Shoot the Moon Recipe
Gin and pear eau-de-vie stirred with a little cinnamon syrup — clear, dry and wintry, with grapefruit bitters to keep it bright.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 30%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Gin45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Pear brandy (Poire Williams)15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Cinnamon syrup7.5 ml (0.3 oz)
- Grapefruit bitters2 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled and diluted.
- Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.
- Garnish with a dehydrated pear slice dusted with cinnamon.
Garnish
Dehydrated pear slice and a pinch of ground cinnamon
What it tastes like
Fruit notes come forward, there is a spiced warmth to it and the spirit is right out front.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Gin
- London dry gin: juniper up front, citrus and coriander behind it. Brand really does show here — Beefeater is sharp, Hendrick's floral, Tanqueray juniper-heavy.
- Cinnamon syrup
- Made by steeping cinnamon sticks in simple syrup. Ground cinnamon clouds the drink and settles at the bottom, which is why it is sticks, steeped and strained.
The Story
A modern gin Old Fashioned-style drink: a clear base spirit, a small measure of syrup and bitters, with pear brandy lending the fruit.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Shoot the Moon mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Shoot the Moon?
- Roughly 30% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a Shoot the Moon be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Shoot the Moon hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.