Web Watch was in Las Vegas recently, where we had the pleasure of dining at GORDON RAMSAY STEAK at the Paris Las Vegas casino.
Needless to say, famed celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay wasn’t there that night, but we’ll just offer a quick review of the place: in one word, “fantastic”.
Of course, it didn’t help that having Chef Ramsay’s name on the marquee led to a constant parade of tacky tourists with their camera phones, t-shirts, and flip-flops barging into the main dining area to take a photo or two of a place that they’re not spending a nickle in. It was a bit disruptive to those of us with our own camera phones who were diving in to our own 2-hour dining spectactular.
But regardless of the lack of control the hosting staff had in preventing the riff-raff from interfering with our fine dining, Web Watch highly recommends Gordon Ramsay Steak for your next Las Vegas dining experience.
What? You’re not planning on heading out to Vegas anytime soon? Well – let Web Watch bring you a little bit of Gordon Ramsay to your kitchen…
 Hendrick’s Gin  |
 Celery Bitters  |
Anyone can make a good steak dinner at home.
But it takes a careful hand to be able to mimic a great cocktail. There’s a reason why one should always tip their bartenders, especially when ordering a complicated mixed drink.
Cocktail making is an art form, and when done right – it can really show off your culinary skills.
At Gordon Ramsay Steak, their cocktail menu is comprised of the following “Perfect Ten Specialty Cocktails” (each available for $14):
- HK Antioxidant – Veev Acai Liquer, lemon, blueberries
- The Drifter – Knob Creek Barrel #77, ginger liqueur, falernum, lemon, bitters
- Southside – Plymouth Gin, lime, mint, Perrier Jouet Champagne
- Pimm’s Cup – Pimm’s No 1, sparkling lemonade
- English Garden – Hendricks Gin, lemon, basil, cucumber, basil-infused rock candy, celery bitters
- Strawberry Martini – Bombay gin, lemon, strawberries
- The Vesper – Tanqueray 10, Ketal One Vodka, lillet (shaken, not stirred)
- Extra Dry Steakhouse Martini – Plymouth gin, dry vermouth spritz
- English Side Car – Hennessey VSOP, orange curacao, apricot jam, bitter, lemon
- Red Lion – Tanqueray gin, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, orange bitters
Web Watch’s favorites were the Vesper, the Strawberry Martini, and the English Garden.
And while the Vesper and the Strawberry Martini are something a reasonable home bartender amateur could mimic on their own, it’s the English Garden that brought its own intrigue to our party.
So we have spent months trying to perfect the home version of the Gordon Ramsay’s English Garden cocktail, and we think we’ve come pretty darn close. Close enough to share our recipe with you, today:
Recipe: English Garden Cocktail, inspired by Gordon Ramsay Steak
By:
Summary: This is our version of the English Garden martini cocktail that is served at Gordon Ramsay Steak at the Paris Las Vegas resort
Ingredients
- Hendricks Gin
- Celery Bitters
- 1 cucumber
- simple syrup
- Fresh lemon juice
- Fresh lemon zest
- Fresh basil leaf
- Fresh ice
Instructions
- Peel cucumber and cube into 1/2-inch sized chunks.
- Fill a sealable glass bottle or other container with the cucumber chunks. Pour gin into container to cover cucumber, then seal and place aside for a few days
- When ready to serve, chill cocktail shaker with ice
- Add three shots of cucumber-infused gin to shaker
- Add 1/2-shot of simple syrup to shaker
- Add one shot of fresh lemon juice to shaker
- Add six dashes of celery bitters to shaker
- Stir lightly to combine ingredients (do not shake).
- Strain into martini glass that contains a basil leaf and one or two of the infused cucumber cubes. Garnish with lemon zest
- Sip and enjoy!
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 min
Recipe type:cocktail
Culinary tradition: English
My rating
August 5, 2012
4 replies on “How to make the English Garden cocktail martini, a recipe inspired by Gordon Ramsay Steak”
I am not a gin drinker, but I thought if this odd concoction was on GR’s menu, then it must be something worthy. And whoa… it was tasty!! (Maybe not really a $14 cocktail.)
They did use an “Infused rock candy” in place of the simple syrup. What could they have infused it with I wonder… basil maybe? The drink certainly did have a hint of basil. Or so I thought, lol!
This recipe looks worthy. I’ll try it soon and get back to you!
Do you think the gin brand is critical?
@Laura: yeah, no idea about “infused rock candy”, but simple syrup is something you should have on hand regardless if you’re attempting the fine art of cocktail concocting.
Everyone we’ve tried the recipe with (and those who have a bit more liquor knowledge than we do) have all said that when it comes to GIN, the quality/brand of the gin does matter. VODKA, on the other hand, you have a little more leeway in brands/price points/quality levels. In other words, for good gin-based cocktails, you’ll want to pay a little bit more – but it will be worth it.
As for brand recommendations, the all around favorite tends to be Hendrick’s brand, which is what Gordon serves himself. As for the celery bitters — you may want to try some from The Bitter Truth if you can find them locally.
My wife and I along with another couple also had the pleasure of eating at Gordon Ramsay’s Steak about two weeks ago, and all fell in love with the English Garden while there as well. With the guidance of this post I have also attempted to re-create this drink. I do think the Hendrick’s gin is sort of critical in the fact that the gin is pre-infused with rose petal and cucumber, and let’s face it, the cucumber is the stand out flavor of this wonderful drink.
Just my humble opinion, but I do think the gin makes a difference.
Completely agree about the Hendrick’s! Keep us posted on your success (and let us know what didn’t work for you as well)