After some persistent encouragement (and only a spot of bribery) the expert mixologists at The Roof Gardens in Kensington have gifted Spear’s their precious recipe for the Coquettier – a modern take on the Sazerac, the first version of the classic ‘cocktail’.
The drink, similar to the Old Fashioned, is made to its classic recipe with a Babylonian twist: infusing the Cognac with dried figs. It’s a sensory indulgence.
Watch how to make the Perfect Whisky Cocktail here.
BABYLON’S COQUETTIER RECIPE
Serves two:
Ingredients
35ml Bourbon – Four Roses Single Barrel
25ml Fig infused Cognac – Hennessy
5ml Sugar Syrup
4 dashes of Creole bitters
2 dashes of Whisky Barrel bitters
Stir down with ice
Method
Chill two small cocktail glasses with crushed ice and add a few drops of absinthe to each.
After stirring for about 45 seconds to 1 minute, strain into a small decanter/medicine bottle.
Empty glasses of ice and absinthe, and present the glasses and bottle on a small slate. Decorate slate with spices, dark chocolate, dried figs for eating and lemon peels to add to the drink.
This drink is classically an aperitif and would originally be a little drier. Nowadays these sorts of drinks are popular after dinner.
Babylon’s version is made sweeter and richer with the fig infusion and works perfectly with a dark chocolate dessert or as a digestive on its own/with an espresso.