Name: Widow's Kiss
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Calvados apple brandy; 15 ml Bénédictine D.O.M.; 15 ml Chartreuse Yellow; 2 dash Aromatic bitters

Widow's Kiss
Jump to

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Calvados / apple brandy / straight applejack
¹⁄₂ oz	Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur
¹⁄₂ oz	Yellow Chartreuse (or génépy liqueur)
2 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Garnish: Pair of skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherries

How to make:

STIR (or shake) all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Cocktail of the day:

6th June 2025 is D-Day was this day

Review:

Herbal with hints of apple, mint and eucalyptus. This classic is also often made with green Chartreuse, but we prefer, as per classic recipes, with half Yellow Chartreuse and half Bénédictine.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Jim Meehan's contemporary Widow's Kiss with 60ml (1oz) Bonded calvados, 7.5ml (¼oz) Yellow Chartreuse, 7.5ml (¼oz) Bénédictine, and 2 dashes aromatic bitters.

History:

Created by George J. Kappeler at New York City's Holland House Hotel. This recipe is adapted from his 1895 book Modern American Drinks.

Widow's Kiss
A mixing-glass half-full fine ice, two dashes Angostura bitters, one-half a pony yellow chartreuse, one-half a pony benedictine, one pony of apple brandy; shake well, strain into a fancy cocktail-glass, and serve.
George J. Kappeler, 1895

Kappler's recipe translates as:
1 pony = 45ml = 1½oz Apple brandy (calvados)
½ pony = 22.5ml = ¾oz Bénédictine D.O.M.
½ pony = 22.5ml = ¾oz Yellow Chartreuse
2 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters

More cocktails by George Kappeler

Nutrition:

One serving of Widow's Kiss contains 212 calories

Alcohol content:

1.6 standard drinks
29.88% alc./vol. (29.88° proof)
22.6 grams of pure alcohol

More After dinner/digestif cocktails
More Hall of Fame & must know/try cocktails
More Herbal cocktails
More Nightcap/sipping cocktails
More Short & stirred cocktails

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.

Join the discussion

Showing 10 of 13 comments for Widow's Kiss.
See discussion in the Forum

Please log in to make a comment

Andy Parnell-Hopkinson

16th November 2024 at 22:46

Also good on the rocks

John CARR

6th June 2024 at 12:42

Widow’s kiss, or widow maker?! This is a potent flavour grenade this one… for D Day. Strong, dry, herbal with underlying honeyed sweetness. Thinking of those times today. Strangely I had exactly the right amount of a Avallen left in the bottle. Funny how that happens..!

John CARR

6th June 2024 at 12:44

I’ll be interested to try Jim Meehan’s version when I get some bonded Calvados in.

Daniel Jones

20th April 2024 at 09:11

The way I just tried making this cocktail is 1.5 Pere Magloire VSOP, 1/4 Strega, 1/4 Benedictine, 1/4 Carpano sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura bitters & a luxardo cherry. The sweet vermouth cuts the sugar enough but am going to try 1/3 sweet vermouth and taste how that works.

Daniel Jones

20th April 2024 at 09:01

I love almost all variations of cocktails, but the base spirit+liqueur drinks like an old fashioned & this style are too sugary for me to fully enjoy. Hence, the way I make a Vieux Carré is 1 Rittenhouse Rye, 1 Cognac, 3/4 Carpano Sweet vermouth, 1/4 Benedictine, 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, stirred & served Up in a coupe with a Lemon twist & Luxardo cherry

Luca Brillante

30th December 2023 at 20:23

Made a riff on this with 1 part calvados, 1/2 genepy, 1/2 strega, and 2 dashes of averna as it was what I had on hands. Lovely

Jeff Newcastle

21st October 2023 at 14:29

A nice drink but not outstanding. Definitely an after dinner sipper rather than an early evening party starter.

Craig J

20th October 2023 at 17:37

Very nice but a bit small and gone too quickly - I would double the quantities

Peter McCarthy

4th November 2024 at 04:14

You're looking at 3.2 standard drinks then... 😅

1 reply

Calvin Grant

6th June 2023 at 01:34

If you're out of Chartreuse (I hear the monks are too busy praying these days) Liquore Strega makes a lovely if perhaps ironic substitute. God bless the witches.

John Hinojos

16th March 2022 at 03:41

What a great after dinner or evening cocktail. A burst of flavours and the right hint of herbal to make for an excellent night cap.

Tuber Magnatum

14th May 2021 at 23:25

I love this drink! Have tried with just mint, just cherry, and both together. Just to clarify though, 15th edition notes "...we prefer half yellow and half green.." Chartreuse. Web version and what I have been doing is 1/2 D.O.M. and Yellow Chartreuse. Also, the book suggests trying a shaken version which I have done and must say I quite like that as well, but then I prefer a more dilute and colder drink all things equal.

Simon Difford

15th May 2021 at 21:07

The various editions of the book leave a literal paper trail of my learnings. Shaking adds beneficial dilution and aeration. Adding a splash of water, as per above, also works well and produces a better-looking drink. Shaking produces a less attractive cocktail that arguably tastes more alive.

1 reply

See discussion in the Forum