Name: Crimson King
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 22.5 ml Red bitter liqueur; 15 ml Vermouth amaro; 7.5 ml Cherry brandy; 5 ml Coffee liqueur

Crimson King
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Photographed in an UB Koto Old Fashioned 30cl

Ingredients:
1 oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
³⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Red Bitter (Campari-style liqueur)
¹⁄₂ oz	Punt E Mes vermouth amaro
¹⁄₄ oz	Heering Cherry Liqueur
¹⁄₆ oz	Galliano Espresso Coffee liqueur

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
Prepare garnish of skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).
Garnish with skewered cherry.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Vermouth amaro - robust & full (e.g. Punt E Mes) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

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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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).

Nutrition:

One serving of Crimson King contains 183 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
25.94% alc./vol. (25.94° proof)
20.7 grams of pure alcohol

More After dinner/digestif cocktails
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More Bittersweet (e.g. Negroni) cocktails

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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Minh Hoang Ta

14th January at 18:58

My favourite cocktail together with a well made martinez. Bittersweet cocktails are the best.

G. M. Genovese

4th May 2024 at 12:49

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.

G. M. Genovese

4th May 2024 at 12:51

... it's like an extra-bitter Manhattan. Or a hybrid of both cocktails. I don't immediately think Boulevardier with this.

james McMakin

11th April 2024 at 19:04

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.