Bramble Recipe

[Photograph: Jonny Ho on Flickr]

There's no shortage of drink recipes you can turn to, in order to dispel the summer heat. But among the class of warm-weather coolers, few seem more appropriate than the Bramble.

A hallmark drink in the UK, where it was introduced in the 1980s by London barman Dick Bradsell, the Bramble is something of a rare bird in the U.S.—and that's a shame, considering the drink's simple preparation and basic yet alluring character. The Bramble starts as a simple gin sour, made with lemon juice and simple syrup and served with crushed ice; but the real entertainment begins with the Bramble's crowning feature, a purple splash of blackberry liqueur that gradually sinks through the crags of crushed ice and into the bottom of the glass, giving each sip of the drink a different mix of citrusy tartness and summer-berry sweetness.

French crème de mure can be difficult to find, but fortunately there's a domestic version, Clear Creek Distillery's blackberry liqueur, which is absolutely excellent in this drink. Blackberry season is coming into full swing, and the Bramble is perfectly suited for a warm August evening.