THE GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION
comes in the slender decorative bottle we see back of most good soda
fountains-but is not quite so pungent. Soda fountain lime syrup also
would do in a pinch. We have approximated it with fine results by
diluting it with equal amounts of water. ... Take a big saucer cham–
pagne glass, put in
1
jigger either of dry or old Tom gin, r tsp
gomme
syrup or sugar,
Yz
tsp-to taste-of lime syrup or lime cordial. Fill up
with chilled plain water, add r ice cube and
thin
slice of big green
lime. Don't use soda water, please.
GIN
&
BITTERS, the GIN
PAHIT
-PRONOUNCED
PlE-EET-of
JAVA, the
"PINK
GIN" of INDIA
&
POINTS EASTWARD where BRITANNIA
RULES
This of course has long since gone round the world, but it forms
such an important part of men's drinking life in the colonies that we
append it here. Either dry or old Tom gin is proper, and the latter
appeals most to us. Take a thin, stemmed cocktail glass. Shake in 4 or
S dashes of Angostura, tip the glass like the tower of Pisa and twirl
it between thumb and fingers. Whatever Angostura sticks to the glass
through capillary attraction is precisely the right amount, although a
lot of old India hands whose stomachs are lax find that a lot more
Angostura than that is in order to stimulate appetite. Gently pour off
the extra bitters that do not cling. Fill glass with gin. That's all. Super–
fluous bitters go back in the bottle, on the floor, or out the port hole
or window-depending upon who, where and what we are.
COMMANDER LIVESEY'S
GIN-BLIND
1
.W.e shall never forget the courteous open-hearted wardroorr: hos–
pitality of the British navy in Indian waters, and Commander Livesey
~together
with his charming Australian wife-least of all. Along
w1.th another .very mentionable discovery Livesey's head-bearer-a
High-Caste high-binder in the Mohammedan priesthood on feast
days, was a wizard with the shaker.... Livesey's words were: "We
don't prescribe this just before target practice, gentlemen."