Happy Friday one and all. For this week, I wanted to break a streak I’ve been on here. It might not be the case, but it certainly feels like I’ve been neglecting the plethora of awesome cocktail books I have on hand and should be sampling from, rather than relying on links I find or straight up googling combinations of ingredients to see what comes up. This is more an indictment on my writing process more than anything but either way, I wanted to utilize resources at hand and I think I found a winner.

After leafing through a couple books, I grabbed Drinking French. I used this one once before, as evidenced by the receipt bookmark I left in it. I’m glad I left it there because on the bottom of the page is an interesting sounding drink called the Ménage à Quatre. It’s a simple 4 ingredient equal parts cocktail that sounds intriguing with the ingredients it calls for:

Ménage à Quatre

.75 oz. Gin

.75 oz. Lemon juice

.75 Grand Marnier, Cointreau or Triple Sec

.75 Lillet Blanc or Cap Corse Blanc

Add the gin, lemon juice, Grand Marnier and Lillet to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. 

There is a very interesting aroma at work here. I get a lot orange aroma, among other scents mixed in, mostly floral. I’m guessing that comes from the Lillet. Either way, it’s a great combination that provides a good start to the drink.

Speaking of, right off the bat this is excellent. Though I will say it is surprisingly heavy on the orange flavors up front. I was definitely not expecting that, especially since the only source of the orange is an equal portion of Grand Marnier. I’ve had that in dozens of drinks but I can’t recall it being that strong of an ingredient/flavor. Despite the heavy orange attack, the subtle Lillet flavors do come in underneath and add a brightness and floral notes to the palate. The gin is completely covered. I hardly get anything, and obscuring London dry gin is no easy task. Though given that this is a French cocktail, I wonder if there was a little extra incentive to cover up the contributions of the English to this drink.

The finish is more of the same. The orange flavors slowly dissipating into a lingering slightly sour aftertaste on the palate. Overall, the drink is very good. It’s simple to make, and very flavorful. Also, it kind of is a nice change of pace compared to other, stronger gin based cocktails. I’d quite happily make this again, especially if I know someone isn’t a gin fan. I’d absolutely recommend this/make it for them to change their minds.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)