White Linen

Todays drink was a viewer request. Either here in the comments or as a DM on instagram and I thought this could be a really instructive drink because it is a perfect example of a root cocktail at work.

This is the style of drink that perplexes those who are newly initiated in the world of cocktails. Basically a riff on a south side with the addition of Elderflower liqueur and also done as a Collins. I can always tell when someone is new to cocktails because they say oh this is just a blank but switch blank for blank. And it’s like yeah you’re right, that’s all cocktails!

The root of the white linen is really the gimlet which is a gin daiquiri and the root of that drink is the sour. It shows how changing out the components inside a drink’s template can create wildly different variations and new ideas are expressed. It’s also a fantastic way of testing new ingredients.

The white linen was created in the 2000’s by a bartender named Rene Dominguez at the Shady Lady Saloon in Sacramento California.