aqueduct

1 1/2 oz Vodka Beefeater Gin
1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

On Sunday night, Andrea and I went over to Green Street for dinner. For my first drink, I decided to continue my "vodka drinks that could be improved with gin" quest after a good experience with the Beacon Fix the week before (and the Parisian Orchid from a year ago), and I ordered the Aqueduct from bartender Derric Crothers. What intrigued me the most about the drink was how it was essentially a vodka-now-gin version of the rum-based Periodista. In searching for a history on the drink, I found one source that called for blue Curaçao and commented that the color can remind people of water and hence the name. I wondered if an older equestrian naming convention could be in play like with the Suburban, and perhaps the drink refers to the Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York. I took that guess one step further and discovered a post about horse racing drinks from the Museum of the American Cocktail blog that confirms that (except their version lacks apricot-flavored brandy). Yes, a horse racing drink that lacks Bourbon.
The Aqueduct started with a lime and gin aroma. Flavorwise, the sip was full of citrus notes from the lime and orange liqueur, while the swallow was apricot liqueur balanced by the lime's crispness and punctuated by the gin's botanicals. As the drink warmed up, the apricot appeared on the nose and became more aggressive on the swallow. Despite the recipe similarities, the drink was very different from a Periodista due to the way lime and gin interacted; moreover, the apricot seemed to be pushed back a bit and the balance was a bit drier than I recall the Periodista being. I am not sure, however, whether these modulations would occur the same in the original vodka version of the Aqueduct.