Bramble — 1984 London gin drink proved you could layer spirits in

The Bramble doesn’t look like any cocktail invented before 1984. While bartenders were rediscovering century-old recipes, Dick Bradsell created something that looked completely modern — gin and lemon with blackberry liqueur drizzled over crushed ice. The purple-to-amber gradient became the signature of 80s London cocktail culture.

Ingredients

• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz crème de mure
• Garnish: a lemon wheel
• Garnish: fresh blackberries

Method

Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice — if you don’t have crushed ice, wrap regular ice in a towel and whack it with a rolling pin until it’s broken up. Add the gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup directly to the glass. Give it a gentle stir to combine — just a few turns with a bar spoon. Now comes the signature move. Pour the crème de mure slowly over the back of a spoon held just above the ice. You want it to sink through the drink, creating those purple streaks as it settles. Don’t stir it in. The whole point is watching the blackberry liqueur create ribbons of color as it finds its way to the bottom of the glass.

Serve

Serve this in a rocks glass with crushed ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel and drop in a couple of fresh blackberries if you have them.

Pro Tip

If you can’t find crème de mure, chambord works perfectly. Some bartenders use blackberry jam mixed with a little water — about a teaspoon of jam thinned out. The flavor is actually more intense than liqueur, and you get those same purple streaks when you drizzle it over the ice.