Chrysanthemum

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (164 ratings)
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    Chrysanthemum

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Chrysanthemum image

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
1 2⁄3 oz Strucchi Dry Vermouth chilled
1⁄2 oz Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur
4 dash La Fée Parisienne absinthe
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Nick & Nora glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 5/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile
Cocktail of the day:

9th September 2025 is Chrysanthemum Day

Review:

Herbal and aromatic, this benefits from the dilution that comes with a good long stir.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Chrysanthemum No. 2 by Jamie Boudreau, Canon bar, Seattle, USA.
STIR all ingredients with ice and fine strain into a chilled and absinthe-rinsed coupe glass.
75ml (2½oz) Dry vermouth
15ml (½oz) Bénédictine
7.5ml (¼oz) Lemon juice

Other variations:
Caprice
Ford Cocktail
Merry Widow(er)
Minnie the Moocher
Poet's Dream
Poet's Martini
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth Wine
Rolls Royce
Tip Top
Vancouver

History:

The Chrysanthemum appears in Hugo R. Ensslin's 1917 Recipes for Mixed Drinks (and may well have been in his 1916 First Edition).

CHRYSANTHEMUM COCKTAIL
3 dashes Absinthe
½ Benedictine
½ French Vermouth
Stir well in a mixing glass with cracked ice, strain and serve with a twist
of Orange Peel.

Hugo R. Ensslin, 1917

It then reappears in Harry Craddock's influential 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book where Craddock says, "Well-known and very popular in the American Bar of the S.S. Europa.".

CHRYSANTHEMUM COCKTAIL.*
3 Dashes Absinthe.
1/3 Bénédictine.
2/3 French Vermouth.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel on top.
*Well-known and very popular in the American Bar of the S.S. " Europa. "

Harry Craddock, 1930

This cocktail may be named after The Chrysanthemum, a 1904 piece by the famous ragtime composer and pianist Scott Joplin and released on record in 1916.

More cocktails by Harry Craddock

Nutrition:

One serving of Chrysanthemum contains 112 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 0.9 standard drinks
  • 18.84% alc./vol. (18.84° proof)
  • 12.5 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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Showing 10 of 13 comments for Chrysanthemum.
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Leo’s Avatar Leo
9th May at 06:05
Absolute banger it tastes just like chrysanthemum tea and it’s a good sip
0
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Caspian Berggren’s Avatar Caspian Berggren
26th January at 14:20
A delightful cocktail. Anders Erickson regal stirred it with an orange peel and that was the cherry on top. The name is great because it really feels delicate like a flower.
2
reply
tom munger’s Avatar tom munger
24th January at 22:27
Terrific! Both the cocktail and the Joplin!
1
reply
Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
9th September 2024 at 03:23
Felt like a bee sipping nectar from a flower! Awesome! Dolin Dry, Grande Absente.
1
reply
Martin Schwartz’s Avatar Martin Schwartz
30th July 2024 at 15:06
Tried both the Boudreau and 1930 Craddock recipes. Both are good, but I think the lemon juice in the Boudreau recipe detracts a bit from herbal, aromatic nature of the drink which I enjoy. The Boudreau version is a little more refreshing on the palate. The version I’ll make in the future will have to be a preprandial decision.
2
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Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
9th September 2024 at 03:51
Great call on the comparison. I do like sour but went with the original first and glad I did. Thanks. It was sublime.
2
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Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
9th September 2024 at 03:34
Always fun to learn a new word. Two books once lost and now sorely missed; Greek and Latin prefixes and suffixes, and one on bioscientific terminology. Cheers.
2
reply
1 reply
Neil Wilkins’ Avatar Neil Wilkins
14th April 2024 at 19:33
I like this very much, especially with heavy dashes of absinthe.
3
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Susie Bright’s Avatar Susie Bright
12th April 2024 at 03:09
Sublime, especially with ragtime accompaniment.
2
reply
Leo O'Campo’s Avatar Leo O'Campo
1st May 2023 at 04:20
The Chrysanthemum #2 includes lemon juice to brighten and freshen the cocktail. I recommend that. I also recommend increasing the Benedictine by 2-3x.
1
reply
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
1st May 2023 at 07:58
Jamie's Chrysanthemum #2 recipe is under "Variant" above.
1
reply
Jennifer Spencer’s Avatar Jennifer Spencer
2nd October 2022 at 16:03
I didn’t like this when I made it from this recipe, but then followed a ratio from another cocktail guide (2 1/2 shots Dolin Dry, 1/2 shot Benedictine, teaspoon absinthe) & am enjoying it very much.
1
reply
Morten Carlsbaek’s Avatar Morten Carlsbaek
26th June 2022 at 16:08
Carpano dry vermouth's unusual herbal taste is positively complemented in this cocktail. I liked it. Try it.
1
reply
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