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Bramble

A modern gin sour served over crushed ice with a crème de mûre drizzle.

Base spirit
Gin
Style
Sour
Glassware
Rocks glass
Technique
Shake

The Bramble is a gin-lemon-sugar sour finished with blackberry liqueur over crushed ice. Gin and citrus stay bright underneath, while crème de mûre bleeds through the ice for fruit sweetness and color. Built as a shaken sour then assembled over pebble or crushed ice, it is refreshing and distinctly 1980s London in origin. Dick Bradsell created the drink at Fred’s Club.

Bramble served over crushed ice in a rocks glass, pale with a dark berry drizzle, garnished with blackberry and lemon.

Ingredients

Servings

Did you know?

“Dick Bradsell created the Bramble in London in the 1980s, helping define the modern British gin-sour revival.”

Source:Dick Bradsell cocktail histories; Difford’s Guide summaries

Bartender's Note

Drizzle the crème de mûre after shaking so it streaks through the ice. Crushed ice is part of the drink’s identity.

Missing a bottle? See smart swaps in Learn.

How to make the Bramble

  1. 1Shake gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup with ice
  2. 2Strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice
  3. 3Drizzle crème de mûre over the top
  4. 4Garnish with a blackberry and lemon slice

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