Crimson King

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (71)
Measurements in:
Serves:
1
Ingredients
1 fl oz Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
3⁄4 fl oz Italian red bitter liqueur
1⁄2 fl oz Punt E Mes vermouth amaro
1⁄4 fl oz Cherry (brandy) liqueur
1⁄6 fl oz Galliano Espresso Coffee liqueur

How to make

Glass

Photographed in an UB Koto Old Fashioned 30cl

Prepare

  1. Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

Method

  1. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  2. STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish

  1. Garnish with skewered cherry.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Crimson King contains 183 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.5 standard drinks
  • 25.91% alc./vol. (51.82° proof)
  • 20.8 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

History

A cocktail from the early twenty-teens by an unknown creator, perhaps named after the Crimson King, a fictional character created by Stephen King and the main antagonist in the author's eight-volume Dark Tower (1982 - 2004) series, as well as his novels Insomnia (1994) and Black House (2001).

Review

Some serve this Boulevardier-style cocktail straight-up but, like the Boulevardier, its delicate chocolate and coffee notes are better appreciated with the additional dilution afforded by being served on the rocks.

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$2.20 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 16.5 cocktails.
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Gallery

Comments & Discussion

Josh Harpoon
A lot of flavours. Nice for sipping when the LP “Islands” of King Crimson is playing (I know, I know). A lot of flavours and complex music is a perfect combination 😃
score: 1
Jim G
My friend gave me a lovely bottle of coffee liqueur from a producer out of Vancouver. We gave this cocktail a try last night and we both thought it was fantastic. Found something else for which to use that Cherry Herring. I'm not a huge fan of Blood and Sand. I may experiment with an addition of some Benedictine.
score: 1
Minh Hoang Ta
My favourite cocktail together with a well made martinez. Bittersweet cocktails are the best.
score: 1
G. M. Genovese Premium Member
I served this up, using Dad's Hat rye (quite distinctive), as well as Punt e Mes, and Luxardo's Sangue Morlacco and Espresso... The rye certainly has the dominant top note, but all the subtlties expressing from the other ingredients makes this a rather interesting drink. It's sweetish, but has a matching intensity of bitterness. More similar to a Manhattan than a Boulevardier, but I'd be curious to hear why or why not.
score: 2
G. M. Genovese Premium Member
... it's like an extra-bitter Manhattan. Or a hybrid of both cocktails. I don't immediately think Boulevardier with this.
score: 1
james I
have not made this cocktail yet but it is on my list for later tonight. I was curious; is this cocktail named after the band King Crimsons' song "In the Court of the Crimson King? I will get back later on how I like the drink.
score: 3
Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member
I suspect this is named after the fictional character created by Stephen King (see above).
score: 1
John CARR Premium Member
Beat me to this comment! My mind went to the prog rock reference as well! … might need some digging to find out which one inspired the name!
score: 0
Jonathan Goldthorpe
What a gorgeous drink. Lovely balance of all the flavours so harmonious
score: 3

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Difford’s Shop logo
$2.20 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 16.5 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.