gin fix

1/2 tsp Sugar
3-4 dash Lemon Juice (3 barspoon, 3/8 oz)
1/2 pony Raspberry Syrup (1/2 oz)
1 wineglass Holland Gin (2 oz Bols Genever)

Add ingredients to a glass, fill with fine shaved ice (rocks glass, crushed ice), and mix well with a spoon. Dress the top with fruits (orange slices and mint) then serve with a straw.

Last week, I was reading through George Winter's How to Mix Drinks, A Bar Keeper's Handbook from 1884 and spotted the Gin Fix. I was introduced to the Fix as a drink instead of as an ancient recipe by Ted Kilpatrick at No. 9 Park when he made me Harry Johnson's Brandy Fix. When I later read an article describing the Fix as a dead drink form, it bothered me since it is such a lovely drink style that elevates the simple Sour or Daisy via a grand presentation using crushed ice, fruits and berries of the season, and a straw. Since the Brandy one, I have made my own Fix recipes, the Barbados and Fernet Fixes, and I decided it was time to try another 19th century one to reacquaint myself with its beauty.
The Gin Fix greeted me with the aroma of the Genever's malt supplemented by the scent of the orange and mint garnish; while mint is not generally a classic Fix garnish, it did work rather well here and in Ted's Brandy Fix. Next, the sip was a fruity-citrus flavor that surprisingly was not distinctly raspberry; moreover, the Genever's malt added some fullness here. Finally, the Genever's bitter botanicals rounded out the swallow with a wormwood-like note.