Lil Daisy

From the ‘Lost Sessions’ section of our latest cocktail menu is the Lil Daisy. A tangtastic sour with notes of earl grey, pomegranate and lemon.

THE DAISY

This Smokestack signature is based on the profile of a Cosmopolitan which in turn, is part of the Daisy family. Now although most of us know the Cosmo, the Daisy doesn’t get as much attention. First seen in print during the 1930s It contained, gin, raspberry syrup, lemon and triple sec. So not far away at all from the building blocks of a cosmo. The colour is also similar, delivering that pinkish hue.

COSMOPOLITAN

You can follow the progression of this cocktail by looking at the acclaimed creators. The drink seemed to be passed Chinese-whisper-style from bartender to bartender. One of note was Toby Cecchini who worked at the Odeon In New York during the 80s. A version containing grenadine and roses’s lime cordial (it was the 80s after all) had been passed to him from fellow bartender Melissa Huffsmith, he simply augmented it with cranberry juice and citrus flavoured vodka. Cocktail enthusiast Dale Degroff perfected this in the 90s by adding the signature flamed orange zest, seen on the cover of ‘The Craft of The Cocktail’. This is the recipe that most take as standard when it comes to making a cosmopolitan. When it appeared as the go-to cocktail of Sex and the City it moved quickly into the mainstream.

Our little twist keeps the vodka and orange elements but adds a touch of pomegranate syrup and early grey from bergamot to add depth of flavour.