The Bramble

The bramble, invented in 1984 by Dick Bradsell, the patriarch of England’s cocktail uptick, at Fred’s Club in London’s SoHo, is essentially a short gin sour with a drizzle of crème de mûre, a French blackberry liqueur, over the top. Served on crushed ice, it gets a quick garnish of a lemon slice and, to be true to Bradsell’s original, two blackberries. In the winter there’s nothing to this, and the drink is great as is. But something as elemental as the bramble invites toying, and with summer’s berries arriving, you can up the ante in one of many.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces gin
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup (see note)
• ½ ounce crème de mûre.

Preparation

1. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake together the first three ingredients and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice (see below), mounded high. Drizzle crème de mûre over the top and garnish with a slice of lemon, two blackberries and a short straw.
2. And, to make simple syrup, stir together equal measures of hot water and sugar, cool to room temperature and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

• Crushed ice is important in this drink for the dilution. At home, you can either smash your cubes in a clean dish towel or make cracked ice by whacking each cube with the back of a heavy spoon.