Guards

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (34 ratings)
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    Guards

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Guards image

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
1 2⁄3 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
3⁄4 oz Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
1⁄6 oz Orange Curaçao liqueur
1 dash Orange Bitters by Angostura
× 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 (expressed & discarded) and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Old Guard but this Sweet Martini, which benefits from a splash of orange curaçao, deserves a place on modern cocktail lists.

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from a recipe in Stanley M. Jones' 1977 Jones' Complete Barguide.

GUARDS
Cocktail Glass
Stir
1-3/4 oz gin
3/4 0z sweet vermouth
1/4 0z orange curacao
Orange peel and /or Cherry

Stanley M. Jones, Jones' Complete Barguide, 1977

Nutrition:

One serving of Guards contains 161 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.5 standard drinks
  • 26.6% alc./vol. (26.6° proof)
  • 20.7 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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G. M. Genovese’s Avatar G. M. Genovese
6th November 2024 at 18:05
This is at least a solid 4 for me. Made this with Ford's, Cocchi di Torino, PFDC, and Regan's. A bit round with a mid-top sweetness at first, but gets blasted out in the finish by the gin and bitters. A vaguely Martinez-like concoction, with a vegetal aftertaste and orange jelly candy backdrop. (6 Nov 2024, 1:04p)
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Jeremy Harrold’s Avatar Jeremy Harrold
24th November 2023 at 17:59
Nice. I am surprised how much extra the Orange Curaçao adds to a Gin & It.
2
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Annabelle Egginton ’s Avatar Annabelle Egginton
30th September 2023 at 17:47
This is just right on the sweet-dry balance. Definitely my style of pre-diner drink as not a dry martini fan. Liking angostura is a must.
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John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
30th September 2023 at 00:26
Not being fans of sweet cocktails, we were concerned about the ingredients and the description. Decided to add 1/2 oz more gin and it was perfect for us. Still a bit sweet but a bit more spirit forward.
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