Every bartender has a drink they make with their eyes closed. Not because it's easy, but because they've made it a thousand times, for friends, for strangers, for themselves at two in the morning. These are ours. Six serves we pour at the distillery, with every measure in millilitres, because "a splash" means something different to everyone.
THE G&T, BUT MAKE IT FLORAL
We distil Most Floral Gin, a London Dry, from 18 local botanicals, inspired by Amsterdam's flowering verges and parks in spring. So don't drown it in a tonic that tastes of lemonade. Go neutral and let the flowers talk.
- 50 ml Most Floral Gin
- 150 ml neutral tonic
- plenty of ice
- 1 slice of dried Conference pear (or a few blueberries)
Fill a glass with ice, pour in the gin, top up with cold tonic and add the pear. Drying pear yourself: six hours at 55°C in a fan oven. No patience? Blueberries. Nobody will tell.
EQUAL PARTS, UNEQUAL RESULTS
The Negroni is the easiest cocktail in the world to remember: one, one, one. Gin, Campari, sweet vermouth. Most Floral brings the flowers to the bitterness of the Campari.
- 50 ml Most Floral Gin
- 50 ml Campari
- 50 ml sweet vermouth
- ice
- orange peel
Everything in a glass with ice, a short stir, a strip of orange peel. Done. Go sit down.
MOKUM MULE
Mokum is what Amsterdammers call their city, and this is our Moscow Mule. We make it with First, our vodka from local spelt grain: malty, smooth, a hint of almond. A vodka for people who don't drink vodka.
- 40 ml First Spelt Vodka
- 140 ml ginger ale
- 1 dash of black walnut bitters
- 1 sprig of fresh mint
- ice
A copper mug full of ice, vodka in, ginger ale on top, a dash of bitters, a sprig of mint. Drink it on a balcony if you have one.
THE LITTLE HEADBUTT
A kopstootje, Dutch for "little headbutt", is a tulip glass of genever with a beer on the side. Our Ouwe is malty and hoppy, made with Citra and Amarillo hops and aged in ex-bourbon casks, so a hoppy pale ale is its natural drinking buddy.
- 35 ml Ouwe Genever
- 330 ml cold, hoppy pale ale
Fill the tulip glass to the brim. The first sip you take without lifting the glass: bend over, hands behind your back. Then a sip of beer. We nip, we don't shoot.
Feeling fancy? The Martinez, grandfather of the martini, was made for genever.
- 45 ml Ouwe Genever
- 45 ml sweet vermouth
- 5 ml maraschino liqueur
- 2 dashes of orange bitters
- ice and orange zest
Stir on ice until properly cold, strain into a chilled coupe, finish with orange zest.
NOT DRINKING? STILL DRINKING.
Skipping alcohol tonight, but you want the same glass as everyone else? Virgin 0.0%, the alcohol-free sister of Most Floral, is distilled on water and steam, without any alcohol. Truly 0.0%.
- 50 ml The Stillery's Virgin 0.0%
- 150 ml of your favourite tonic
- plenty of ice
- 2 raspberries
Ice, Virgin, tonic, two raspberries. One bottle makes ten of them, so you're set for a while.
That's it. Six drinks, no excuses. Pick your bottle and get pouring. Enjoy responsibly, and not if you're under 18.