Contessa

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (97 ratings)

Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
1 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
1 oz Bittersweet orange-red aperitivo
1 oz Strucchi Dry Vermouth
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).
  5. EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 5/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 5/10

Review:

As Negroni-style cocktails go, the vibrant orange-amber Contessa is nudging being on the sweet side (but no less likeable for it).

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from a recipe attributed to John Gertsen at Drink bar in Boston, USA.

Nutrition:

One serving of Contessa contains 171 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.2 standard drinks
  • 18.43% alc./vol. (18.43° proof)
  • 16.6 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Jeremy Harrold’s Avatar Jeremy Harrold
3rd August 2024 at 17:05
It’s all a matter of preference (and gin), but I would veer towards an extra 10ml of gin.
Yossi Burg’s Avatar Yossi Burg
13th October 2023 at 08:38
Nice lightweight late arvo pre dinner drink- made with our local WA West Winds Sabre dry London gin, Dolin dry and Luxardo Aperitivo. Sweet, herbaceous with lingering bitterness- the Dolin tames the sweetness of the Aperitivo.
Peter Shaw’s Avatar Peter Shaw
12th February 2023 at 05:31
! Above said as recipe when first seen had Luxardo aperitivo!!
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
13th February 2023 at 08:23
What brands you have in 'Your ingredients' overrides my default selection of brands. You can also choose brands and permanently lock these via the 'personalise' button at the top of the page.
Peter Shaw’s Avatar Peter Shaw
12th February 2023 at 05:27
My wife drinks this when I have a Negroni; can also try with Aperol and/or Blanc vermouth depending on the palate.