Bramble

Briefly shake the gin and lemon with ice. Fill an Old Fashioned glass with crushed, and only crushed, ice and pour it on top. Lace the ice with crème de mûre, directly from the bottle with a spout, to create a bleeding effect. Slide a short straw in the side of the glass. Garnish with a slice of lemon and one or two fresh blackberries.

Dick Bradsell’s second most famous creation, after the Espresso Martini, the Bramble was, he said, inspired by the wild blackberries he used to pick on the Isle of Wight as a child.

He wanted to make a very British cocktail; unfortunately it is impossible to find a decent crème de mûre, a liquor made from blackberries, that was produced in the UK, and we really don’t have the climate for growing lemons. At least we do have some very fine British gin so use nothing less.