Army and Navy

The Army and Navy cocktail is a relatively simple recipe that just uses Gin, Lemon Juice, Orgeat, and Bitters. It's not the least complicated cocktail recipe out there, but it's also far from the most. What's better, it uses some pretty common ingredients for most home bars but still managed to be something a little bit more unusual and different from a lot of recipes common to those making cocktails at home. The only ingredient in the Army and Navy that may start to get the tiniest bit exotic is the Orgeat, and that's not even that unusual. If you don't have Orgeat, we'd suggest getting a bottle as soon as you can, or just making it yourself! With Orgeat, you open yourself up to a lot of wonderful Tiki cocktails, and you really can't go wrong with Tiki!

Or perhaps you already had Orgeat and didn't know what to do with it, so you stuck it in our cocktail builder to find out what cocktail you can make. That works too!

However you found yourself at this recipe, you're probably going to be pleased with this cocktail. We make no promises of course, because everybody's taste is different, but what's not like about Gin with Lemon Juice offset with some sweetness from the Orgeat. Sure, the Army and Navy moves away from the standard slightly, but it also works very well.

So get out of your comfort zone with an Army and Navy cocktail!

Total Time 4

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

60 mL Gin
20 mL Lemon Juice
15 mL Orgeat
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Instructions

Add Gin, Lemon Juice, Orgeat, and Bitters to a cocktail shaker with ice.
Shake everything until it's cold and mixed properly.
Strain into a glass of your choosing.
Enjoy your cocktail.

Notes

There's no clear history for the Army and Navy cocktail, but it's likely it was created at the Army and Navy Club in Washington D.C., at least judging by the name. There's a few stories about the Army and Navy Club, one being that it's where the Daiquiri was first served in the United States. Obviously the Daiquiri has its own Caribbean history, but it had to be brought to the U.S.A. at some point and somewhere, and that where was likely the Army and Navy Club.

Similar to where the cocktail was first created, we don't know when the cocktail was first created either. We do know that the recipe was first published in the 1948 cocktail book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury. Embury doesn't claim to have invented the Army and Navy, so we know the recipe was created some time before 1948; how far before, we don't know... was this a cocktail created shortly after World War II to be enjoyed by returning soldiers, or was this a secret tipple that was enjoyed exclusively at the Army and Navy Club for years before it went public? We'll probably never know.

However you look at it though, while learning about the history of a cocktail is fun, ultimately you're drinking it now and that's all that's important. So enjoy.

Want to Know More About the Army and Navy Cocktail?

We’ve said most of what we could say regarding the history of this cocktail, and sorry that it wasn’t very much. Cocktail recipes are often shrouded in mystery. The classic cocktails were made so long ago, and people weren’t really recording things for posterity. They too busy drinking!

But what we can do is explore the mood of this cocktail and find out the best way to drink it. This is all opinion of course though. Because ultimately, the best way to drink a cocktail is up to you.

Can I only shake one cocktail at a time?

No! If you need or want to make more than one Army and Navy at a time, feel free to just add more of everything to your cocktail shaker. It’s completely understandable (and encouraged) to enjoy a cocktail or two with a friend, and it’s faster if you shake everything up together. Of course at some point you’ll have too much liquid in your shaker, so you’ll have to make two batches. That’s OK though.

Do I have to serve the Army and Navy cocktail right away?

While it’s not the end of the world if you don’t serve this cocktail immediately, we’d suggest having an Army and Navy cocktail as soon as possible after making it. Shaken cocktails have a great texture that you should take advantage of quickly, so don’t delay. If it’s sitting for 10-15 minutes, it’s not the end of the world. But the fresher the better is often the case.

Is there a “best time” to have an Army and Navy cocktail?

This is kind of a hard one.

Orgeat is often used in tropical Tiki drinks: it works very well with fruit juices. But left to its own devices, Orgeat can also work with cooler weather flavours. Thinking about the Gin, we often like to have Gin in the warmer months, but that also doesn’t stop us from drinking Gin at all times of the year!

And this cocktail recipe has so much balance, we can’t even pinpoint if it’s good before or after eating…

Something about the Orgeat in this recipe though makes it feel a little bit decadent. While you shouldn’t reserve the Army and Navy purely for special occasions, we’d also say don’t be too flippant about it either.

Is this a strong cocktail?

It is and it isn’t. A lot of cocktail recipes have 60 mL of spirit in them, so the Army and Navy stays about average. In terms of cocktails at least. Most cocktails are going to be stronger than other drinks though, so be careful and drink responsibly.

What kind of music goes well with the Army and Navy?

Although we have a limited history for this cocktail, we can assume it probably came about in the 1940’s and has a military background, so music from that era would work very well.

The Army and Navy doesn’t necessarily feel like an old fashioned cocktail, but it actually is. So listen to old fashioned music to go with this drink. You won’t regret it.

Make some more cocktails

We’re just getting started with cocktail recipes! Whether you want to try something else or just want to browse, take a look at some of these site sections:

Top Gin cocktail recipes: here are some of our favourites. Find out if you agree.

All Gin cocktail recipes: if you disagree with us, why not check out everything we have that’s made with Gin?