Cooking Lesson #758: Income Tax Cocktail

…from the Perspectives’  Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? I’m not doing all that well today. I need a drink! I hate April 15th—Income Tax Day—when all becomes due. At least I don’t need to pay California Income taxes anymore.
 
Sometimes, in order to create a new cocktail, all you need to do is to add bitters to an old cocktail. Seems like that’s in order today… and April 15th is the bitterest day of the year. The Income Tax Cocktail is a Bronx with bitters. But that's okay… the bitters add such depth of flavor with the Hendricks that the cocktail earns a new moniker.
 
The origins of this drink are obscure; it dates to no later than the 1920s, but otherwise, no one seems to know where or when it came from, or how it was invented or named. Nevertheless, it's a tasty drink for a “bitter” day.
 
It's worth it for this drink to buy and squeeze an actual fresh orange. The flavor's so much better than the stuff from a carton or jug.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
1-1/2 ounces gin (I prefer Hendricks gin)
3/4 ounce dry vermouth
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
3/4 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice from 1 orange
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Thin orange wheel for garnish
 
Directions

1. Add the gin, dry vermouth, sweet vermouth, orange juice and bitters to an ice-filled cocktail shaker.
2. Shake it like you mean it until well chilled.
3. Strain into a cocktail glass.
4. Garnish with an orange wheel and serve.

ChefSecret:  Hendricks is my favorite gin. I love it’s unique and distinctive flavor. Hendrick's Gin is produced by William Grant & Sons at the Girvan distillery, Scotland and launched in 1999—a fairly new product. The brand was created by spirits marketer Steven Grasse, while the gin itself was conceived by Lesley Gracie, a Yorkshire native, who was hired by William Grant & Sons to work in new liquid development for some of their products. A decade later she was tasked with creating a new super-premium gin. 

Quip of the Day:  I tried to pay my taxes to the IRS with a smile. Turns out those greedy bastards prefer cash.

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