what:
in mixing glass combine:
2 parts Gin
1 parts Dry Vermouth
1 dash Angostura Bitters
stir
strain into cocktail glass
where:
Coburg Bar
Connaught Hotel
16 Carlos Place
London
when:
early spring
character:
An English-cut, three piece, blue worsted suit. Chalk-stripped. Two buttons
(four on the cuffs). A respectable lapel hole (preferably 1 1/8”).
Pleated trousers (that is: two pleats, going forward not backwards, and
no belt loops), a clean white shirt, cuff links, silk tie, whatever shoes
one prefers so long as they fit and are polished, and a clean white handkerchief,
casually tucked. Simple. Tidy. Smart.
tastes like:
Slipping a bespoke suitcoat on and feeling the fabric embrace one’s
shoulders for the very first time.
pairs nicely with:
Feeling dapper, being dapper, and the ability to use the word dapper in
conversation without sounding ridiculous; Grosvenor Square, Mount Street
Gardens, and Mayfair in general; polishing one’s shoes, pressing one’s
undershirts, all while harboring decided opinions on pleats, tie knots,
shirt cuffs, shirt collars, and double-sided vs. single-sided cuff links;
Berry Bros. & Rudd, Swaine Adeney Brigg, and Geo F. Trumper; earnest
debate between two gentlemen over the length of their respective lapel holes,
ladies who carry a decided preference for gentlemen with lapel holes over
a certain length, and the cutter who appreciates a world in which such ladies
and gentlemen still exist; the first drink order after a particularly sporty
day at Ascot, the first drink order after a particularly shoddy day at Ascot;
5:25 pm, and jokes involving the Queen.