<h3>The English Nigroni</h3>

When I first decided to make mixology more than a hobby, one idea I had was to go into restaurants and bars in my neighborhood, look at their available liquor (and menu if they served food) and create a cocktail right there on the spot to be written on the back of my business card. My businesses cards were thoughtfully printed in a way that would facilitate this.

Base is the main liquor, Front is for any liquor or ingredient that would be tasted first (generally anything sweet or sour), Back is for any liquor or ingredient that is tasted last (generally anything bitter or savory). The last section, Flavors, is for an overall description of the cocktail from smell through aftertaste. My thought was to then offer the business card with the recipe to the owner while introducing myself and the blog. Should the owner be interested, he could use the cocktail for free and I would give the establishment billing when I wrote about the cocktail on this blog. It seemed foolproof. I was offering a free, original cocktail with ingredients already on the premises. In the end all I was hoping for was to be able to name a bar or two serving my drinks and to perhaps get the owner to comment on the blog as to whether or not the drinks were selling. So far I have only tried two places and I am 0 for 2!!

Here is the drink I created for an English Pub with very limited ingredients:

The English Nigroni


Base: 2 1/2 oz Beefeater gin
Front: 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
Back: 1oz Pimms

1 Maraschino cherry

Combine all of the ingredients except the cherry in a cocktail shaker with ice and stir aggressively about 20 rotations then strain into a cocktail glass. Add the cherry as a garnish.

Flavors: The sweetness of the vermouth barely mingles with the herbal qualities of the gin before the medicinal taste of the Pimms brings the cocktail to a gradual finish.

I'm still waiting for the owner to give me a call...

By the way, this would be even better with a dash of lemon juice but the bar had only Rose's lime juice.

Know a place that might be interested in using my services? Have them check out the blog and email me at dougheck@yahoo.com. I won't be free forever...