no. 42

2 1/2 oz Greylock Gin
1/4 oz Dry Vermouth
1/4 oz Honey Syrup
1 dash Bittermens Boston Bittahs

Stirred with ice and strained into a cocktail glass. Lemon rind twisted over glass and dropped in. Measurements were eye-spied.

For my second of two drinks at Hungry Mother last night, I asked Duane to make me a No. 42 since I wanted to try a drink made with the relatively new Berkshire Mountain Distillers' gin (I had only previously had an unmixed sample at Eastern Standard in the past). One of the things that Duane pointed out about this drink is that 3 of the four components are locally sourced: the gin from Western Mass, the honey from Reseka Apiaries in Central Mass, and the bitters from nearby Brookline! I found it very interesting how the cocktail menu focused a lot on a wide variety of sweetening agents and not just using simple syrup. Duane said that they use grenadine, sorghum, simple, maple, and honey syrups depending on the desired effect.

No. 42 was a bit more gin-heavy of a recipe than I was expecting, but the end result was not disappointing. The honey syrup gave a full mouth feel (and additional flavor) to a more modernly proportioned Martini. The Greylock Gin being a pot-stilled instead of a multi-column distilled liquor also added some fullness and intrigue to the mix. And finally, the lemon twist and Boston Bittahs added some delightful citrus notes to round off cocktail. Since the Boston Bittahs are a seasonal creation of the Bittermens, No. 42 might disappear soon with a promise to reappear once the Bittermens make another batch. When I suggested that the drink might work well with some grapefruit bitters in the meantime, Duane replied that No. 42 would wait. I guess it's not wise to mess with something so well balanced.