Sir Walter Cocktail

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (42 ratings)

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 oz Light gold rum (1-3 year old molasses column)
1 oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
14 oz Orange Curaçao liqueur
14 oz Monin Grenadine Syrup
14 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. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

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

Review:

Spirit-forward with faint zesty tartness balanced by delicate rich red fruit sweetness.

View readers' comments

AKA: Swalter

History:

The Sir Walter (or Swalter) first appears in Harry MacElhone's 1927 Barflies and Cocktails and is repeated in other regarded tomes such as The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930).

Whether this cocktail honours Sir Walter Raleigh or Sir Walter Scott is a matter of conjecture, but as MacElhone, who heralded from Dundee, Scotland, is thought to be the drinks' creator, many favour Scott as being the protagonist.

Sir WALTER COCKTAIL.
(Commonly known as the "Swalter" Cocktail.)
1 teaspoon of Grenadine, 1 teaspoon of Curaçao, 1 teaspoon of Lemon Juice, 1/3 Brandy, 1/3 Rum.
Shake well and strain.

Harry MacElhone, 1927

SIR WALTER COCKTAIL.
(Commonly known as the "Swalter.")
1 Teaspoon Grenadine.
1 Teaspoon Curaçao.
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice.
1/3 Brandy.
1/3 Rum.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Harry Craddock, 1930

Nutrition:

One serving of Sir Walter Cocktail contains 180 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 24.06% alc./vol. (24.06° proof)
  • 19.9 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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Matt’s Avatar Matt
29th July 2024 at 00:24
Delicious! Quite sweet, with orange notes on top of the subtle cognac and rum background. Grenadine adds color and flavor (and sweetness), with lemon bringing back some citrusy brightness. BUT - the pic shows a dark/ruby red drink - mine was a nice, moderately dark PINK, cloudy cocktail, reminiscent of ruby grapefruit juice.
Chris Dimal’s Avatar Chris Dimal
24th April 2023 at 18:05
Remade this with Cognac, and now I can see why it feels spirit forward. It is still nicely balanced, but definitely dryer. I get vinous, floral but still dry notes of the Cognac along with that typical ever-so-light ester notes of the Havana Club 3. I also can feel the mandarin liqueur (in place of Orange Curacao) a bit more in this rendition.
Chris Dimal’s Avatar Chris Dimal
24th February 2023 at 08:51
A simple, sweet and citrusy drink with a nice tang of pomegranate and lemon. I don'tknow if I would call this a 'spirit-forward' drink though.
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
10th February 2023 at 01:18
Being big fans of both rum and cognac, the Swalter is ideal. We use home made grenadine which is not as sweet as the commercial brands. May try with Creole Shrub (rum based orange liqueur) next time to see if it makes a difference. Perfectly balanced with no ingredients overpowering the other.
27th August 2022 at 23:19
Great blend! Had to use 4 yr rum, as I was out of 3 yr.! (Haha) love the name “Swalter” , as referred in The Savoy Cocktail Book
Bill Lennox’s Avatar Bill Lennox
5th February 2022 at 09:01
Very nice. For being so spirit heavy it is a surprisingly light drink. Brandy and rum are both there, but neither dominates.
Clément R’s Avatar Clément R
11th September 2020 at 18:00
Nice cocktail! Maybe the Havana club had to much sweetness to the drink and hide the cognac.. The Curaçao and the lemon juice balance the taste.