Have you heard of the opal? The opal cocktail arose in the liveliness of the roaring twenties in London, England. A booze-forward, gin-based cocktail, it's fruity with a light hint of floral. The floral notes come from the addition of a touch of orange blossom water. For gin lovers, this is a delightful and fresh drink.
For other delicious and fruity cocktails, check out my drink recipes category. I know you will find something you will love there, such as the naked and famous cocktail - one of my personal favourites.
Ingredients
- Tanqueray London Dry Gin
- Cointreau
- Freshly squeezed orange juice
- Simple syrup
- Orange blossom water
See the recipe card below for quantities.
Instructions
To make the opal cocktail, add the gin, cointreau, orange juice, simple syrup, and orange blossom water into your cocktail shaker. If you can, use freshly squeezed orange juice. Be careful not to go too heavy on the orange blossom water. It can easily go from, 'Oh, what a lovely hint of floral' to 'I am drinking a floral hand soap'.
Add a few ice cubes to your shaker and shake vigorously for about twenty seconds. Fine strain into a coupe glass. Optionally, you can garnish this drink with an orange zest twist to add even more to the aromatics.
Variations
You can substitute the Tanqueray London Dry Gin in this cocktail with your favourite gin to make it more to your own taste.
To make a variation of this cocktail called the 'red opal,' replace the orange juice in this recipe with blood orange juice, and the Cointreau with a blood orange liqueur.
Equipment
To make the opal cocktail, you will need a cocktail shaker and a fine strainer or sieve. I love this cocktail bar set, I use it myself and I find that it has everything I need for making various drinks. You will also need a coupe glass to serve this cocktail in.
History
The opal cocktail is believed to have been created in London, England, in the 1920s, the era known as 'the Roaring Twenties.' It is featured in Harry Craddock's famous book, The Savoy Cocktail Book, which was published in 1930. This book serves as a record of recipes for the most popular cocktails served at the Savoy at the time, at the hotel's famous lobby bar. It gives a fascinating insight into the past. Know anyone who enjoys some history along with cocktails?
There's something simply enjoyable about sipping a cocktail that comes with a long history. Who knows who may have had the exact same cocktail a hundred years ago.
📖 Recipe
Opal Cocktail
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: 1 cocktail
- Category: Cocktails
- Cuisine: British
Description
A drink from the Roaring Twenties in London, England, this booze-forward, gin-based cocktail is juicy with a delicate hint of orange blossom florals.
Ingredients
1 ⅔ oz Tanqueray London Dry Gin
½ oz Cointreau
1 ¼ oz freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ oz simple syrup
A drop of orange blossom water
Orange zest twist garnish (optional)
Instructions
Combine all cocktail ingredients with a few ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds.
Fine strain into a coupe glass and serve. Garnish with an orange zest twist, if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 29
- Sugar: 10.2 g
- Sodium: 0.4 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.9 g
- Protein: 0.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: opal cocktail
Selena says
I had a friend over last evening. We like to try new cocktails each weekend that we discover and I came across this one. We both fell in love with your Opal cocktail.
Asha says
Hi Selena, thanks for the review! I'm happy that you both enjoyed it 🙂