246. Nicholas Cocktail

This luxuriant dessert Duo, first appearing in JM1912, might be construed as a sweet-tooth variant on the old Gin-Sweet Vermouth workhorse cocktail base which finds so many iterations in the old books. The orange-infused gin is not much sweeter than a Tom Gin (I use Hayman’s as the base here), though the original Booth’s Orange Gin may have been much sweeter (it was 60 proof, thus more of a liqueur based on gin), and (here) Plymouth Sloe Gin—Jack used Field’s Sloe Gin—which is only slightly thicker and more syrupy than the deepest, darkest sweet vermouth. The balance when the two combine is pleasantly surprising. Foolishly attempting to use a cheap sloe gin here will get you an incongruous cotton-candy note and medicinal aftertaste. Incidentally, Straub, who picks this up in 1913, specifies Old Tom gin (Booth’s brand) instead of orange gin. Here is my take of Grohusko’s recipe with my own home-infused orange gin.