Chrimble cocktail

Choosing ingredients for a cocktail, in common with many creative activities, is all about achieving various kinds of balance - not too sour or sweet, for example. Not this time. Instead, the Chrimble cocktail is an unrestrained blend of several layers of sweet and sweeter:

Essentially, each ingredient is the richest and sweetest version of the drink, except for the chocolate liqueur, which does not come in a non-sickly version. For example, a less sweet triple-sec is normally a more useful orange liqueur in cocktails, such as a margarita.

Note that these quantities make a serving that is slightly too large. However, that leaves plenty of scope for the barman to check the recipe before pouring.

Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker, shake and strain. It is generally considered sociable to make four at a time.

Shaking a cocktail with ice cubes makes the mixture very cold, which is ideal with sweet and sticky ingredients. However, this makes the drink cloudy, which we shall consider a feature rather than a bug; a Martini is normally stirred so that it remains clear. Mr Bond, one supposes, prefers it extra cold.

Take a sherry glass, rim the edge with lemon juice, and dip the rim in a layer of icing sugar. Add half a thin slice of lemon to the glass, pour and serve.

To rim the glass, you can just use the the lemon slice before adding it to the glass. If you do not rim the glass, the sugar does not stick.

Optionally, you can use frosted glasses - put the glasses in the freezer for at least half an hour before use.

This not an entirely functional recipe: there are likely to be side-effects.