Pegu Club Cocktail – a tart treat from the 1920’s

The classic Pegu Club Cocktail is another classic from the Savoy Cocktail Book,  even though it wasn’t invented at the Savoy Hotel.  It was actually invented at the Pegu Club in Burma (Myanmar), from whence it “traveled, and is asked for, around the world.”  It’s a great warm (hot?) weather cocktail that is best served ice cold.  The Savoy specifies a 2:1 Gin:Cointreau® ratio, but is rather vague on how these relate to the lime juice.  A little experimentation resulted in the proportions used in the recipe below, but if you like your sour cocktails a little tarter you can go with the juice of half a lime (1/2 oz).  The only sweet in this drink comes from the Cointreau, so that’s what you have to balance against the lime juice.  If you add sugar or cut the lime juice to under a teaspoon-full, though, it won’t be an “authentic” Pegu Club cocktail.

Pegu Club

¼ oz Lime juice, freshly squeezed

1 oz Cointreau (or Triple Sec)

2 oz Gin

1 Dash Angostura Bitters

1 dash Orange Bitters

Pour ingredients into a shaker 2/3 full of ice.  Shake well while thinking of a ceiling fan slowly turning in the old Pegu Club.  Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wheel or a lime twist.