The classic Bramble is one of the great London cocktails of the 1980s — gin, lemon, sugar, crème de mûre drizzled darkly through crushed ice. Dick Bradsell made the original at Fred's Club in Soho in 1984, and it has barely needed altering since. But every summer when British strawberries arrive properly — short season, very sweet, late June through July — we find ourselves wanting to do something with them beyond the obvious. This is the answer.
Strawberry purée goes in alongside the gin to make the drink unmistakably summery. A short, quick black pepper syrup gives it a quiet savoury edge that keeps it from tipping sweet. The crème de mûre still bleeds down through the crushed ice the way Bradsell intended. It is, without much modesty, a very good drink. Make it for someone on a Friday evening in the garden and they will remember it.
What you'll need
- 50ml dry London gin (Tanqueray, Beefeater, or Sipsmith all work beautifully)
- 25ml fresh lemon juice (one decent lemon's worth)
- 15ml black pepper syrup (recipe below — makes plenty for the week)
- 25g ripe British strawberries, hulled — roughly 2 medium berries
- 15ml crème de mûre (Briottet is the classic; Chambord works at a push)
- Crushed ice — properly crushed, not cubed
- To garnish: half a fresh strawberry, a lemon twist, two black peppercorns, a small mint leaf
For the black pepper syrup
Combine 100g caster sugar, 100ml water and 1 generous teaspoon of freshly cracked black peppercorns in a small saucepan. Bring just to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then take off the heat and leave to steep for fifteen minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean bottle. Keeps in the fridge for two weeks and is also extraordinary on a slice of cantaloupe or stirred into a vinaigrette.
What you'll need from your bar
A heavy short Old Fashioned glass — something with weight and crystal cut to catch the light. A small cocktail shaker. A fine strainer. A muddler or the back of a bar spoon. A jigger, because the balance matters here. Crushed ice is non-negotiable — if you do not have a Lewis bag, wrap cubes in a clean tea towel and give them a few firm whacks with a rolling pin.
How to make it
- Drop the hulled strawberries into the bottom of your shaker. Muddle them gently — you want them broken down but not pulped to nothing.
- Add the gin, lemon juice and black pepper syrup. Fill with cubed ice.
- Shake hard for ten seconds — properly hard, you want the strawberry properly broken and incorporated.
- Fill your glass to the brim with freshly crushed ice. Heap it slightly above the rim.
- Fine-strain the shaker contents over the crushed ice.
- Slowly drizzle the crème de mûre over the top so it sinks dramatically down through the ice in a dark ruby trail.
- Lay the strawberry half on top, drop in the lemon twist, tuck in the mint leaf, and crack the two peppercorns gently between your fingers before scattering them on top.
- Serve immediately, with a short straw if you have one.
When to make it
Late afternoon into early evening, ideally outside. It is too pretty to make for yourself alone, although we will not stop you. Two of these is about right; three and you will start telling people about the syrup recipe whether they asked or not.
The Maison Delicious version
Serve it in a heavy cut-crystal Old Fashioned, on a folded warm linen napkin, on a tray with a small ceramic dish of fresh peppercorns and a few extra strawberries for nibbling. The drink does the heavy lifting on colour. Everything around it should be quiet — cream linen, brass, oak, candlelight if the evening is getting on. Shop our serving collection for trays, dishes and linens that suit the moment.