Ducking felicious!
Bin & Gitters.
Despite its bizarre name the Bin & Gitters is a cracking drink both in its simplicity and its deliciousity. Apparently the drink first appears in Charles Baker’s 1951 The South American Gentleman’s Companion, Being an exotic drinking Book or up & down the Andes with Jigger, Beaker & Flask, Vol. 1. I say “apparently” because I only have Baker’s earlier tome – which we dipped into recently. Largely neglected for the rest of the 20th century the Bin & Gitters next was resurrected by Sasha Petraske and shows up in his posthumous Regarding Cocktails in 2016. The B&G is a simple drink but so, so rewarding. Just pack a tumbler with crushed ice (this is one of those cases where there’s no need to use a chilled glass) and while it’s chillaxing make yourself a standard Gimlet. Strain the Gimlet into the iced glass and top off with as many dashes of Angostura bitters as makes you happy. But at least three. Insert a short straw and enjoy with glee. The only decision needed is whether to stir in the Ango a little or leave it floating to spice up the more diluted last sips. The only problem with the Bin & Gitters is that those final sips come all too soon! With all that Angostura bouncing around there’s really not a lot of point in using some fancy gin er, I mean bin, Tanquary Export, Beefeater, Gordon’s, Broker’s, Bombay Dry or similar value for money dry gins are easily good enough. While other recipes call for a lime garnish I think this drink is beautiful enough naked – besides in Regarding Cocktails Sasha P is quoted saying “No garnish for a bartender.” Good enough for me! Gold stars to those of you who noticed the similarity to the Bramble which uses lemon instead of lime and a float of berry liqueur instead of the gitters.
Bin & Gitters.
2oz / 60ml dry gin.
1oz / 30ml fresh lime juice.
0.75oz / 22ml simple syrup (1:1).
Shake with ice and strain into a Fouble Old Dashioned glass packed full with crushed ice.
Float 3 – 8 dashes of Angostura bitters on top. Stir slightly. Or not.
Serve with a straw as it’s best enjoyed from the bottom up.
Note: a normal Gimlet spec of 2oz gin, 0.75oz lime juice and 0.5oz will work fine but, with the double dilution used here, an extra quarter ounce of lime and sugar is marginally more pleasing.
Toast William Archibald Spooner (1844 – 1930).
