Ramos Gin Fizz

Make this drink to trick gin-haters into drinking it. A sort of gourmet gin fizz (gin, lemon juice, sugar and soda), if you feel queasy about drinking raw egg, which tastes fine, then you can leave it out. This wonderful beverage is smooth and creamy but with a bit of a zing (from the fruit not the gin). A true classic.

• 1.5 oz gin
• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 0.5 oz lime juice
• 1.25 oz simple syrup
• 2 oz milk
• 1 small egg white (optional)
• 2 drops orange flower water
• 3 oz soda water

Shake all ingredients except the soda with ice and strain into a highball. Topping it up with the soda produces a nice creamy foam on top.

Photo: Phil

The orange flower water again I had to get from the US. It can be replaced by orange bitters, which are still hard to find, or if you're desperate a twist of orange peel. This drink should appeal to all taste buds, and it's pretty healthy too.

Vodka, Tonic and Bitters

Well, for some reason people don't consider a Gin and Tonic a cocktail, yet a rum and coke is a cocktail only because it has a name - Cuba Libre. Either way, a vodka, tonic and bitters is a mixed drink, and since cocktails have come a long way from being a spirit, sugar and bitters, I don't see why it can't be included on this blog.
I got the idea for this drink from Fleming's Thunderball, where James Bond orders one in Nassau. I actually prefer it to a gin and tonic, and not simply because you 'can't taste' the vodka. It just seems to be more pleasant.

• 1 or 2 shots vodka
• squeeze of lime juice
• several dashes of Angostura or Fee Brothers' Old Fashioned Bitters to taste
• top up with tonic water

Garnish with some lime wheels.

Photo: Phil

One of the reasons I like this drink so much is that it is like a quality canvas to display the bitters. While Angostura is perfectly reasonable, I just love the Fee Brothers' bitters - from America I might add. However, I spied them on Nick's wines, an Australian online bottleshop recently. This drink also works with Peychaud's bitters, but they're even harder to find.

Apple Pie Martini

Well, admittedly, this is a "girly" one. My quote after drinking: "I'd drink it if nobody was watching". This is one of those longer martinis that cuts the bite of the vodka significantly. It's very sweet, but the flavours balance quite well (from memory).

• 1.75 oz vodka
• 0.75 oz Monin cinnamon syrup, or Goldschlager
• 1.5 oz apple juice
• 1.5 oz red cranberry juice

Shake with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an apple slice.

Photo: Phil

A very agreeable drink. As the title suggests, this combines apple and cinnamon flavours very pleasantly. The original recipe called for Goldschlager, a ridiculously expensive cinnamon schnapps with gold flakes. I had no such money, so I used a non-alcoholic syrup: Monin 'cannelle' flavoured. Guys: drink this when no one else is around.