Happy New Year everyone!  For this first Friday of 2018, let’s indulge in a gin cocktail. No, not your typical martini per se, but a sibling to that vaunted and oh-so difficult to peg down bar staple. This simple twist on that martini features bold botanicals that sooth while warming the soul. Made with London dry gin and Italian vermouth, this ‘Gin & It’ has as clouded a back story as any cocktail. My research came up with many various ways it came into being, but the one that resonates with me is the story about this drink originally being called a ‘Gin & Cin’ – gin mixed with Cinzano sweet vermouth. If made with any other Italian vermouth, I can easily see it being called a ‘Gin & It’ – allowing the bartender to substitute the Italian sweet vermouth as desired. This cocktail is also representative of the classic sweet martini; the only real difference is the sweet martini has no bitters added.  As a point of interest, this cocktail’s recipe also varies wildly from a potent 4:1 gin to vermouth ratio to a more sedate 1:1 ratio, again staying true to its family’s legendary difficulty. Tonight, I am easing into this first weekend of 2018 with the subtle 1:1 ratio… but by all means, indulge yourself with other ratios and let me know what you think!

Chill a cocktail or coupe glass. Add the gin, vermouth and bitters into a mixing glass. Fill the mixing glass halfway with cubes of ice and stir to chill thoroughly, approximately 20 seconds.

Strain into the chilled cocktail or coupe glass. Garnish with an orange wheel or twist an orange peel over top and drop in.

Enjoy!