Hong Kong – Recipe from David Embury’s ‘The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks’

Dry Martini with

1 spoon sugar syrup,

1 spoon Lime juice, and

1 dash Angostura bitters to each drink. Stir.

I’m guessing in the 50’s when this book was written that Hong Kong wasn’t quite the giant economic powerhouse it is today, although it was still seen as something quite exotic, and considering how straight laced Embury was about his classics I guess the Lime is a nod to this exoticism.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this at all and was pleasantly surprised, the citrus pairs wonderfully with the vermouth and gin, obviously, and the sugar also helps smooth the drink out making something quite delicious. The Angostura works wonderfully as well, almost making the whole thing taste like a very strong Gin Collins. The only negative I’d say is the complexity in the Noilly Prat I used as a vermouth gets ever so slightly lost, although some key flavours still find a way to fight through.

There haven’t been many twists on his 6 basics which have blown me away, the Barry springs to mind, this is probably one of the other better variations, and is well worth a try.