WHO’S OLD TOM?

When most of us think of gin, we imagine a spirit strong on the juniper and not at all sweet. Those are the characteristics of London dry gin—the predominant style, but not the only one. Old Tom gin first became popular in the 19th century, and many cocktail books of the era call for it by name.

Some Old Tom gins were sweetened, whereas others were not; some had a malty base, some were barrel-aged, others weren’t. But unlike London dry gins, they could contain added sugar, and the juniper wasn’t generally quite as predominant. “Old Tom gins can sometimes be used as a gateway for the novice gin-drinker,” according to Joel Lee Kulp. “The flavors are often softer; it’s still botanical, but has less of a huge juniper hit.”

TOKYO FIR

GRAND FERRY TAVERN

The piney scent and flavor of Zirbenz picks up the juniper notes of the gin in this cocktail, with ginger adding a spice of its own. For ginger syrup, this bar uses a version made by P&H, a Brooklyn soda company.

1¾ oz/50 mL Ransom Old Tom gin

½ oz/15 mL Zirbenz Stone Pine liqueur

¼ oz/10 mL lemon juice

¼ oz/10 mL ginger syrup

¼ oz/10 mL sweet vermouth

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.

NORTH BY NORTHWEST

THE RICHARDSON

Floral-herbal Braulio amaro pairs well with Ransom’s barrel-aged Old Tom gin, with lemon and orange liqueur to brighten it up.

1½ oz/45mL Ransom Old Tom Gin

½ oz/15 mL lemon juice

½ oz/15 mL Braulio amaro

¼ oz/10 mL simple syrup

¼ oz/10 mL Combier triple sec

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.

MARTINEZ

A venerable cocktail that predates the Martini—indeed, the Martini is considered a descendant, and its name a derivative, of the Martinez—this classic is richer and gentler than its cousin, thanks to slightly sweet Old Tom gin, a heavy hand of vermouth, and the cherry liqueur Luxardo maraschino.

1½ oz/45 mL Hayman’s Old Tom Gin

1½ oz/45 mL Carpano Antica Formula sweet vermouth

1 tsp Luxardo maraschino

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well chilled and strain into a coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.

 

BROOKLYN GIN

After more than ten years working in the spirits industry, Joe Santos and Emil Jattne shared the hope of opening a craft distillery—and a love for gin. “We started out with aspirations of making other spirits,” says Santos, who founded the distillery together with Jattne in 2010, “but when we got going, we realized how intense it was, and we put everything else on hold!”

That focus has served them well, with Brooklyn Gin now selling nationally and internationally, and recently taking home several significant awards. While nearly all gins contain some citrus peels in their botanical blend, Brooklyn Gin distinguishes itself by using only fresh peels, not dried peels or extracted oils. “We love vibrant, aromatic gin that’s heavy on citrus flavors,” says Santos. “We’re the only gin that uses 100% fresh citrus, from five different fruits. It gives the gin a real bright citrus note on the nose and palate.”

Jattne and Santos are actively working to open a distillery in Brooklyn—they currently operate a pot still in Warwick, NY, a short trip outside the city—but from the beginning, have been involved in the Brooklyn bar world. “Brooklyn Gin is a great example of a brand that has real loyalty to this community,” says Ian Hardie of Huckleberry Bar. “They’re very engaged with the bars that they want to work with; they’ve been a big supporter of ours. It’s really all about that mutual support.”

But of course, bartenders gravitate toward products they’re impressed with. “They produce a quality gin,” says Hardie, “and they have a beautiful bottle. It helps that it looks really good on the back bar.” And it helps that their flavor profile is one that bartenders get excited to play with.

“We’re the only gin that uses 100% fresh citrus, from five different fruits.”

—Joe Santos, Brooklyn Gin

The following four cocktails are Brooklyn Gin favorites, showing off the gin’s bright, citrus-forward style.

BEE’S KNEES

2 oz/60 mL Brooklyn gin

¾ oz/20 mL lemon juice

¾ oz/20 mL honey syrup (1:1)

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

BROOKLYN G&T

2 oz Brooklyn Gin

4 oz Fever Tree tonic

Combine ingredients in a Collins glass over ice and stir gently. Garnish with a lime wheel, and/or slices of grapefruit, fresh rosemary, juniper berries, or black peppercorns.

DON’T TAKE YOUR LOVE

Michael Neff, Holiday Cocktail Lounge

1½ oz/45 mL Brooklyn gin

1 oz/30 mL grapefruit juice

¼ oz/10 mL Fernet-Branca

Tonic water

Half-rim a highball glass with kosher salt. Fill with ice and add the gin, grapefruit juice, and Fernet. Stir to combine and fill with tonic. Garnish with a tall rosemary spear.

FOUNTAINHEAD

Damon Boelte, Grand Army

1 oz/30 mL Brooklyn gin

1 oz/30 mL oloroso sherry

¾ oz/20 mL lemon juice

¼ oz/10 mL Branca Menta

½ oz/15 mL simple syrup

Club soda

Combine the first five ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with club soda and garnish with a mint sprig and microplaned lemon zest.

BOX OF RAIN

Achilles Heel

An unusual rye-based, barrel-aged gin from New York Distilling Co. is at the heart of this lively cocktail perfumed with chamomile honey and topped with a dramatic float of red wine.

1½ oz/45 mL Chief Gowanus New-Netherland gin

¾ oz/20 mL chamomile honey (recipe here)

¾ oz/20 mL Dolin blanc vermouth

¼ oz/10 mL lemon juice

½ oz/15 mL red wine (Syrah recommended)

Combine all the ingredients except the red wine in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a coupe. Top with a float of red wine.

Box of Rain, Achilles Heel

THE L.I.B. GIMLET

Toby Cecchini, Long Island Bar

Toby Cecchini calls himself a “super-classicist,” though classics on his menu tend to have a distinctive twist—including this gimlet, made with a lime-ginger cordial that hits a perfect balance of tart, ginger-spicy, and sweet. The cordial itself is a several-day process, but keeps for weeks or more once made, and when it’s on hand, this cocktail comes together in seconds.

2 oz/60 mL Tanqueray gin

1 oz/30 mL lime-ginger cordial (recipe here)

¾ oz/20 mL fresh lime juice, strained

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a large rocks glass filled with cracked ice or, if preferred, a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with a thin wheel of lime floated atop.

The L.I.B. Gimlet, Long Island Bar

3 MORE GIN CLASSICS…

AVIATION

One of those drinks that requires specialty ingredients—maraschino liqueur (which is quite versatile) and crème de violette (much less so)—but once you try this sophisticated cocktail, you’ll have no problem getting through a bottle. Some versions eliminate the crème de violette; the resulting cocktail remains delicious but lacks the blue-purple hue and floral scent.

2 oz/60 mL gin

¾ oz/20 mL lemon juice

½ oz/15 mL maraschino liqueur

¼ oz/10 mL crème de violette

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a coupe. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

RAMOS GIN FIZZ

An occasional joke in the industry: If you want to annoy a bartender, ask for a Ramos Gin Fizz. The amount of shaking required to properly whip up egg white and cream make this an extremely time-intensive cocktail (and hard on the forearms to boot). Don’t be surprised if the bartender hands off the shaker halfway through to take a breather! That said, the Ramos is a true classic, silky and ethereally light when made properly, the orange flower water contributing a gentle, fragrant floral note.

2 oz/60 mL gin

½ oz/15 mL lemon juice

½ oz/15 mL lime juice

¾ oz/20 mL simple syrup

½ oz/15 mL cream

3 drops orange flower water

1 egg white

Club soda

Combine all the ingredients except the club soda in a cocktail shaker without ice. Shake vigorously for a “dry shake”—for at least a minute—then add ice and shake again, as long as you can stand to. Strain into a chilled Collins glass. Top with soda and garnish with an orange wedge.

THE REAL LAST WORD

An easy cocktail to riff on (see “Word,” here), the Last Word is a classic worth mastering, a precise balance of tart and herbaceous.

1 oz/30 mL gin

1 oz/30 mL green Chartreuse

1 oz/30 mL maraschino liqueur

1 oz/30 mL fresh lime juice

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a coupe. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

 

CLASSIC G&T

Herbal gin and bittersweet tonic—probably the most versatile, complex, satisfying highball the world has ever known. With such a simple drink, details are key: Use plenty of ice, a high-quality tonic water, and a gin whose flavors you’re partial to. You can’t go wrong with a classic London dry like Beefeater or Tanqueray.

2 oz/60 mL London dry gin

4 oz/120 mL Fever Tree tonic

Combine the ingredients in a Collins glass over ice and stir gently. Garnish with a lime wedge.

FROZEN G&T

ROB KRUEGER, EXTRA FANCY

Think a gin and tonic is refreshing? A frozen gin and tonic has it beat. Extra Fancy had a hard time keeping enough tonic syrup in stock for this wildly popular blended drink. At the bar, they’re using the tonic syrup that you’d purchase for a soda gun—essentially all the flavors of tonic, without the sparkling water—with some orange bitters dashed in for depth of flavor. Tonic syrup is available in stores too: Jack Rudy and Small Hand Foods both make great versions.

1½ oz/45 mL Hendricks gin

½ oz/15 mL tonic syrup

½ oz/15 mL simple syrup

¾ oz/20 mL lime juice

Combine all the ingredients in a blender with 1 cup of ice and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and garnish with a lime wheel and a cucumber slice.

SPANISH-INSPIRED G&T

The British will always be thought of as the world’s true gin drinkers, but the Spanish have adopted the gin and tonic—or “Gin Tonic”—as their national drink. Spanish G&Ts are served in huge balloon glasses and go crazy with the garnishes, understanding that different herbs, spices, and citrus will pair differently with any given gin. Here, grapefruit rind and coriander pick up on several of the botanicals in Beefeater 24.

2 oz/60 mL Beefeater 24 gin

4 oz/120 mL Fever Tree tonic

Combine the ingredients in a large balloon glass with several ice cubes. Garnish with two grapefruit twists and a pinch of whole coriander seeds.

CITRUS MEDICA

KATE O’CONNOR MORRIS, ROSE’S

Try to get your hands on a bottle of this cult-favorite gin from Menorca. It’s a well-chosen base for this dressed-up Spanish Gin Tonic, huge on the citrus peels and with the unexpected addition of yuzu juice, a sour Japanese citrus fruit.

2 oz/60 mL Mahon Xoriguer gin

¾ oz/20 mL yuzu juice

3 dashes Regan’s orange bitters

Tonic water (Fever Tree recommended)

6 to 8 lemon, lime, and orange peels

Place two citrus peels in the bottom of a Collins glass. Add the yuzu, gin, and several ice cubes. Add two more citrus peels and the orange bitters. Top with tonic and the remaining citrus peels.