Tuesday, July 17, 2012

west indian summer

1 1/2 oz Gilka Kümmel (Helbing)
1 oz Old Raj Gin (Hayman's Navy Strength)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 barspoon Maraschino Liqueur
1 barspoon Simple Syrup
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Two Thursdays ago for the cocktail hour, Andrea suggested that I look in Beta Cocktails for we had not had a recipe from there in a while. The one that called out to me was Rhiannon Enlil's West Indian Summer. Since we lacked Old Raj Gin, I figured that Hayman's Navy Strength would work as a substitute for the Old Raj's proof although perhaps not its herbal signature. For kümmel, I used our Helbing which worked rather well in another Beta Cocktails recipe, the Spice Trade.
The orange twist contributed to the drink's aroma along with the caraway from the kümmel. A sweet lemon and orange sip led into the botanical notes of the gin and kümmel on the swallow and a tart lemon note on the finish. Indeed, there was enough sugar in the kümmel to make the drink smooth, although the drink did get a little bit rougher as it warmed up.

2 comments:

bza said...

I enjoyed this drink, but I have to think it would be a lot more complex with the Old Raj. I just can't justify buying such a unique gin for one drink, and I've never had it in more traditional gin cocktails so I'm not sure how nicely it plays with others.

frederic said...

It will work in other cocktails. I just don't fancy it too much since I'm really bad at detecting saffron for some reason (except when it's strongly flavored), so it just comes across as an overproof gin to me.