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Button Hook

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (36)
Button Hook image
Measurements in:
Serves:
1
Ingredients
2 fl oz Cognac (brandy)
1⁄3 fl oz Giffard Menthe Pastille white crème de menthe
1⁄3 fl oz Luxardo Apricot Albicocca Liqueur
1⁄3 fl oz Cynar or other carciofo amaro
2 dash La Fée Parisienne absinthe

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

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How to make

Glassware

Serve in a Coupe glass

Prepare

  1. Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. No garnish to prepare.

Method

  1. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  2. STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

  1. Serve naked, without garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Health & Nutrition

Alcohol content:

  • 1.8 standard drinks
  • 27.35% alc./vol. (54.69° proof)
  • 24.8 grams of pure alcohol

Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

History

Adapted from recipes in Hugo R. Ensslin's 1917 Recipes for Mixed Drinks (2nd Edition) and Crosby Gaige's 1944 The Standard Cocktail Guide by J. E. Clapham in 2013. The original recipe specifies equal parts and omits Clapham's all-important addition of Cynar.


BUTTON HOOK COCKTAIL
¼ White Crème de Menthe
¼ Apricot Brandy
¼ Absinthe
¼ Brandy
Shake well in a mixing glass with cracked ice, strain and serve in a wine glass.

Hugo R. Ensslin, Recipes for Mixed Drinks, 1917



BUTTON HOOK COCKTAIL
1/2 ounce Crème de Menthe (White)
1/2 ounce Apricot Brandy
1/2 ounce Absinthe Substitute
1/2 ounce Brandy
Shake well with cracked ice.

Crosby Gaige, The Standard Cocktail Guide, 1944

More cocktails by J. E. Clapham of Clapham Cocktails

Review

Brandy-led with supporting and influential crème de menthe and apricot brandy, freshened and rounded by absinthe and carciofo amaro.

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$1.34 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 75 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


Orders are processed by a licensed Fulproof retailer. The buy now button is added simply for convenience.

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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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Gallery

Comments & Discussion

peterme
This is... well, to my taste at least... not good. Mint, apricot, and artichoke don't blend, they clash. (used: Tempus Fugit cdm, Rothman and Winter apricot liqueur, and Amaro Aplomado for the artichoke liqueur)
score: 1
Walter Brookbank
Recipe calls for 2 ounces of Remy and then later I see only a 1/4 of an oz. after I had already made it with 2 oz, I used Green Creme de Menthe because i din't have any white , i would rename it green eyes or sumthin else...I'm goin to take a nap.
score: 1
Caspian Berggren Premium Member
Didn't have white mint liqueur so I used De Kuyper's Green. The colour is a little weird flavorwise it works. Really fascinating flavor profile. Up front you get apricot and some mint. On the mid palate it's almost like it oscillates between minty freshness and brandy oak between every sip. The Cynar is the most prominent on the finish by drying it all up. Maybe not a go-to cocktail but it really shows the power of dashes and flavor accents and recommended to try at least once.
score: 0
John CARR Premium Member
Interesting combination. Choice of ingredients especially the creme de menthe could well influence the outcome. I had minttu which didn’t interact happily with the Cynar and cognac. But haven’t written this one off yet. The inclusion of Cynar is a small act of genius.
score: 2
Barbara Nombalais
Perfect after dinner drink. That little touch of white creme de menthe (Tempus Fugit) gave it a nice lift and the apricot liqueur (homemade) complemented the cognac so well.
score: 2
G. M. Genovese Premium Member
Interesting drink for sure. The mint seems to be the featured flavor here with the other ingredients providing subtle highlights around the palate. As I'd suspected, bourbon works great as a sub for the cognac/brandy. I tried this twice, using cognac then bourbon, and preferred the latter, though the individual elements shine brighter in the former.
score: 2
John CARR Premium Member
Maybe Martell blue Swift would be a perfect choice then?
score: 0

View 6 comments and discussion

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Difford’s Shop logo
$1.34 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 75 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


Orders are processed by a licensed Fulproof retailer. The buy now button is added simply for convenience.

Checkout

* 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.

Visit Difford’s Shop USA

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