Turf – Recipe from the ‘Old Waldorf Bar Guide’

At times a good half—possibly two-thirds—of the crowd in the Bar were interested in racing, and would appreciate a cocktail of such a name. 

Dash of Angostura Bitters 

One-third Italian Vermuth 

Two-thirds Holland Gin 

Stir; strain

If I’m being totally honest I’m not a massive fan of Genever (Hollands Gin), we tend to go through a couple of bottles per month, but this is almost 100% used for tasting to explain the history of gin to people at cocktail classes. I thin the biggest problem as due to its historical position whenever you taste it you expect something Juniper and citrus-esque, whereas instead this tastes more like an unaged scotch, and not being a huge scotch fan, I struggle to say anything nice about it, which colours my perception of it as a product.

Which meant this was a lovely surprise, this is without a doubt the best Genever drink I’ve ever tried, which, taking into account my earlier description isn’t saying much, but I would order or drink this again. The Angostura works well, the Genever marries nicely with the vermouth, leaving enough bite to balance nicely, but not so much as a Manhattan making it much easier to drink.

I think I’d almost use this as a vehicle to introduce people to this spirit in future, the only thing I might change is the Angostura, a milder bitters I think would work even better.

Great drink.