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Silent Third

Name: Silent Third
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 50 ml Scotch whisky; 15 ml Triple sec; 15 ml Lemon juice; 10 ml Sugar syrup 'rich' (2:1); 2 drop Saline solution 4:1

Difford’s Guide

Discerning Drinkers (43)

Measurements in:

Serves:

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Ingredients
1 ²⁄₃ fl oz	Blended Scotch whisky
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Cointreau L'Unique triple sec liqueur
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₃ fl oz	Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water) 65.0°Brix (optional)
2 drop	Saline solution (20g sea salt to 80g water) or merest pinch of s (optional)

How to make

Glassware

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Prepare

Select and pre-chill a NICK & NORA GLASS.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

Method

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

Garnish

EXPRESS lemon 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 Silent Third contains 181 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
21.23% alc./vol. (42.46° proof)
20.5 grams of pure alcohol

History

The recipe for the Silent Third appears in two 1937 books: William James "Billy" Tarling's 1937 Café Royal Bar Book and Approved Cocktails by The United Kingdom Bartenders' Guild to which Tarling was one of the contributors. The recipe in one book is expressed in fractions and the other as percentages, otherwise they are identical.

SILENT THIRD.
1/3 Cointreau.
1/3 Lemon Juice.
1/3 Scotch Whisky.
Shake and strain.
W. J. Tarling, 1937

SILENT THIRD.
33½% Cointreau.
33½% Lemon Juice.
33½% Scotch Whisky.
Shake and strain.
U.K.B.G. Approved Cocktails, 1937

Review

Citrus sourness drowns the Scotch whisky in the original equal parts recipe of this Sidecar made with Scotch in place of cognac (although, I suspect the likes of Cointreau used to contain more sugar so with a time machine the original spec. may have been balanced, and perhaps rather tasty).

Variations/similar cocktails

Celtic Margarita
Capercaillie
Prosperity
Auld Alliance

J&B Rare 750ml - makes 15 cocktails
$24.99 $1.67 per cocktail J&B Rare image

Cointreau L'Unique 375ml - makes 25 cocktails
$21.99 $0.88 per cocktail Cointreau L'Unique image

Monin Pure Cane Syrup (US) 750ml - makes 75 cocktails
$14.99 $0.20 per cocktail Monin Pure Cane Syrup (US) image

$2.75 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 15 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.

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* May not include all ingredients. Price per cocktail is an estimate based on cost of one cocktail with ingredients shown above and does not include shipping.

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Comments & Discussion

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Olga María Gómez Henderson 2y

Good cocktail. You have to use a strong whisky, otherwise the lemon would hide it's flavour.

John Hinojos Premium Member 4y

What a very interesting cocktail. I find the smoky of the Whisky present, but not overwhelming. Found it very flavourful, and the cocktail character changes as it breathes.

Carol Bridgeman Premium Member 4y

I have a vested interest in this as my parents bought the house I grew up in from Philby's mother around the time of his defection. They had a hotline to someone high up in case anyone tried to contact or if anything else came to light.
Loved the cocktail. Used a smoky Islay whisky which gave a wonderful smoked lemon flavour.

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