Cocktail recipe
London Calling
Fino sherry gives this gin sour a crisp, savoury London accent.
Ingredients
- 45 ml (1½ oz) London dry gin
- 15 ml (½ oz) fino sherry
- 15 ml (½ oz) fresh lemon juice
- 10 ml (⅓ oz) simple syrup (1:1)
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- Garnish: grapefruit twist
Preparation
Combine the gin, bone-dry sherry, lemon, syrup and bitters over ice. Shake briskly—this should stay lean, not plush—then fine-strain into a thoroughly chilled coupe. Express a narrow grapefruit peel over the top and discard or perch it lightly at the rim.
Glassware
Chilled coupe
History
Chris Jepson created London Calling in 2002 while working at Milk & Honey in London, submitting it to a *Drinks International* competition. The drink later became a regular on the bar’s menu and a much-copied modern gin sour. It pairs gin with fino sherry, lemon, sugar and orange bitters, usually with grapefruit peel. There is also a different stirred cocktail called London Calling recorded at London’s Oxo Tower in 2003; the shared title does not make it the same drink. Jepson’s 2002 drink has strong contemporary trade-publication attribution.
Mixology View
Fino is not a decorative addition: its dry, saline edge is the reason this sour deserves its own name.