Bow Barracks was an army mess built in my home town of Kolkata during the first world war. This is a pretty simple, classic gimlet, but it’s made with ginger syrup to give it some spice – if you don’t want to make your own syrup, use the syrup from a jar of stem ginger instead.
Serves 1
For the ginger syrup
100g caster sugar
100ml water
4 tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
For the drink
2 tbsp gin – we use Bombay Sapphire
1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp ginger syrup (see above)
1 thin slice fresh lime, to garnish
First make the syrup. Put the sugar, water and ginger in a pan, bring to a slow boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. While it’s still warm, strain through a fine sieve into a clean, sterilised jar, filling it right to the top, then seal. It will now keep for three months in a cool place.
To make the drink, pour everything bar the lime slice in a shaker, add ice and shake hard for 10 seconds. Strain into chilled tumblers filled with ice, garnish and serve.
• Harneet Baweja, Gunpowder London. This recipe features in the book Gunpowder: Explosive Flavours from Modern India, by Harneet Baweja, Devina Seth and Nirmal Save, published by Kyle Books at £25.
