Sour · Anytime · Spring

Casino

Old Tom gin carries maraschino, lemon and orange bitters. Softer and sweeter than a modern gin sour, in a good way.

Base: Gin
Glass: Coupe glass
Method: Shake
Strength: 21.65% ABV

Ingredients

40 mlOld Tom Gin1 swap
London dry ginmedium
Drier and sharper; Old Tom is the sweeter style
Add 5 ml simple syrup to match the sweetness
10 mlMaraschino Luxardo1 swap
A dry cherry liqueurlow
Less nutty
10 mlFresh Lemon Juice1 swap
Fresh lime juicemedium
A touch sharper
2 dashOrange Bitters

How to make

Technique

Shake · 10–15s

Shaking chills the drink fast while adding dilution and a light texture.

Pour all ingredients into cocktails shaker, shake well with ice, strain
into chilled rocks glass with ice.

Serve

Glass

Coupe glassAlso fine: Martini glass, Nick & Nora glass

Garnish

Garnish with a lemon zest and a maraschino cherry.Oil from the peel first, cherry after, so the spray lands on the drink.

Taste & nutrition

21.65%ABV

147kcal

1.28Drinks

StrengthMedium

Sweet to dryDry

Estimated from ingredient amounts and assumed ABVs — not a lab measurement.

Good to know

Use freshly squeezed juice — bottled tastes flat.

History

Year1920s–30s

PlaceUSA

Created byPublished by Hugo Ensslin / Savoy

An Old Tom gin drink with maraschino, orange bitters and lemon, the Casino was long credited to Hugo Ensslin's 1916 book. It later emerged that the near-identical recipe first appeared in Jacob Didier's 1909 bartender's guide. Bright and aromatic, it is a close relative of the Aviation and Last Word family. It rewards a good maraschino and a genuine Old Tom gin.

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