In 1806, the cocktail was defined in a Hudson, New York publication as a “bittered sling” composed of any spirit, sugar, water and bitters. We celebrate this American tradition with our adaptation of a basic gin cocktail from the first cocktail book, Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide, written in 1862. To a cocktail shaker, add 2 ounces gin, ¼ ounce simple syrup, ¼ ounce curaçao and
2 dashes Angostura bitters. Twist a strip of lemon peel over the shaker to express the oils. Add ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass.
This article appears in Readers’ Choice 2015.
