The boy and his poison: The Bloodhound

Reading about the girls' exploits on the Orient Express inspired me to hunt down a delicious 1920s-style cocktail to complement their trip. I adore prohibition-era cocktails partly for their sophistication and partly for their motor-skill destroying booze content, but I had no idea how diligently my co-contributors had already covered the subject. The Manhattan was long gone, as was the Sidecar and the Aviation, so it looked like I was going to have to be a little more esoteric in my choice. I give you the Bloodhound.

With its origins in the perfect Martini base of sweet and dry vermouth, this cocktail gets its evocative name from a good handful of crushed strawberries added at the end. Its a great drink when strawberries are in season, but you may need a squeeze of lemon juice to perk up the airfreighted ones you'll find in the shops at the moment.

You'll need

• 1 oz Gin
• 1 oz Dry Vermouth
• 1 oz Sweet Vermouth
• A slug of strawberry coulis or 2-3 Crushed Strawberries
  

Then Shake

• Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with some ice
• Shake it hard
• Strain into a coupe glass or flute and garnish with a strawberry.