F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on Sept. 24, 1896. There are plenty of ways you could celebrate this, like reading, for instance. But we think an appropriate homage could also come in liquid form, preferably gin-flavored liquid.

This drink comes to us from Dale DeGroff, otherwise known as King Cocktail (he was the mixologist at New York's Rainbow Room during the '80s). On his website, he explains the origin of the name:

I made this gin sour by adding Angostura bitters and called it the Gin Thing. One guest who enjoyed the drink was a fiction reader for The New Yorker who insisted I give the drink a classier name. Since the Hemingway Daiquiri was on the menu at the time, she thought F. Scott should get some representation, too, so she suggested “The Fitzgerald.”

The Fitzgerald

From: Dale DeGroff

Makes: 1 drink

1 1/2 oz. Gin

1 oz. Simple Syrup

3/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

1. Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a rocks glass.

2. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

“Here's to alcohol, the rose-colored glasses of life.”

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned

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