Garnish:
Orange zest twist
How to make:
STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass
| 1 1⁄2 fl oz | Straight bottled-in-bond rye whiskey |
| 1 fl oz | Martini Rosso sweet vermouth |
| 1⁄6 fl oz | La Fee Parisienne absinthe |
| 2 dash | Orange bitters |
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Our comment:
It may go against modern bartending etiquette but this modern riff on the original equal parts Waldorf is best enjoyed shaken rather than stirred. The extra dilution and aeration benefits this Sazerac meets a Sweet Manhattan cocktail. Shake well and the foam will last till it reaches the bottom of the glass.
History:
The eponymous cocktail from the Waldorf Hotel which, until its demise in 1929, occupied the site on New York's Fifth Avenue where the Empire State Building now stands. The hotel was succeeded by the present Waldorf-Astoria New York Hotel which occupies a landmark Art-Deco building at 301 Park Avenue built in 1931.
Consisting of equal parts rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and absinthe with 2 dashes of orange bitters, shaken and served frappé (over crushed ice), this cocktail first appeared in Jacques Straub's 1913 Manual of Mixed Drinks. It was repeated later in Albert Stevens Crockett's 1931 Old Waldorf-Bar Days .
The original recipe is tough for modern palates but it's made more approachable by the addition of 2 spoons sugar syrup:
15 ml / ½oz Rye
15 ml / ½oz Sweet vermouth
15ml / ½oz Absinthe
10ml / ⅓oz Sugar syrup (2 sugar : 1 water)
2 dashes Orange bitters
SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain into a double old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice.
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