Bramble Recipe
A modern British classic built on gin and fresh lemon, then crowned with a slow drizzle of blackberry liqueur that sinks through the crushed ice in dark ribbons. Bright, tart and berry-sweet, it drinks like a summer cocktail but works all year.
Ingredients
- 2 ozLondon dry gin
- 1 ozfresh lemon juice
- 0.5 ozsimple syrup
- 0.5 ozblackberry liqueur
- 1 cupcrushed ice
Garnish
- Fresh blackberry
- Lemon wheel
Equipment: Shaker, jigger, fine-mesh strainer, rocks glass, bar spoon
Method
- Chill a rocks glass and fill it with crushed ice, mounding the ice slightly above the rim.
- Combine the gin, fresh lemon juice and simple syrup in a shaker with ice and shake hard for about 10 seconds until well chilled.
- Strain through a fine-mesh strainer over the crushed ice in the glass.
- Slowly drizzle the blackberry liqueur over the top so it bleeds down through the ice in ribbons.
- Garnish with a fresh blackberry and a lemon wheel, and serve with a short straw so the drinker can stir it.
About the Bramble
The Bramble was created in 1988 by Dick Bradsell at Fred’s Club in London’s Soho, part of the wave of British bartenders who rebuilt the cocktail scene from the ground up. Bradsell wanted a drink that tasted like the blackberry picking of his childhood on the Isle of Wight, so he built a simple gin sour and floated blackberry liqueur over crushed ice. It became one of the defining modern classics and remains a staple on serious cocktail lists.
To nail it, use a juniper-forward London dry gin so the berry does not steamroll the botanicals, and squeeze the lemon to order. Pack the glass with real crushed ice, not cubes, because the fine ice chills fast and holds the liqueur in visible ribbons. Pour the blackberry liqueur last and slowly, straight down the center, then let the guest stir it in themselves.
- Use fresh lemon juice, never bottled, since the drink has only three liquid components.
- Crushed ice is essential: it chills quickly and lets the liqueur streak down the glass.
- A juniper-forward London dry gin keeps the cocktail balanced against the sweet berry float.
- For a drier version, drop the simple syrup to a quarter ounce and taste before serving.
Get the bottles delivered
Order online for same-day or next-day Long Island delivery, free curbside pickup in Commack, or wine shipping where it is legal (spirits are local delivery and in-store pickup only). You must be 21 or older.
