Bramblin’ man.
The Bramble.
One of a tiny number of classic drinks to come out of The Dark Ages, the Bramble was created in the mid 1980s by legendary British bartender Dick Bradsell. Sadly we lost Dick to cancer last year but his spirit will live on in the many drinks he created such as the Espresso Martini, The Treacle and this his most famous creation. The Bramble is quite a simple drink but a little attention to detail makes it seem quite special. The heart of the Bramble is a humble gin sour which is augmented with some crushed ice, a berry liqueur float and a garnish of brambles (otherwise known as blackberries). The correct float is crème de mûre, a French blackberry liqueur but you could certainly use other berry based liqueurs if you wished. For example I’m quite happy using bramen jenever, crème de cassis or even Chambord. Ideally you should match the garnish to the liqueur. The trick to the Bramble is to fill a glass past the brim with finely crushed ice. Shake your simple gin sour with cubed ice and strain into the glass and then carefully drizzle the berry liqueur over the top whence it will bleed down through the crushed ice rather beautifully. Pop your fresh berry or berries on top and add a couple of sipping straws to complete. Tasty, easy but visually impressive; what’s not to like?
The Bramble.
First fill tulip or DOF glass with as much crushed ice as you can cram in.
Then shake with cubed ice:
2oz / 60ml London dry gin
0.75oz / 22.5ml fresh lemon juice
0.5oz / 15ml syrup simple (1:1). A touch more if you prefer.
Strain into the prepared glass.
Drizzle 0.75oz / 22.5ml of crème de mûre (or other berry liqueur) over the top in a circular motion.
Serve with a short straw and garnish with appropriate berries.
Toast Dick Bradsell (1959 – 2016).
