The 200-Year Old British Cocktail I’m Sipping All September (Only 3 Ingredients!)

September can be confusing because it’s not quite summer, and not quite fall. With the weather’s ups and downs, it’s hard to know what to cook (should I eat as much tomato toast as I can get my hands on or make chili?!?), and just as hard to decide what kind of cocktail to pour. I’ve spent my summer making the simplest cocktails I can find with few ingredients, and even fewer steps. Now, I’m not quite ready for the bourbon cocktails I like to drink in fall and winter, but I want something with a bit more bite than a typical summer cocktail. I want a drink with one foot in each season, just like me. Meet the pink gin, the perfect seasonal transition drink.

The pink gin has a long history. It’s said to have been invented by sailors in the British navy in the 1800s, who used to treat seasickness with bitters. Since bitters are not very palatable on their own, they would mix them with gin.

In keeping with my summer trend, this drink could not be simpler. I mixed 2 ounces of gin with a few dashes of Angostura bitters in a chilled cocktail glass and then tossed in a wide strip of lemon peel. Done! The simplicity of the ingredients is deceiving, this bare-bones cocktail is so much more than the sum of its parts. Give it a try and toast (or mourn) the end of summer and the beginning of fall, however your seasonal feelings dictate.

• Keep it chill. If you’d like to chill the cocktail down before pouring, I’d recommend shaking the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and then straining into the glass, but I found chilling the glass in the freezer for a few minutes before mixing works just fine. Choose your own adventure.
• Start with less bitters. Bitters are powerful, and a little goes a long way. Start with a dash or two and taste before adding more. You can always add, but you can never take away.