The Bailey

Ernest Hemingway’s friend Gerald Murphy was known for his bartending skills, often put to use at their elite group’s raucous parties on the French Riviera. Once asked what he was mixing in his silver shaker, Murphy replied “Oh, just the juice of a few flowers.” The line was eventually said by Cary Grant in the 1938 movie “Holiday,” but what Murphy was referring to was his signature drink “The Bailey.” A refreshing summer concoction combining grapefruit and lime juice with gin and mint that Hemingway most certainly imbibed, we recommend mixing up a Bailey this week in honor of Papa’s birthday.

1.5 oz. gin
1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. simple syrup (optional)
Fresh mint

Put the mint in the shaker first. It should be torn up by hand, as it steeps better. Add the gin and let it stand for a minute or two. Then add the grapefruit juice and the lime juice. Stir vigorously with ice but do not allow to dilute too much. Serve in a chilled cocktail or wine glass with a sprig of mint.

This drink can also be found in “To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion” by Philip Greene and was mentioned during this year’s Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans during a seminar on “Cocktails of the Lost Generation.”