Allies

The ALLIES cocktail relates to World War I with the English, French, and Russians representing the Triple Entente. The recipe uses English gin, French vermouth, and Russian kümmel. The naming of this cocktail works wonderfully but does it taste good?

ALLIES
1 oz. gin
1 oz. dry vermouth (Dolin)
1-2 dashes kümmel (Combier)

Combine with ice; shake well. Strain and add ice. 

We didn’t have any English gin on hand so we used American Aviation gin. We also didn’t have any Russian kümmel so we used French Combier kümmel. We did have French Dolin vermouth though. So our allies were limited but still allies nonetheless.

In a sense this is a shaken high vermouth martini. Eric and I both have high hopes for this cocktail. We both like kümmel in our own way and we both would like to find a good cocktail to use it in—but this is not that cocktail. With kümmel a little goes a long way, and the drink is heavy on vermouth and kümmel. Eric thinks the ALLIES cocktail is a soupy martini and I don’t disagree—definitely it has ended his love affair with kümmel. I don’t think that using an English gin and a Russian kümmel would change this drink for the better.