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Derby

Aperitivo/aperitif · Classic/vintage · Martini-style

3.8 9 ratings

Ingredients

5 fresh Mint leaves
2 oz Gin
2 dash Peach bitters
1/12 oz Sugar syrup 'rich' (2:1)
1/3 oz Chilled water

How to make

Serve in a martini glass

  1. 1 Lightly MUDDLE mint (just to bruise) in base of stirring glass
  2. 2 Add other ingredients, STIR with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.

Flavour profile

History

This Martini-style classic originally lacked sugar syrup. Sweetness mellows the gin and balances bitters. Alternatively, use Old Tom gin and omit sugar. A splash of chilled water opens and stretches the cocktail.

Adapted from Harry MacElhone's 1926 Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails, where Harry credits this cocktail to "E. G. de Gastreaux of Canal and Vine Streets, Cincinnati, 1903." Harry also suggests serving with an olive, but this garnish is omitted when the Derby Cocktail reappears in Harry Craddock's 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book.