Name: Barney Barnato Cocktail
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Cognac (brandy); 22.5 ml Blanc quinquina/kina; 22.5 ml Aromatized wine; 2.5 ml Orange Curaçao; 1 dash Aromatic bitters

Barney Barnato Cocktail
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Photographed in an UB Retro Coupe 1910

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
³⁄₄ oz	Blanc quinquina/kina (e.g. Mattei Cap Corse, Bonal or Kina L'Aér
³⁄₄ oz	Aromatized wine (e.g. Lillet Blanc)
0.08 oz	Orange Curaçao liqueur
1 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Dry, with bittersweet undertones, and aromatic. I've tried this recipe with modern-day Caperitif but prefer the above blend of two apéritif wines in its place.

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History:

Adapted from Harry Craddock's 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book which calls for a South African aromatised wine called Caperitif.

This cocktail is named after Barney Barnato, who was born Barnett Isaacs in 1852 in the Whitechapel slum of London and traded on his Jewish-Cockney wit and humour. With only a box of cigars to his name, in 1873 Barney fled poverty to join his brother in the South African diamond rush and changed his name. He formed the Barnato Diamond Mining Company and within ten years he had become a millionaire. He and his brother were eventually forced to sell out to Cecil John Rhodes for $5,338,650, then the single largest cheque that had been written. The fortune was little compensation for being beaten in the battle to control the Cape diamond mines - Rhodes went on to form the now mighty De Beers.

After a brief spell in South African politics Barnato died in 1897 when he was lost overboard near the island of Madeira, whilst on a passage home to England. It is still questioned as to whether he jumped, fell or was pushed. His body was recovered but the mysterious circumstances of his death were never resolved. He is buried at Willesden Jewish Cemetery, London.

His vast fortune was divided between his family, including his sister Sarah and her husband Abraham Rantzen, great-grandparents of English TV presenter Esther Rantzen. Another beneficiary was his son, Woolf Barnato, who used part of this inheritance to become one of the so-called Bentley Boys racing drivers in the 1920s.

More cocktails by Harry Craddock

Nutrition:

One serving of Barney Barnato Cocktail contains 176 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
23.01% alc./vol. (23.01° proof)
21.4 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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Dan Casselman

23rd October 2024 at 01:43

I really enjoyed this drink. Although now that I have read some history about Barney I would make it with a South African Brandy instead of a Cognac, and sipping and reflecting on whether he jumped or was pushed off the boat.
Sometimes the backstory on a cocktail takes it to the next level.

John CARR

28th March 2024 at 12:00

Retried with actual cognac, very rounded and smooth. At this point I think I prefer the bucolic ruggedness of Armagnac. This cocktail really reflects the choice of base spirit.

Chris Brislawn

15th January at 06:33

Retried with Kina L'Aero d'Or (now that I have some), using Angostura Orange Bitters and Remy 1738. (I think I prefer an arcadian idyll lubricated by cognac.) Instead of orange curacao I substituted P. Ferrand Limited Edition Late Harvest Moroccan Yuzu Dry Curacao, which we both agree really made this cocktail exceptional. Five stars.

1 reply

John CARR

19th April 2024 at 12:33

A recipe that repays repeated experimentation - perhaps there is no perfect version?! Tonight with Armagnac VSOP, cocchi Americano and the wonderful Pierre Ferrand orange Curacao.

John CARR

15th March 2024 at 11:53

Riffing on Ashley and John’s comments, tried with Irish whiskey, which imparted a certain mellowness- have previously been using Armagnac.

Chris Brislawn

23rd April 2023 at 02:39

Simon is pointing us towards Tempus Fugit Kina L'Aero D'Or, which may be great, but neither that nor Caperitif is available out here in the provinces. Found Bonal Gentiane-Kina aperitif locally and it has the bitter/herbal backbone to use in cocktails like this. L'Aero D'Or sounds like it has more orange-y flavors so I upped the Curacao to 1 tsp and used Angostura Orange bitters. Not too sweet and plenty of interesting flavors going on. My wife agrees that this one is a winner.

John CARR

29th January at 14:01

How are you finding l’aero d’or vs. the Bonal, given I’ve only had the opportunity of sampling the latter? The former does indeed sound more orange-y! … also in light of what Kina Lillet might have tasted like originally? I suspect Cocchi Americano actually does quite well in reproducing the sweet-bitter vector, I.e. high in both quinine and sugar.

Ben R

5th February 2023 at 01:26

This is an amazing drink (top 5 for me), although I must admit I've never had the true thing. I haven't been able to find any Kina (supply chain issues for my local liquor stores in early 2023), so I instead used a bottle of Pineau des Charentes. I'm not sure how off that is in terms of flavor, but I assure you the resulting cocktail is excellent.

Jakob Bennetsen

21st September 2022 at 16:40

Would Cap Corse Blanc work instead of the Kina/Lilley combo?

John Hinojos

1st August 2022 at 23:48

I love these classic cocktails presented as they were designed. Very smooth with just the right amount of sweetness to be a good aperitif. All the flavours blend well together with just a slight hint of spice.