Our outstanding September 2020 Gin of the Month, Stranger & Sons Gin, is a gin like no other. It manages to be bright and playful whilst also being delectably dark and rich. It’s what makes it such an exciting gin! And while those lighter notes make the gin fantastic for using in a cocktail like a Gimlet, which is perfect for a sunny day, those dark tones also make it perfectly suited to a Gibson like the one below, which is best sipped in the evening beneath the stars.

Invented by Third Eye Distillery, the team behind Stranger & Sons Gin, there is more to this incredible fig and sherry-flavoured take on the classic brine-infused Gibson Martini recipe than meets the eye. It was inspired by the character Fernando Fernandes, Goa’s most flamboyant gentleman…

The queer garden of Goa’s most flamboyant gentleman regularly welcomed the upper crust of the mid-century high-society. Queens, poets and artists all flocked under the shade of his many fruit trees. They sipped their Gibsons and enjoyed the fabulous views and the easy life so typical of the Goan way of living. His parties were infamous, mostly because of his iconic fruit pickles. They say he always insisted on using homegrown pickled fruits to garnish his Gibsons. Nothing he ever did was conventional, so of course, neither were his drinks.

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Fig Gibson

While the fig brine needed for this recipe may take a little time to make, it is definitely worth the effort. Those irreplaceable fig flavours are the key to this lip-smacking cocktail recipe. The savoury delight that the brine offers is simply wonderful when mixed with the rare Indian citrus and spice flavours of Stranger & Sons Gin and that touch of dry sherry.

Ingredients

50ml Stranger & Sons Gin
5ml fig and sherry brine
10ml dry sherry
Pickled fig, to garnish

Method

Making fig and sherry brine is fairly time-consuming so you’ll want to make a big batch: Combine 500ml of sherry vinegar, 125ml of water, 500g of dried figs, 5g of black peppercorns, 1 dried chilli, 2g of salt, 150g of caster sugar, 1g of cloves and 5g of cinnamon in a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes. Once cooled seal and store at room temperature for up to one month.

Combine all your liquid ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice until chilled. Strain into a chilled martini or coupe glass and garnish.

A cocktail inspired by the community: The team at Third Eye Distillery work with a local self-help group, primarily made up of women looking to find a new vocation and learn new skills. They are invited to come to the distillery to help maintain the botanical gardens and peel the citrus fruit that makes the gin so special. Many of the women then turn any left-over fruit into cordials and pickles so that nothing goes to waste. It is those cordials and pickles that have inspired delicious cocktails like the one above. Learn more, here!

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