This week's classic movie cocktail is the Tom Collins from Roman Polanski's 1974 film, 'Chinatown'. 

If you would like to make this cocktail with us during the show this evening, all the information you will need is below. 

Oisin Davis, our resident mixologist, says: 

"The standard Tom Collins is made with a good quality Gin, sugar syrup, lemon juice and sparkling water. It's an exceptionally refreshing mixed drink. The citrus botanicals in the gin get highlighted by the lemon juice. But with a few modifications you can easily enhance a classic and give it a great twist. As an ode to this brilliant movie, I throw in some Sichuan Peppercorns to lash an Asian flavour into the drink.

CHINATOWN COLLINS...INGREDIENTS:

50 ml of grapefruit infused Beefeater Gin
15 ml of grapefruit cordial
15 ml of fresh lemon juice
2 cucumber slices
Top up with sparkling water
A twist of freshly ground Sichuan peppercorns

METHOD:

To infuse the gin, grate the zest from 2 grapefruits. Pour the gin into a clean sterilised 1 litre kilner jar and place the zest in with it. Put the lid on the jar and shake it vigorously for 1 minute. Leave the jar in a cool dark place for 1 day. Then shake again and leave it for another day. Strain the zest out of the jar and put the gin back into the bottle. To make the cordial, squeeze the grapefruits to extract the juice. Match the juice with equal amounts of sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring it quickly to the boil while stirring and then take it off the heat. Fill a long glass with ice. Place the cucumber and gin into a shaker and muddle them for 10 seconds to release their flavour and juices. Then drop in the cordial, lemon juice and some ice into the shaker and stick the lid on. Shake it up for 10 seconds and then double strain into the chilled long glass. Top it up with sparkling water. Garnish with a grapefruit slice and a twist of black pepper.