Remember the Maine

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (129 ratings)

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
1 oz Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
12 oz Bourbon whiskey
12 oz Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
14 oz Heering Cherry Liqueur
2 dash La Fée Parisienne absinthe
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Nick & Nora glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist and skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. Express lemon zest twist over the cocktail and discard.
  6. Garnish with skewered cherry.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10

Review:

Charles H. Baker says of this twist on a Sazerac, "Treat this one with the respect it deserves, gentleman." As this relation to the Sazerac, I previously rinsed a chilled old-fashioned glass with absinthe before pouring the stirred cocktail into the absinthe-rinsed glass (without ice in the glass). However, this cocktail looks better and is better appreciated when served in a Nick & Nora glass. If you prefer more generous coupe proportions, then:
45ml (1½oz) Bottled-in-bond straight rye whiskey
22.5ml (¾oz) Straight Bourbon
22.5ml (¾oz) Rosso vermouth
10ml (⅓oz) Cherry Heering
3 dashes Absinthe

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from a recipe by Charles H. Baker Junior. In his 1939 The Gentleman's Companion he writes of this cocktail, "a Hazy Memory of a Night in Havana during the Unpleasantnesses of 1933, when Each Swallow Was Punctuated with Bombs Going off on the Prado, or the Sound of 3" Shells Being Fired at the Hotel NACIONAL, then Haven for Certain Anti-Revolutionary Officers."

The cocktail is named after the press slogan, "Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain" blaming Spain for the unexplained sinking of the U.S.S. Maine off Cuba in 1898. This helped provoke the 1898 Spanish-American War.

Some link the origin of this cocktail back to the very similar McKinley's Delight cocktail in Albert Stevens Crockett's
1931 boob Old Walforf Bar Days Book.

MCKINLEY'S DELIGHT*
One dash Absinthe
Two dashes Cherry Brandy
Two-thirds Whiskey
One-third Italian Vermuth
Stir; strain

Albert Stevens Crockett, The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book, 1931

Nutrition:

One serving of Remember the Maine contains 155 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.5 standard drinks
  • 30.52% alc./vol. (30.52° proof)
  • 20.8 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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Showing 10 of 12 comments for Remember the Maine.
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Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
24th April at 17:40
Looking at Discerning Drinker comments and ratings, I decided this was a cocktail I needed to revisit, and I've amended the recipe above. To put the comments below into context, the previous recipe was: 25ml bottled-in-bond straight rye whiskey, 25ml straight bourbon, 25 rosso vermouth, 10ml cherry liqueur, and 2 dashes absinthe.
Caspian Berggren’s Avatar Caspian Berggren
11th March at 14:54
A classic. Personally I think the Cherry serves great to make the cocktail something different than something like a Manhattan or La Louisiane. I used both Bulleit bourbon and Bulleit rye which, I think, helped counteract the sweetness with its pepperiness and spiciness. I can imagine something like Buffalo Trace being too sweet.
Howard Griffin’s Avatar Howard Griffin
10th March at 00:59
Not a fan. For my palate there’s no getting around the cloying, hard-candy flavor imparted by the cherry liqueur.
Mookie’s Avatar Mookie
23rd December 2024 at 02:02
I gave it 4 stars - could be a 4.5 or 5 with less cherry heering, and/or possibly 100 proof whiskeys (I used Buffalo Trace and Sazerac). but I guess I'm just not a fan of the cherry liqueurs
Andy Parnell-Hopkinson’s Avatar Andy Parnell-Hopkinson
14th December 2024 at 19:29
Tried this a few times, waiting to be impressed but it never landed... until the change of glass. Sorry Simon but this sings in a coupe. Think de la Loiusiane, forget sazerac.
G. M. Genovese’s Avatar G. M. Genovese
7th December 2024 at 19:03
Hate to plug another website's recipe for a drink here, but the Imbibe version was more to my expectations of the drink: 60 ml rye, 22.5 ml rosso, 10 ml Cherry Heering, and I sprayed the glass with absinthe... I did try the above recipe though, first as written, next all rye, and I did prefer the former, fyi... Rittenhouse, Wild Turkey 101, Cocchi di Torino (my liege).
Florian Ruf’s Avatar Florian Ruf
11th November 2023 at 22:42
First ½ tried a pure rye version of this cocktail and it was very good. Next time I will try the split version. Iused: 2 teaspoon absinthe, 2 ounces rye whiskey, ¾ ounce sweet vermouth, 2 teaspoons Heering cherry liqueur; Garnish: brandied cherry
Steve Trax’s Avatar Steve Trax
4th March 2023 at 01:35
Came together beautifully
Carsten Tiebel’s Avatar Carsten Tiebel
10th July 2021 at 23:51
Possibly one of the very few drinks, that are successfully helping me conditioning myself to tolerating/liking absinthe and anise notes in cocktails aswell as in general; more than a regular Sazerac. What I try to say is... I like!

To reduce the waste of old school absinthe rinsing techniques, I also just spray absinthe from small flacons on top of the cocktail from time to time.
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
6th March 2021 at 05:03
Great evening cocktail. For my taste, I would back off the vermouth, next time, to 1/2 oz.