Recipe: Ruby Four Cocktail

In honour of my new niece Ruby (born on monday not a tuesday alas) I thought I'd have a look for an appropriately named cocktail.  As it turns out there are several cocktails containing the word Ruby but unfortunately absolutely all of them had at least one ingredient I don't own.

In the end I adapted the recipe for a Ruby Martini #2 from Diffords Guide.  While I had Cointreau and Courvoisier I had to find substitutes for both Creme de Framboise and Martini Rosso.

Cinzano Bianco was a reasonable alternative to the Martini but I thought the Cherry Heering was a good alternative to Creme de Framboise in flavour if not in texture and would complement the brandy base.  I have been unable to find Cherry Heering in the supermarkets and had to make a special pilgrimage to Gerry's on Old Compton Street who basically sell any liquor you can think of (worthy of a blog post on its own!).  Its good stuff anyway and necessary to make a Singapore Sling or a Blood and Sand

Courvoisier VS Cognac, Cointreau, Cheery Heering and Cinzano Bianco Sweet Vermouth

Recipe:

1. Chill a martini glass by filling with ice and topping up with water.  Set to one side.
2. Prepare your shaker of choice
3. To this add 1.5 shots of Brandy, 0.5 shots of Cherry Heering, 0.5 shots of Cointreau and 0.5 shots of Sweet Vermouth
4. Optional - add a dash of Angostura Bitters.
5. Shake with ice and strain into glass (discarding water and ice first)
6. Garnish with a cocktail cherry

Ready to be Shaken

The Ruby Four cocktail

As for the name of the drink - it comes from the infamous Kaiser Chiefs song (the first 4 words of the chorus!).  I cannot get this out of my head now..