Honolulu Cocktail No.2

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (34 ratings)

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
23 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
12 oz Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur
12 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
13 oz Chilled water omit if using wet ice
1 dash Orange Bitters by Angostura optional
× 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 skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. Garnish with skewered cherry.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 4/10

Review:

Originally made with equal parts gin, Bénédictine and maraschino but better balanced with a tad more gin. (If making with equal parts this is a slightly sweet old-school after-dinner cocktail is best served on-the-rocks.)

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History:

The Honolulu appears in Hugo R Ensslin's 1917 Recipes for Mixed Drinks but is better known and gained its "No.2" moniker when repeated by Harry Craddock in his 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book.

HONOLULU COCKTAIL.
1/3 Gin
1/3 Maraschino
1/3 Benedictine.
Shake well in a mixing glass with cracked ice strain and serve.

Hugo R. Ensslin, 1917

Adapted from a recipe in Harry Craddock's 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book.

HONOLULU COCKTAIL. (No. 1.)
1 Dash Angostura Bitters.
1 Dash Orange Juice.
1 Dash Pineapple Juice.
1 Dash Lemon Juice.
1 Glass Dry Gin.
A little Powdered Sugar.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

HONOLULU COCKTAIL. (No. 2.)
⅓ Maraschino.
⅓ Gin.
⅓ Bénédictine.
A little Powdered Sugar.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930

Nutrition:

One serving of Honolulu Cocktail No.2 contains 129 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.1 standard drinks
  • 24.97% alc./vol. (24.97° proof)
  • 15.1 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 4 comments for Honolulu Cocktail No.2.
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10th August 2022 at 00:24
I don’t know that I like this enough to toy with the ratios. As sweet as I imagined it would be. The fourth rule of the cocktail randomizer applies:
Rule 4: Just because you have the ingredients, doesn’t mean you should make it.
15th October 2021 at 19:40
This is another recipe that Craddock pilfered from Hugo Ensslin (unless it's first recorded somewhere else I don't know of).

Ensslin refers to 'gin' here rather than 'dry gin' - I always wonder if that means Old Tom is meant, since in other recipes he does specify 'dry gin'. Old Tom might make more sense, leaning fully into the sweet sipper vibe.

As is, with London Dry, I find this fairly nasty...

Interestingly, it was hugely improved with some Fees orange bitters, become really quite tasty.
17th October 2021 at 06:16
Alas, I can't help you there sorry Simon! I've also only got access to the 1917 Ensslin edition.
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
16th October 2021 at 15:07
Many thanks for the heads up. I've added reference to Ensslin above but don't have access to his 1916 edition. Do you know if it also appears in this first edition? I look forward to trying with orange bitters later.
Roger Klinger’s Avatar Roger Klinger
6th February 2021 at 00:33
Far too sweet, even though I like sweet drinks. A 1, 1/2,1/2 ratio might be better.
Dee Stump’s Avatar Dee Stump
1st October 2020 at 22:18
It's funny to find this after making myself a shot of 1/2oz benedictine with 1/2oz luxardo last night. I'm not surprised the gin is so muted here because the liqueurs pack such a punch of flavor. A beautifully sweet cocktail to sip for sure.