Pink Gin

I'm not sure this is a cocktail, just like I'm not sure having vodka shaken and strained into a cocktail glass makes it a cocktail. Either way, Pink Gin has more going for it than chilled booze. It has bitters!

Sloe gin is known as purple gin because of the addition of sloe berry liqueur. But Pink Gin comes from adding Angostura bitters. It is a beautiful color that comes from the proprietary blend of citrus zest, cinchona bark, (maybe angostura bark?) and a ton of secrecy that the FDA has not been able to penetrate.

The recipe asks only that you add as much bitters as you like to taste. A small amount will make the gin pink without changing the flavor much. I have several kinds of bitters, but for a pink color, I prefer Peychaud's bitters. The flavor they give is light and very dry. Not so much kitchen spice as other bitters. Angostura tends to add a brown color that Peychaud's doesn't have. Do as you wish: that seems to be the theme of this cocktail.

• 2 oz. gin (dry preferred)
• several dashes Angostura bitters to taste (Peychaud's recommended)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice. Mix until chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass or Old Fashioned glass.