who have put together a whole load of clever food and cocktail pairing ideas and recipes called The Modern Cocktail Guide. It's available here as a downloadable pdf

You can, of course, substitute another classic gin though not less than 40% I suggest.

Tanqueray Mexican Collins

Serves 1

Ingredients

50ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin (2 units)

50ml ginger & lime syrup (see below) infused with chilli

125ml soda water

1 sprig basil to garnish

For the ginger, lime and chilli syrup:

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 inch of fresh ginger

2 cups fresh lime juice

1/2 red chili, sliced lengthways, seeds removed

Roughly cube one inch of ginger, add to the pan, and simmer gently for 5 minutes, taking care not to boil..

Remove from the heat, strain or spoon out the ginger, and allow to cool before adding fresh lime juice.

Bottle with fresh chili and leave to infuse for a couple of hours until you can taste the chilli kick.