Gin & Coconut Water

Islands in the Stream, Ernest Hemingway, 1970

1½ oz. gin

2 oz. coconut water

2 dashes of Angostura Bitters

1 strip of lemon peel, for garnish

Place the gin, coconut water, and bitters in a cocktail shaker, fill it two-thirds of the way with ice, and shake until chilled.

Strain over ice into a cocktail glass, garnish with the lemon peel, and enjoy.

Thomas Hudson took a sip of the ice-cold drink that tasted of the fresh green lime juice mixed with the tasteless coconut water that was still so much more full-bodied than any charged water, strong with the real Gordon’s gin that made it alive to his tongue and rewarding to swallow, and all of it tautened by the bitters that gave it color.

In this scene, Hudson tries a drink unknown to him, as he is driven through an old neighborhood undergoing significant changes. In the manner you’d expect from a Hemingway antihero, he muses about how it’s “a hell of a good drink.” There are several variations on this mixed concoction, but his version calls for coconut water, Gordon’s (or a gin of your choice), and bitters. Some recipes include ginger juice for a bit of extra kick.