Name: Pegu Club Cocktail
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 60 mL Gin; 20 mL Triple Sec (any Orange Liqueur will do); 15 mL Lime Juice; 2 dashes Angostura Bitters; Garnish with lime twist

Pegu Club Cocktail

Print Recipe

Going back to the early 20th Century, the Pegu Club Cocktail is an easy Gin based cocktail with lime and Orange Liqueur. The addition of Bitters adds just a little bit more flavour and interest. The Pegu Club could be found in Myanmar (then called Burma) in the early 1900's, which is where this cocktail gets its name.

During its day, the Pegu Club was frequented by government and military from from Great Britain. Of course, from there, the drink made its way around the world and it's well known today.

Have fun with this cocktail, it's in a class of its own.

Total Time 5

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

60 mL Gin
20 mL Triple Sec any Orange Liqueur will do
15 mL Lime Juice
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Garnish with lime twist

Instructions

Put Gin, Triple Sec, Lime Juice, and Angostura Bitters into a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake until you can't hold the shaker any more.
Strain into a Coupe glass.
Garnish, drink.

Notes

There can be an almost Grapefruit quality to the taste of this cocktail, so some have opted to garnish with some Grapefruit peel rather than Lime. Garnishes are fun to play with, so feel free to break from tradition with what you like or have on hand.

More About the Pegu Club Cocktail

If you see some similarities to the Gimlet here, you wouldn’t be wrong. Both cocktails have 60 mL of Gin and 15 mL of Lime Juice in them. Where they differ though (other than the Angostura Bitters in the Pegu Club Cocktail), is that the Gimlet uses Simple Syrup while the Pegu Club is using Triple Sec to add a little bit of sweetness to offset the Lime Juice, but also add more depth of flavour with elements of oranges. They’re very different cocktails but also clearly related. So if you’re a fan of the Gimlet, which is perhaps a better known cocktail, you’ll likely enjoy a Pegu Club Cocktail as well.

So we hope you’ve found a new favourite here! Have fun with this one and see how you go.

Does this recipe still work if I increase all the ingredients to make more than one at the same time?

If it fits in your cocktail shaker, it works! Of course this doesn’t mean you should try to make ten cocktails at once; you want to actually be able to shake your shaken cocktail. But if you’re looking at two or three cocktails, you should be able to make them. So go ahead, share a Pegu Club with friends.

Does this recipe still work if made in advance?

Yes, but only slightly in advance. Any cocktail recipe that has juice in it, especially shaken juice should be served as fresh as possible. If you’re looking to make a few of these to preset to guests on arrival to your cocktail party, feel free to prepare your cocktails 15 minutes in advance, but no more.

If I want to try a Pegu Club Cocktail, what’s the best time for it?

Gin cocktails, in general, are great drinks for warm weather. For us here at What Cocktail Can I Make, we usually find ourselves drinking Whiskey in the cooler months and Gin in the warmer months. That’s just how we like to do things. And especially if you add some Lime Juice to Gin, you have a real winner for warm weather!

If you want something a little bit more specific, the Pegu Club Cocktail does very well after dinner. It’s not quite a dessert as there’s not enough sugar in there, it’s still a little sharp, but it’s still a nice cocktail to end the night one.

Is the Pegu Club a strong cocktail?

Staying with the Gimlet, it’s about the same, save for the moderate amount of alcohol added by the Triple Sec. But, on the other hand, some Triple Secs can get quite strong! If you’re using a lower proof Triple Sec that sits around 20% ABV, the Pegu Club Cocktail is only a little stronger than the average cocktail. However, if you’re using a strong Triple Sec that gets up to the high end of the style at 40%, you’re almost adding a whole additional portion of Gin and things are starting to get a little strong.

So the answer is kind of “it depends.” You’ve either got a cocktail that’s a little stronger than normal or a cocktail that we’re going to say is at the lower end of the strong category.

What kind of music goes best with the Pegu Club Cocktail?

Given the age of this cocktail and the fact that it comes from the Pegu Club, a club frequented by British government officials, we feel the music to go best with the cocktail needs a bit of sophistication. Something quiet and unobtrusive that sits in the background of very high end establishments. Maybe the Pegu Club Cocktail would do well with a string quartet or perhaps soft piano music, something like that.

And now for some more cocktail recipes

What are you making next? Perhaps it’s another Pegu Club, but perhaps you want to try something else. We have some ideas for you.

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