Pink gin is a cocktail made with gin and Angostura bitters, which were originally created by Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert to relieve stomach pain. The British Royal Navy added bitters to gin to make it more appetizing, leading to the creation of the pink gin cocktail. Variations include a pink gin and tonic and a champagne cocktail with Angostura bitters.
A pink gin is a cocktail made with gin and a dash of Angostura bitters. The pink gin cocktail was, perhaps, the most popular in the UK during the 19th century and is also known as gin and bitters.
A pink gin is not simply a pink gin without the Angostura bitters. Angostura bitters are a flavoring used today for both foods and beverages. They are made with spice and gentian extracts from flowering plants, some species of which are known for their medicinal properties. Angostura bitters are highly concentrated and have a dark red color. Therefore, when a dash of Angostura bitters is added to clear the gin, the gin turns pink.
Oddly enough, the evolution of the pink gin cocktail can be traced back to 19th century South America. In 1824, Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert was serving as a surgeon in Simón Bolivar’s army in the fight against Spanish colonialism. Dr. Siegert, also an avid scientist, tried to discover a cure for stomach pain, which was affecting large numbers of Bolivar’s troops.
Dr. Siegert developed a tonic that included gentian extract and called it Amargo Aromatico, or aromatic bitters. It remains to be debated whether Dr. Siegert really discovered the anti-nausea properties of gentian extract. What is clear is that Dr. Siegert’s tonic helped relieve nausea and stomach pain. The name Amari di Angostura comes from Angostura, Venezuela, the city where Dr. Siegert was based during his service.
In 1830, Dr. Siegert had his Angosutra bitters exported to Trinidad and England, where it began to be used by sailors in the British Royal Navy to relieve seasickness. To make the tonic more appetizing, the sailors added bitters to the gin. Hence, the pink gin cocktail is said to have been invented by the British Royal Navy.
A basic pink gin cocktail is served directly in a cocktail glass. The glass should be chilled and three or four dashes of Angostura bitters swirled into the glass to coat the inside, then pour. Dry gin should be chilled and strained into the glass. A typical decoration for a pink gin is the lemon twist, a curled strip of lemon zest. It’s likely that the original pink gin recipe was a little more off the cuff, and variations exist. For example, sometimes pink gin is topped with ice water.
Another variant of pink gin is a pink gin and tonic, made up of four dashes of Angostura bitters and two shots of gin, topped off with tonic and served in a highball glass. Angostura bitters are also added to a manhattan, a whiskey cocktail with Italian vermouth and a maraschino cherry. A classic British champagne cocktail consists of champagne, a squeeze of lemon, an ice cube and a sugar cube soaked in Angostura bitters.
Interestingly, gentian root extract is also used to create the French liqueur, Suze. Bitters are used as a flavoring for the soft drink, Moxie. Gin is a grain spirit flavored with juniper berries. Gin may also include citrus extracts, aniseed, angelica root, orris root, licorice, cinnamon, coriander and cassia bark.
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