Raise a glass

How to make The Hudson–a bespoke cocktail crafted to celebrate COUNTRY LIFE’S 125th anniversary–at home

TONIGHT (May 11) the great and the good of COUNTRY LIFE’S past and present will gather at Claridge’s, W1, to celebrate the magazine’s 125th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the bartender of the hotel’s Painter’s Room bar, Maddalena Sommo, has created a bespoke cocktail. The Hudson—named in memory of COUNTRY LIFE’S founder—is a cocktail with equal amounts of gin and Italicus, an Italian liqueur containing bergamot peel, Cedro lemons, chamomile and lavender. It’s refreshing, aromatic and not too sweet. The version served at the party will use Bullards London Dry Gin, a former brewery turned distillery in Norwich, Norfolk, that is still run by direct descendants of the founder. If you’d like to try it at home, you’ll need a cocktail shaker, strainer and an Old Fashioned-style glass.