We’ve got gin and water, and some things to flavor that. Lommebogen goes big with lemon and orange juice, while the one from Café Royal and Savoy goes simple with some bitters. The Lommebogen one looks more appealing overall, but there isn’t any sweetener in here to balance the citrus. That doesn’t look so good at all, especially from the book that has been over-sweetening a fair number of drinks. The other recipe just looks like a poor man’s gin and tonic.
The Recipes
Lommebogen
- 2 oz. gin
- 1 oz. lemon juice
- 1 oz. orange juice
- fill with water
Café Royal/Savoy
- 2 oz. gin
- 3 dashes orange bitters
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
- top with water and a lemon peel
The Tasting
The Lommebogen recipe is not as bad as I thought it’d be, but it’s still not a good drink. It is lemony tart, but the orange and water cut that to a reasonable level. It’s just sort of a bland, tart drink though. Meh. The Café Royal/Savoy, on the other hand, is essentially a shot of watered down gin. The bitters give a it a nice spiciness, so it actually tastes interesting (in addition to using a nice, tasty gin) but not something I’d reach for. If I want a shot of gin cocktail, I’m more in the Martini direction.
This post is part of a series working through some of the cocktails in a Danish bartender’s notebook from the 1930s, Lommebogen.
RockTreeSky 