When tasked with creating a cocktail using local ingredients during the semi-finals of the United States Bartenders Guild’s Most Imaginative Bartender Competition in London, mixologist Schuyler Hunton used a quintessentially British combination of flavors. His mixture of gin, citrus and Earl Grey tea was a winning one—the concoction earned him the competition’s grand prize.
“I really wanted to take something antiquated like the classic breakfast serving of a soft boiled egg and toast and turn it into something new and innovative. Breakfast in Bombay was something that came to me and makes it something more applicable for the modern age, and also something that I thought would go really well with the idea of Bombay Sapphire and a new reimagining of something classic,” says Hunton, who can usually be found behind the bar at Boston’s Tiger Mama.
BREAKFAST IN BOMBAY
2 oz. Bombay Sapphire Gin
¾ oz. Compound grapefruit Earl Grey oleo**
½ oz. Lemon juice
½ oz. Egg white
Adam Elmegirab Teapot Bitters for garnish
Combine all ingredients in a shaker, hard shake and double strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a spritz of Adam Elmegirab Teapot Bitters in the center of the cocktail.
**Earl Grey oleo: Weigh the peels of 8 grapefruits, then use the same weight of white sugar and muddle these ingredients together. When the sugar has turned to syrup, add another of the same measurement of sugar and add 4 ounces of grapefruit juice. Muddle this again and once the sugar has dissolved, strain out the peels. Take one cup of syrup and add 3 tablespoons of Earl Grey tea. Heat the syrup and tea and let steep for 10 minutes, strain out the tea syrup and then stir it back into the remaining syrup.
