Scandi Gibson — A Gibson rebuilt on aquavit, with celery and chilli measured in drops

Scandi Gibson

A Gibson rebuilt on aquavit, with celery and chilli measured in drops

Number of people

Ingredients

  • 2 ozAquavit
    Caraway-led rather than dill-led, if you have the choice
  • 20 dropsOrchard Street Celery Shrub
    Drops, counted; a shrub, so it brings vinegar too
    Substitute: Any celery bitters, though you lose the acidity
  • 1 ozCocchi Americano
    The quinine and the sweetness in one
    Substitute: Any bianco vermouth
  • 10 dropsHabanero Shrub Bitters
    Ten drops; half what the celery gets

Instructions

  1. Add 2 oz aquavit, 1 oz Cocchi Americano, 20 drops celery shrub and 10 drops habanero shrub to a mixing glass

    Count the drops; dashed, the chilli arrives first

  2. Fill with ice and stir until cold
  3. Strain into a chilled coupe
  4. Garnish with a cocktail onion

Technique Notes

Count the drops rather than dashing them. Twenty drops of celery shrub and ten of habanero are roughly a third of what a dasher top pours in the same gesture, and this drink is built at that resolution: dashed instead, the chilli arrives before anything else does.

Why the Scandi Gibson Works

A Gibson is a martini that traded a citrus twist for an onion, so it is already a savoury drink. Celery shrub takes that further in the same direction and adds acidity a tincture could not, and aquavit's caraway meets both halfway.