gin blossom

1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin (Tanqueray Malacca)
1 1/2 oz Martini Bianco Vermouth (Dolin Blanc)
3/4 oz Apricot Eau de Vie (Armenian Shalakh)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass (cocktail coupe), and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Fridays ago, I ventured back in to the Brooklyn Bartender book where I spotted Julie Reiner's Gin Blossom that she crafted at the Clover Club. I was a little thrown by the name for the class of Blossoms as defined by Andrew Willett in Elemental Mixology are "drinks in which the strong element is modified by a succulent juice, and are distinguished from fruit punches by the lack of sour juice"; the most famous example is the gin & juice Orange Blossom that is more frequently drank these days in craft cocktail bars with some grenadine and absinthe as the Monkey Gland. Perhaps the juice was symbolic in the fruit eau de vie? However, the term "Gin Blossom" got famous from comedian and drinker W.C. Fields who referred to his nose bumps from rhinophyma and rosacea as such (although the condition is not directly linked to alcoholism). Then again, perhaps Julie is a fan of early 90s rock bands...
In my Instagram post for the drink, I commented that while the Brooklyn Bartender book had it as 1.5/1.5/.75, other sources such as Punch Drinks had it as 1.5/.75/.75; Julie responded that the way I made it was indeed the correct way. Once prepared, the Gin Blossom enveloped the nose with an orange and apricot aroma. Next, a sweet white grape with a hint of orchard fruit on the sip sashayed into juniper, apricot, and citrus on the swallow. Overall, this combination was rather elegant similar to other dry gin and eau de vie drinks such as the I, Said the Sparrow and Nineteen.