The Country Bumpkin

Summer is upon us and the gin world is full of lovely fresh summer cocktails, although the majority of these are refined libations, drink with class and sophistication. My summers are not always suitable for such refined drinks, I often spend time outdoors with barbecue food and it's a tad difficult to mix up a Basil-Gin Smash or a White Lady in such surroundings. Rum on the other hand has a variety of rustic beverages, the Caipirinha arguably being the the simplest and easy to concoct with limited means.


My discovery of a Gin Caipirinha came a few months back when Mark Scott, the bartender at one of my regular haunts could not furnish me with Brazil's finest so we opted to substitute it for gin instead. The result was a rather Gimlet-esk beverage, ice cold with a beautiful zesty freshness, by opting for gin as opposed to Cachaca the beverage is somewhat cleaner, we originally used Plymouth Gin which shone through well giving the drink an additional botanical complexity.


The simplicity and rustic charm of the Caipirinha is it's beauty, originally it was made as a peasants drink, drunk in the slums of Brazil as a way of taming the raw, fire water that is Brazils sugar cane rum, Cachaca. I have always been a firm believer that premium, smooth Cachaca has no place in the Caipirinha, it was this line of thinking which led me to conclude the gin of choice for the Country Bumpkin, but first a note on the name.


Caipirinha translates a peasants drink and as I was giving Brazils national drink a British twist it felt only right to furnish it with it's own name, however the direct translation was missing a little charm. A Country Bumpkin is defined as 'someone usually from the midwest, whom lives in a small town but does not live on a farm and do all that labor. usually on the poorer side' it could not better sum up the areas in which I spend most of my sunny down time.


So back to the issue of what gin to used. As nice as Plymouth and a few Martin Miller's Country Bumpkins have been it did not really fit with my thesis of the quality of Cachaca to use in a Caipirinha. It's turns out that super premium gin is an unnecessary addition to such a simple drink and after all there is only one gin widely available in the taverns of every small village, Gordon's.

The Country Bumpkin Photographed by Sofia Miranda

The Country Bumpkin
Gordons Gin 50ml
Lime Wedges 4/8th's
White Sugar 2 Bar Spoons


Now before we discuss the recipe for the Country Bumpkin, white sugar is being used because gin doesn't have the rustic sugar cane notes of Cachaca which may benefit from brown sugar, i'm using granulated to really exfoliate the zest of the lime and to help grind the last drop of juice out.


So pop the lime wedges in to a suitable, short receptacle, any old thing will do, lets not be picky with this, perhaps... a jam jar? Sprinkle with your sugar and muddle (crush), spoon on crushed ice, pour on a healthy dram of England's Oldest, stir, top with crushed ice and serve with straws.


Being a punchy gin Gordon's big juniper flavour shines through nicely with a great sweet sour balance in a slightly raw yet refreshing drink.


Hope You Enjoy,


Umpleby