Name: Don't Give Up The Ship
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Gin; 15 ml Rouge aromatised wine; 15 ml Triple sec; 7.5 ml Fernet liqueur; 1 dash Orange bitters

Don't Give Up The Ship
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Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
¹⁄₂ oz	Dubonnet/French rouge aromatised wine
¹⁄₂ oz	Cointreau triple sec liqueur
¹⁄₄ oz	Fernet Branca liqueur
1 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

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Don't Give Up The Ship lifestyle thumbnail

Review:

Fernet's assertive herbal notes brilliantly interlace this Sweet Orange Martini.

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History:

Jason E. Clapham of the St. Edward's MCR, Oxford, rejuvenated this long lost classic from 1941 book, Crosby Gaige's Cocktail Guide and Ladies' Companion and says, "The name appears to be a patriotic reference to a naval engagement in the War of 1812 between Britain and the U.S.." I've used Jason's recipe but with Dubonnet, as per the original recipe, while Jason holds that "it works far better with vermouth", specifying Carpano Antica. Jason also specifies Fernet Menta.

Don't Give Up The Ship
1½ jiggers Dry Gin
Dash of Fernet Branca
Dash of Curaçao
Dash of Dubonnet
Shake thoroughly with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon juice.
Crosby Gaige, 1941

More cocktails by Jason E. Clapham

Nutrition:

One serving of Don't Give Up The Ship contains 162 calories

Alcohol content:

1.7 standard drinks
28.31% alc./vol. (28.31° proof)
23.4 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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Matt

23rd November 2024 at 03:32

I love the name! I was surprised at how much orange there was in the taste - gin notes lead, but orange is very prominent. Unusual for Fernet to be relegated to the background - it is there, but behind the peppery/botanical gin and the orange. I don't know what the Dubonnet is doing - I may remake with Carpano Antica as noted in the history (IDK about using Branca - I think the Fernet is nice). No one else comments on orange - I wonder if my orange bitters dasher is too high.

Bryn Maagaard

7th September 2024 at 17:17

Delicious! Just on the bitter side of bittersweet. Was unsure this would work as an aperitif but did that very well.

Rae Hopcroft

5th June 2024 at 05:35

I also found this too bitter even with a long stir. A touch of agave syrup mellowed it out nicely.

Tuber Magnatum

24th February 2024 at 00:00

I was a little worried that this might be too bitter for me given the Fernet. To my surprise, I found it nicely balanced. I should add however, I gave it a very long stir, so maybe the added dilution moderated the Fernet.