Hello, you gin fiend, you. Welcome back to my spring cocktail series. I’ve covered my favorite gin classics—the martini and the gimlet—in previous posts, and now I’m turning to something a bit ridiculous of my own creation. I like to imagine this is what the fabulous Phryne Fisher was drinking in Away with the Fairies, when the bartender at her Adventuresses Club created a cocktail in her name.

“Nell brought her a sour, refreshing cocktail of her own devising, known as a ‘Phryne’ in her honour.”
Kerry Greenwood, Away with the Fairies

When I can’t decide between sweet and floral, or bitter and citrusy, I go with this sour-type concoction I dreamed up the other night. It is hard to appreciate all of these elements at once, but I find myself contemplating a different aspect of the flavor profile with each sip, until suddenly my drink is gone. Very Phryne Fisher, indeed.

The Phryne

2 oz Hendrick’s gin
1 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1 oz lemon juice
3-4 dashes The Bitter Truth celery bitters

Shake all ingredients over ice. Serve in a cocktail glass with an elegant flourish. Garnish with a lemon twist. Sip while poring over the day’s investigations.