Name: Cab Calloway
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Oloroso sherry; 15 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 15 ml Apricot liqueur; 7.5 ml Dry vermouth; 7.5 ml Bianco/blanc/blanco vermouth; 2 dash Aromatic bitters; 2 dash Orange bitters

Cab Calloway
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Photographed in a TarQ Rocks

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Lustau Oloroso Don Nuño Sherry
¹⁄₂ oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
¹⁄₂ oz	Luxardo Apricot Albicocca Liqueur
¹⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth
¹⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Bianco Vermouth
2 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

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

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Oloroso sherry, Dry vermouth, Bianco/blanc/blanco vermouth - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

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Review:

A sherry-forward, rye whiskey-laced aperitivo with delicate rich apricot.

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created by bartender Tiffanie Barrie at One Flew South bar in Atlanta, USA.

Cab Calloway (1907 - 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader and dancer who was known for his energetic scat singing, particularly in his performance of Minnie the Moocher. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, known in cocktail circles thanks to Charlie Conolly's book The World Famous Cotton Club: 1939 Book of Mixed Drinks.

Nutrition:

One serving of Cab Calloway contains 136 calories

Alcohol content:

1.4 standard drinks
20.73% alc./vol. (20.73° proof)
18.9 grams of pure alcohol

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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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Matthew Coffey

23rd February 2023 at 04:14

I wonder if the portions for this are correct? I found the drink as written to be dominated by the sherry. The apricot flavor appears briefly after about the third sip, but disappears quickly.

I remade it several times based on the proportions in Difford's Perfect Bamboo. I found the most integrated version to be
1.5 Oloroso sherry
0.5 over proof rye
0.5 apricot liqueur
0.25 bianco vermouth
0.25 dry vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters

Toby James

14th October 2024 at 23:19

Thanking the both of you, this is a banger.

Simon Difford

23rd February 2023 at 19:55

Many thanks, Matthew. Just tried your recipe against the comparatively very dry original and preferred yours so I've adopted it above.

Clarence Castillo

9th February 2023 at 03:25

Interesting. Sometime when I have all the ingredients I'll have to try it and determine how well it captures the essence of Calloway's music and persona. But perhaps in honor of Calloway's home town of Rochester, NY, we should substitute the Rochester-based Fee Brothers' bitters.