The cocktail itself is superb. It’s approachable but has more depth than a French 75 with the hints of fennel, Pernod and light acidity of the apple and sea salt syrup coming through. As for the occasion to serve this at? The Project 31 combines well with classic party nibbles (e.g. smoked salmon) and is a serve worth looking into if you are after something a little different for your next soirée, but whose flavours will appeal across the board.
Project 31
Plymouth Gin‘s association with the Navy has long been established and in 2016, they have decided to celebrate their rich maritime heritage with a global partnership with Plymouth based boat maker, Princess Yachts.
The result? A Plymouth Gin bar popping up various boat shows and a bespoke serve created for the occasion - The Project 31 Cocktail. The drink is named after one of the first boats the company made in 1968 which Princess Yachts has lovingly restored to mark its 50th anniversary.
Incidentally - the custom made syrup may sound like a bit of effort but it only takes about 15 minutes to do and is genuinely really easy to create. It does however mean, this is a cocktail that only really comes into its own if you want to make more than one.
Plymouth’s Project 31
40ml Plymouth Gin
20ml Fresh lemon juice
15ml Apple, fennel & sea salt syrup
1 dash Celery Bitters
Pernod rinse
75ml Champagne
How to make it:
Rinse out a chilled champagne saucer with Pernod, pouring out any excess. Remember, it’s a rinse so you’re looking for a little left behind not a glug a the base of your glass before the rest comes in!
Shake the Plymouth Gin, lemon juice, syrup and bitters with ice. Fine strain into the champagne saucer.
Top with Champagne and garnish with a fennel sprig.
How to make the syrup:
Juice and finely strain equal weights of Bramley cooking apples and fennel bulbs. Prepare sea salt solution with 1 part salt to 10 parts water. Add sea salt to apple and fennel juice with 1 part sea salt solution to 25 juice. Add half as much caster sugar, heat up (don’t boil it!). Allow it to cool, skim, bottle and refrigerate.
If you need to make a dozen…
If you are looking to serve it at home for more than a dozen people (or if you think you & guests will want multiples), it is possible to pre-make some of the elements meaning you don’t have to stuck measuring, shaking and pouring each drink while everyone else is having fun! Pre-batching instructions to create 6 drinks are as follows:
Pour 240ml Plymouth Gin, 120ml fresh lemon juice, 90ml Apple, fennel & sea salt syrup and 6 dashes of Celery Bitters into a large container. Add 50ml of filtered water (as you will not be shaking this version in cocktail shakers before pouring, you need to add water in order to provide the dilution the ice would have done during shaking).
Give the mix a good stir and pour contents into a bottle and place it in the freezer. After an hour the contents will be properly chilled and good to be poured straight into the the Pernod rinsed saucers and topped with Champagne. No hassle, fast to make drinks!
