Following Up on the Lesson: The Army & Navy

Last night I followed up on one of Jennifer Colliau's "lost cocktail" recipes.  She dug into the old David Embury book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948), pulled it from page 235 and tweaked Embury's own 8:2:1 ratio in place of the 2:1:1 listed.  I followed Jen's specifications:

The Army Navy Cocktail

- 2 oz. gin

- 1/2 oz. Small Hand Foods Orgeat

- 1/2 oz. lemon juice

Shake with ice and double-strain into a cocktail glass

This is basically a Gin Sour with Orgeat used as the simple syrup. I thought the Orgeat added a nice creamy texture, but I think I'm going to lighten up on the lemon juice next time around and add a bit more Orgeat to give the almond notes more life.

In any case, this is a simple, easy, deliciously dry aperitif cocktail to wet your whistle before a meal.

-David Driscoll