Name: Scofflaw
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 15 ml Dry vermouth; 15 ml Bianco/blanco vermouth; 10 ml Lemon juice; 5 ml Grenadine syrup; 1 dash Creole bitters; 2 drop Saline solution 4:1

Scofflaw
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Glass:

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ fl oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth chilled
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Strucchi Bianco Vermouth chilled
¹⁄₃ fl oz	Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₆ fl oz	Monin Grenadine Syrup
1 dash	Peychaud's or other Creole-style bitters optional
2 drop	Saline solution (20g sea salt to 80g water) or merest pinch of s optional

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

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

How to make:

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

Garnish:

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

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

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

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Just on the dry/tart side, crisp and superbly refreshing without being overly citrusy.

I've used bonded-strength rye whisky, so you'll need to up the measure if using standard-strength rye. I've also used a 'rich' 2:1 grenadine syrup. If using homemade 1:1 syrup pomegranate syrup for your grenadine, up the measure to 7.5ml (¼oz). The quality of your pomegranate syrup/grenadine will make or break the finished cocktail.

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Variations/similar cocktails:

Outlaw

History:

The term "Scofflaw" emerged on 15th January 1924, during the height of Prohibition, from a competition held by Delcevare King, a campaigning teetotaller. King offered a prize of $200 "for an epithet which would best express the idea of lawless drinker, menace scoffer, bad citizen, or what not, with the biting power of 'scab' or 'slacker'." The Chicago Tribune reported on the competition's launch and winners. Two contestants (Henry Irving Shaw of Shawsheen Village and Miss Kate L. Butler of Dorchester) proposed the word "Scofflaw" and the prize was divided between them.

We also have the Chicago Tribune to thank for reporting the creation of the Scofflaw Cocktail at Maxim's bar in Paris, in a piece published on Monday, 21 January 1924.

"Scofflaw" Cocktail Gives Yanks Relief at Maxim's"
PARIS. Jan. 20. – [Tribune Radio.] –
Maxim's bar has invented a "scofflaw" cocktail, three parts rye, two parts French vermouth, a dash of lemon juice, and a dash of grenadine. The cocktail is most popular with American prohibition dodgers.
Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 21/Jan/1924

The Chicago Tribune provides the date and place of origin, along with the original recipe. It would also seem to show that Harry MacElhone was mistaken when he claimed the cocktail was invented at his Parisian Harry's New York Bar in his 1924 ABC of Mixing Cocktails.

Scoff-law Cocktail.
One dash of Orange Bitters, 1/3 Canadian Club, 1/3 French Vermouth, 1/6 Lemon Juice, 1/6 Grenadine.
Chicago Tribune, January 27th, 1924 : Hardly has Boston added to the Gaiety of Nations by adding to Webster's Dictionary the opprobrious term of "scoff-law" to indicate the chap who indicts the bootlegger, when Paris comes back with a "wet answer" – Jock, the genial Bartender of Harry's New York Bar, yesterday invented the Scoff-law Cocktail, and it has already become exceedingly popular among American prohibition dodgers.
Harry MacElhone, 1924

To authenticate his claim, MacElhone reproduces a quote from the "Chicago Tribune, January 27th, 1924" saying "Jock, the genial Bartender of Harry's New York Bar, yesterday invented the Scoff-law Cocktail." I have trawled through the Tribune, and while there are numerous mentions of "genial bartenders," I can't find this one. Either I've missed it, or MacElhone fabricated the quote. Either way, Maxim's Scofflaw was created prior to 21st January 1924, two days before Harry's Scofflaw.

Nutrition:

One serving of Scofflaw contains 156 calories

Alcohol content:

1.6 standard drinks
22.59% alc./vol. (45.18° proof)
21.9 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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Malcom Fitzcarraldo

9th February at 15:28

Fantastic drink, although I prefer the balance of the Death & Co. version:

1 1/2 oz rye
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/2 oz blanc vermouth
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz grenadine
1x dash orange bitters
lemon twist, discarded

I used homemade grenadine (Morganthaller recipe with a little rose water added), Rittenhouse, Dolin dry, Carpano bianco, Reagans' orange bitters

I'll have to try the lime version next.

Alien Dave

9th February at 16:30

That sounds like a really well-balanced build. Splitting the vermouth between dry and blanc makes a lot of sense—it softens the edges without losing that crisp backbone from the rye. And homemade grenadine with a touch of rose water is hard to beat; it adds depth you just don’t get from bottled versions.

I’ve found the lemon version feels a bit rounder and more classic, while lime gives it a brighter snap, especially if you’re in the mood for something a little sharper. Either way, that combo of rye and vermouth keeps it elegant.

Now I’m tempted to revisit this with Carpano Bianco myself—thanks for the inspiration!

For reference, here’s the Death & Co Scofflaw recipe: https://www.cocktailarium.com/drinks/death-and-cos-scofflaw

1 reply

Susie Bright

20th January at 04:35

It is late at night but I got it into my head I HAD to have a Scofflaw.

At the last second, I realized all the lemons were used up earlier this afternoon for the teetotalers— they needed a pitcher of Arnold’s.

So, dammit, it’s too dark to wander down the street to pick a lemon from a neighbor’s tree.

But I have a lime tree and it’s fruiting, so I grabbed a Bearss lime off the branch, and I’m here to tell you this Lime Scofflaw is FANTASTIC. I did it!

CJ Grant

24th August 2025 at 18:54

I am closer in line with the previous comment in my making. I do make my own version pomegranate syrup that I use as the grenadine (close to an Anders recipe).

I find a bit more citrus and sweetness works for me, and I use Cocchi Americano at least in part for the dry vermouth component and Fee's orange bitters. But I have made it closer to this and liquor.com specs, and it still works very well. Have not tried the saline addition from this recipe, though.

Andrew Gelb

20th May 2025 at 03:23

After trying a few versions, we've decided this works best for us: 1 1/2 Rye, 1 Vermouth Blanc, 3/4 Lemon Juice, 1/2 Grenadine, 1 dash Orange Bitters. We find it perfectly balanced. Cheers!

Chris Dimal

16th January at 08:56

Slightly similar to the Death & Co. version, where the split is between white and dry vermouth, alongside a little less lemon. It is very well balanced in that version.

Chris Brislawn

14th March 2025 at 02:41

Revisiting. Stuck with 1/4 oz pomegranate liqueur instead of grenadine and sugar syrup but addressed the tartness from 1/3 oz lemon juice by using a mix of half dry vermouth and half bianco. This worked quite well and is my personal version of the drink going forward. Kudos to the unknown bartender at Maxim's who created this. Incidently, a real Prohibition-era scofflaw (played by James Cagney on the silver screen) would have drunk this out of an old-fashioned glass, not a coupe!

John CARR

21st March 2025 at 14:58

Duly noted the correct, more macho glassware! I love a dry-leaning drink so this really fit the Bill.

John Hinojos

14th March 2025 at 00:39

This time omitted the sugar syrup. We use a homemade grenadine which is also not as sweet. Made the cocktail a little dry, but very, very smooth.

Olga María Gómez Henderson

29th June 2024 at 11:24

Amazing rye cocktail. I'll omit the sugar syrup the next time though.

Chris Brislawn

13th March 2024 at 03:12

Used Rough Rider "The Big Stick" cask strength rye (121 proof) and replaced the grenadine + sugar syrup by 1/4 oz Drillaud Pomegranate Liqueur, which I like in place of grenadine. Added 1 dash Peychaud's but no saline (hey, we weren't putting it in our EYES). A bit tart; might increase the pomegranate liqueur to 1/3 or 1/2 oz. This belongs in the "Big Easy" section of the drink book.

Dávid Ugróczi

27th September 2023 at 20:12

Used around 15 ml lemon juice and 10 ml grenadine.
Superb drink, I felt classy just by sipping on it :)

G. M. Genovese

24th January 2023 at 20:17

The Scofflaw has been one of my favorite drinks since I first tried one 10 years ago. This is actually a very good recipe here; I opted for 10 ml grenadine instead of a sugar split. My recipe also uses bonded rye, but I employ an 8:4:3:2 ratio. Much respect to this version though... Maybe my memory is hazy, but the bar in which I worked where I first tried this used a footed rocks glass (which I still use at home for it), but I swear it also had egg white in it. Love it like that too.

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