Frank Sullivan Cocktail

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (29 ratings)
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    Frank Sullivan Cocktail

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Frank Sullivan Cocktail image

Photographed in a Modern America Cocktail

Ingredients:
1 oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
3⁄4 oz Cointreau triple sec liqueur
1⁄2 oz Blanc quinquina/kina (e.g. Mattei Cap Corse, Bonal or Kina L'Aér
1⁄3 oz Aromatized wine (e.g. Lillet Blanc)
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
  2. RIM glass with sugar (moisten the outside edge with orange juice and dip into sugar).
  3. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
  4. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  5. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  6. Express lemon zest twist over the cocktail and discard.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 6/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

If you like Sidecars, then you'll love the Frank Sullivan. Just on the tart side with a touch of quinine bitterness which makes sipping through a sugar-crusted rim a delight.

View readers' comments

AKA: Hoop La! Cocktail, Odd McIntyre Cocktail

Variant:

Hoopla

History:

Adapted from the Frank Sullivan Cocktail recipe in Harry Craddock's 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book. The same book also features two other cocktails with the exact same recipe: the Hoop La! Cocktail and Odd McIntyre Cocktail.

FRANK SULLIVAN COCKTAIL.
¼ Glass Lemon Juice.
¼ Glass Kina Lillet.
¼ Glass Cointreau.
¼ Glass Brandy.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Harry Craddock, 1930
More cocktails by Harry Craddock

Nutrition:

One serving of Frank Sullivan Cocktail contains 159 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.3 standard drinks
  • 20.23% alc./vol. (20.23° proof)
  • 18.7 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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Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
21st June at 02:50
Loved this with Kina L'Aero/ Lillet Blanc, Combier, and a nice french v.s.o.p. brandy. Skipped the sugar rim and it didn't need added syrup. ☆☆☆☆☆
1
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Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
10th July at 03:02
Even better with the sugar rim.
1
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Chris Sadler’s Avatar Chris Sadler
19th March at 23:58
Nice variation by Stephen Rowe at Dario in Minneapolis:
3/4oz each Brandy, Creole Shrub, Blanc Vermouth, and lemon. Served in a coupe with a large rock, no rim.
Highlights some different notes while staying in the framework. The rock-in-coupe presentation drank better than I thought it would.
1
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John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
26th August 2024 at 13:22
Now with the confidence to try with orange-sugar rim. If you have time it’s definitely worth the faff and adds an extra dimension of both theatricality and sensory input - I left my sugar a little crystalline and it was almost like popping Candy. The drink itself with Hennessy vsop was surprisingly rich and mellow, freshened by the lemon twist. A genuine retro-vintage show stopper! Superb.
1
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John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
26th August 2024 at 13:25
Also worth having super fresh citrus. We had cara orange, kind of a cross between navel and blood. So good!
1
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Tuber Magnatum’s Avatar Tuber Magnatum
22nd June 2024 at 22:32
Enjoyed this but I too am thinking simple syrup in lieu of skip the sugar rim. If I understand correctly, a Blanc kina / Lillet mix is Difford's go to Kina Lillet substitute so I replaced this with Sacred English Amber Vermouth touted by some to be "equivalent" to Kina Lillet. Thoughts?
1
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John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
31st May 2024 at 12:23
Followed GMG’s lead and short cut the sugar rim process - added 3.75ml rich syrup, 25ml Cocchi Americano, both lemon and orange twists.
2
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G. M. Genovese’s Avatar G. M. Genovese
22nd March 2024 at 12:36
Sidecar vibes all around... A dry version I never knew existed or thought was possible... I used Cocchi Americano in place of the combined measure of kina/Lillet... I may have added 2.5 ml of cane syrup in place of the sugared rim... Excellent.
2
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Chris Brislawn’s Avatar Chris Brislawn
22nd January 2024 at 04:56
A better sidecar. Moved even further away from Craddock's equal-parts recipe and upped the cognac (ABK6 VSOP) a bit more to 1.25 oz, used Cointreau and Kina L'Aero d'Or, Lillet Blanc. Garnished with a big lemon zest. Didn't sugar the rim, though that probably makes it even better. Truly excellent cocktail, only challenge is figuring out which name it should receive!
1
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michael Monaco’s Avatar michael Monaco
2nd January 2024 at 23:38
I liked it.
1
reply
Joseph Murray’s Avatar Joseph Murray
31st July 2023 at 18:02
Craddock's 1930 Savoy book also includes the "HOOP LA!" Cocktail and the Odd McIntyre Cocktail, both of them seemingly identical to the Frank Sullivan Cocktail of the same book.
1
reply
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
1st August 2023 at 12:00
Many thanks, Joseph. I've added notes above and also linked to the Hoopla cocktail.
1
reply
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