Creme de cacao - always s**t?

Gin is, perhaps, the most illicit and storied spirit of all, save only la fee verte , Absinthe. From the the 18th century "gin mills" of London to the "bathtub gin" of Prohibition, the ease of producing something sufficiently similar to gin has caused it to be the spirit of last resort for much of the history of alcohol. And yet, gin is perhaps the most versatile spirit, despite, or more accuarately, because of the particularly clean snap of juniper. While that refreshing clarity makes a beautiful summertime Gin and Tonic, would you think of gin for dessert? With chocolate? Yet this is no contradiction. The seemingly classic Brandy Alexander is a derivative of the simple Alexander, a splendid evening cocktail of cream, creme de cacao, and...gin. I also add a few drops of bitters with a cinnamon topnote. Most likely the original Alexanders were decedents of milk based drinks such as various punches and the Plush, as recipes in library go back to at least 1931 in Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book (Harry, an American bartender, fled the U.S. during Prohibition to ply his trade at the famous "American Bar" at London's Savoy Hotel). Using gin the cocktail provides a foil for the chocolate and the cream, allowing the cocktail to be both rich and refreshing at the same time. With a juniper-forward London Dry gin like Plymouth (or my house gin, Martin Miller's), the piney note of juniper is both clear and clearly at home in the ethereal foam of the drink's heavily shaken cream. A little nutmeg to garnish and! The Alexander: 1G:1CdC:2cream, bitters to suit.