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Princeton

Name: Princeton
Total time: 2 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Old Tom gin; 15 ml Tawny port; 5 ml Sugar syrup 'rich' (2:1); 3 dash Orange bitters; 10 ml Chilled water

Difford’s Guide

Discerning Drinkers (20)

Measurements in:

Serves:

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Ingredients
2 fl oz	Hayman's Old Tom Gin
1/2 fl oz	Cockburn's Tawny Eyes Port
1/6 fl oz	Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water) 65.0°Brix (optional)
3 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura
1/3 fl oz	Chilled water/mineral water

How to make

Glassware

Serve in a Coupe glass

Prepare

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.

Method

STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Princeton contains 166 calories

Alcohol content:

1.6 standard drinks
24.21% alc./vol. (48.42° proof)
22.1 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Tawny port — Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

History

Adapted from a recipe in Harry Craddock's influential 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book.

PRINCETON COCKTAIL.
2 Dashes Orange Bitters.
1/3 Port Wine.
2/3 Tom Gin.
Stir well and strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon peel on top.
Harry Craddock, 1930

However, the Princeton predates The Savoy Cocktail Book by at least 30 years as it first appears in George J. Kappeler's 1900 Modern American Drinks.

Princeton Cocktail.
A mixing-glass half-full fine ice, three dashes orange bitters, one and a half pony Tom gin. Mix, strain into cocktail-glass; add half a pony port wine carefully and let it settle in bottom of cocktail before serving."
George J. Kappeler, 1900

In his 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks David Embury also includes the "Princeton" with "1 part Port, 3 parts Gin, 2 dashes Orange Bitters to each drink" along with the following notation:

Authorities differ as to the proper mixing of this drink. Under one version, all the ingredients are stirred together; under another version the gin and bitters are shaken with crushed ice, poured into a cocktail glass, and the port is then poured into the glass and allowed to settle through the gin and bitters. A twist of lemon over the top.
David Embury, 1948

More cocktails by George Kappeler

Review

Kappeler's 1895 recipe calls for the Old Tom gin and orange bitters to be stirred with ice and strained into a glass, with port poured down the side of the glass so it settles to form a red layer beneath the orange bitters tinted gin.

I've added a spoon (5ml) of sugar syrup to Kappeler's recipe to slightly sweeten the gin (omit if using a sweet old tom) and a splash of water to add some much-needed dilution. I also prefer to abandon the original layering and stir all the ingredients together.

Cocktail of the day:

5th October 2026 is World Teachers Day

Variations/similar cocktails

Princeton Martini

Comments & Discussion

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Chris Brislawn 46w

Ratios of gin:port range from 2:1 (Craddock) to 4:1 (Difford) so I split the difference and went with the 3:1 specified by Kappeler and Embury, omitting sugar syrup since I have Hayman's Old Tom. Difford says to use tawny, which I did (10-year-old Quinta Das Carvalhas), but the earlier sources just say "port" and I think it would be good with ruby, too. As for pouring the port *through* the chilled gin & bitters to settle in the bottom of the glass, this appears to be an acquired skill as I managed to get enough port all over the countertop to make a mess. A small measure with a pour spout would help. It does produce a pretty drink, however. An extremely effective use of just four ingredients including bitters and expressed orange zest; everything contributes.

Richard Elgar Premium Member 3y

I tried it using Kappeler's recipe, plus a twist of lemon, using old Tom. Quite delicious, and lovely to look at with the layering.

John Hinojos Premium Member 3y

What a perfect aperitif. Complex herbal from the gin and the tawny sweetness from the port. We left out the sugar syrup to make it dry. Great colour and strong alcohol taste.