Last week was a rare appearance of gin on the Friday cocktail post, so I decided to add another this week after I received so much fanfare for the Gin & It. Now, this cocktail is quite the conundrum because it has been published in a variety of possible concoctions. If you do not believe me, read this absolutely wonderful brief cocktail history for yourself, compliments of Jamie Boudreau’s post on Spirits and Cocktails! My thanks to Jamie for his thorough research and witty writing! This Trilby variant is the kissing cousin to last week’s Gin & It. Instead of using Italian vermouth to add the sweetness to the dry gin, this tipple relies on dry vermouth in a 1 to 1 ratio to soften the dry gin. Well, as you regular readers already know, I just have to tweak things a bit here and there. So I thought… I want the gin softened but I want a result that is also more floral than herbaceous. Enter my good buddy Old Tom… gin that is. I also swapped out the lemon twist for an orange twist to supplement the orange bitters. And the results are as I expected. This Trilby is floral forward with a nice herbaceous note and brightness from the citrus. A perfect before dinner drink to enjoy with appetizers and to clear the palate for more robust flavors. So my hat is off to you Trilby… whichever Trilby you may be!

Chill a cocktail glass. Add the ingredients (except garnish) into a mixing glass. Add ice and stir to chill thoroughly. Strain into the chilled glass and garnish with the orange twist.

Enjoy!