Bramble
A berry and sour gin cocktail ∙ Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 17.1% ABV ∙
The Bramble is a modern British sour of gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup, shaken, strained over crushed ice and topped with a drizzle of blackberry liqueur.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Pour the ingredients into the cocktail shaker except the Crème de Mûre liqueur: London dry gin 50 mlLemon juice 25 mlSugar syrup 12 ml
- Shake well
- Strain into the chilled old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice
- Pour the blackberry liqueur (Crème de Mûre liqueur) over the top of the drink, in a circular motion
- Garnish with a lemon slice
Tips
- Don't stir the crème de mûre in; drizzle it slowly in a circle over the crushed ice and let it sink, marbling the drink as it goes.
History
The Bramble was created by British bartender Dick Bradsell in mid-1980s London, with most accounts dating it to 1984, while Bradsell himself recalled only the mid-eighties. He devised the drink while working at Fred's Club, a private members' bar in London's Soho district, setting out to build a distinctly British cocktail on the template of a spirit soured with citrus, sweetened, and flavored with a liqueur.
Bradsell took the Singapore Sling as his starting point and reworked it into a truly British drink: a hybrid of a Gin Sour and a Cobbler, lengthened with crushed ice in the manner of the 19th-century Fix. He finished it with a drizzle of crème de mûre, a blackberry liqueur that gave the cocktail both its color and its name — a bramble being the bush on which blackberries grow. He said tasting the crème de mûre triggered a rush of childhood memories of picking blackberries among the thorny brambles on the Isle of Wight, where he grew up. The drink was originally served over crushed ice in an old-fashioned glass and garnished with raspberries, since Fred's Club lacked blackberries at the time.
The Bramble went on to become one of the IBA's officially listed cocktails, alongside Bradsell's other modern classics, the Espresso Martini and the Russian Spring Punch.
FAQ
What is in a Bramble cocktail?
50 ml London dry gin, 25 ml fresh lemon juice, 12 ml sugar syrup and 15 ml Crème de Mûre, a blackberry liqueur. The Crème de Mûre is drizzled over the top last, not shaken in.
How do you make a simple Bramble?
Shake the gin, fresh lemon juice, and sugar syrup with ice, then strain into an old-fashioned glass packed with crushed ice. Drizzle the Crème de Mûre liqueur over the top so it bleeds down through the ice, and finish with a lemon slice.
Is simple syrup necessary for a Bramble?
Yes. The sugar syrup is what tames the 25 ml of lemon juice; the blackberry liqueur on top cannot do it alone. Leave it out and the drink turns noticeably sharp.
What glass is a Bramble served in?
An old-fashioned glass, packed with crushed ice and garnished with a lemon slice.
