Allies

I'm tempted to see a representation of Allied World War II countries in the recipe of this drink. But it's not there. British gin and German liqueur are more opponents in the context of that war. Italian vermouth could just as well make this cocktail the Central Powers of World War I, but then what about the gin?

I think that what is going on here is that many German liqueurs like kummel (with cumin flavor) and Jagermeister (with 56 root, herb and spice ingredients) are similar to gin in the they are flavored by botanicals. So they are allies in this way if nothing else.

I'm interested in doing this drink with kummel, which I have at work, but this is not the kind of drink you can foist on someone unsuspecting. I can think of only one guest who will go for it, and I need to do this drink at some point this year, so I decided to do the other option on the recipe: Jagermeister.

But I also didn't want to miss out on cumin flavor that the original recipe recommends. To get it I made a tea sachet of cumin and soaked the gin in it for a few minutes. The flavor came through immediately. The drink when made was very spicy and savory. It was unlike any other cocktail I've made except for maybe the peppery bite in a Bloody Mary. But there's no tomato and it is a rocks glass sipper. I'll do this cocktail again with kummel, but the cumin tea sachet solution is the next best thing, which is still really good.

• 1 oz. gin (infused with cumin if using Jagermeister)
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• 3/4 tsp. kummel or Jagermeister

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass with fresh ice.