Army & Navy

A classic gin sour with one quiet twist: orgeat stands in for simple syrup, lacing bright lemon and juniper with a soft, nutty almond sweetness and a faintly floral lift. Shaken and served up, it lands clean and balanced, neither cloying nor austere. The drink runs back through the mid-century canon — it appears in David Embury's 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks — though no single bartender is credited with its creation. A dash of aromatic bitters and an expressed lemon twist round it out.

ClassicNutty

Ingredients

  • 2 ozGin
  • 0.75 ozLemon Juice
  • 0.75 ozOrgeat
  • 1 dashAngostura Bittersoptional

Garnish: Lemon Peel

Preparation

Shaken · Coupe · None

  1. 1.

    add

    Combine the gin, lemon juice, orgeat, and the dash of aromatic bitters in a shaker with ice.

  2. 2.

    shake

    Shake hard until well chilled.

  3. 3.

    strain

    Double-strain into a chilled coupe, served up.

  4. 4.

    garnish

    Express a lemon twist over the surface and drop it in (a dusting of grated nutmeg is an alternative).

Flavor Profile

citrus
44%
herbal
33%
floral
28%
dilution
27%
sour
20%
spiced
17%