Name: Bernice
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 50 ml Vodka; 7.5 ml Galliano liqueur; 15 ml Lime juice; 10 ml Sugar syrup (2:1); 1 dash Absinthe

Bernice
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Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 ²⁄₃ oz	Ketel One Vodka
¹⁄₄ oz	Galliano L'Autentico liqueur
¹⁄₂ oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₃ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
1 dash	La Fée Parisienne absinthe

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of mint leaf pegged to rim or the very tip of mint sprig to float.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Garnish with mint leaf pegged to rim or float the tip of mint sprig.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Best described as "A vodka daiquiri with a hint of herbal peppermint courtesy of Galliano."

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History:

Created by "C. S. Berner", this cocktail first appears as the winning cocktail at a 1950 bartender's competition in The U.K.B.G. Guide to Drinks 1st edition published 1953 [and not in Ted Saucier's 1951 Bottoms Up! as we were previously led to believe. Having checked, I can't see it in Saucier's book.]

U.K.B.G., U.S.A. (West Coast) Cocktail Competition, 1950
"Bernice"
C. S. Berner
Shake well 1 oz. Vodka (Smirnoff), 1/2 oz. Galliano Liqueur, 3 drops Veritas (Pernod Fils), juice of 1/2 lime.
The U.K.B.G. Guide to Drinks, 1953

Nutrition:

One serving of Bernice contains 172 calories

Alcohol content:

1.2 standard drinks
20.76% alc./vol. (20.76° proof)
17.2 grams of pure alcohol

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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 10 of 13 comments for Bernice.
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Meredith Frost

3rd April at 23:21

I had to try this because my grandmother was named Bernice. Love the licorice flavor. I agree with a prior commenter that the vodka does really add anything to the flavor. I wonder how it would taste with gin? Nonetheless it does my grandmothers memory proud. I’ll definitely make again.

Ruth Harvey

29th November 2024 at 19:41

Medicinal...in a good way!

Mike Hillis

5th October 2024 at 02:38

Enjoyed this drink. A bit sweeter than I typically like, but I could see many people enjoying this beyond the “alcohol forward” group of enthusiasts.

Zach Schwartz

8th June 2024 at 19:14

Substituting honey syrup for the simple takes this to the next level!

Jose Cruz

23rd February 2024 at 05:27

Dont play around and add 5ML absinthe to complement the Galliano. Seems like a Chartreuse drink almost. Vodka doesnt add much to this, just volume.

Dan Casselman

3rd June 2022 at 21:43

This was better than I expected, although my dash of Absinthe was a tad over 2.5 ml. I like them a tad less sweet so they go down slower (Guzzle guzzle, wink wink, know what I mean). A solid cocktail, that deserves to be "sipped" more often (2 of 8 of "Her Maj's 8 Jubilee Cocktails)

John Hinojos

28th March 2022 at 00:16

This was wonderful as an aperitif. Nice citrus and herbal hints. The mint garnish helps bring out the touch of mint in the cocktail.

Anonymous

7th December 2021 at 11:49

We felt it worked really well as a pre-dinner cocktail- the aniseed and sharpness linking to fennel, fish and salads maybe.
Starts quite fruity but becomes more savoury towards the bottom of the glass.

Davey Springer

29th September 2021 at 09:44

I quite fancy this and a nice change if you are tired of smashing out standard daiquiris.
Mildly herbal without being unapproachable.
Can definitely recommend.

Bill Lennox

2nd June 2021 at 17:54

William Smith, good decision with the absinthe. The original recipe (winner of the UKBG USA competition in 1950) included 3 drops of "Veritas" which was Pernod's absinthe substitute at the time. Created by a C.S. Berner, hence the name I guess.

Simon Difford

3rd June 2021 at 21:43

Many thanks Bill and William. You have both led me to revisit this cocktail and I have added both absinthe and UKBG reference accordingly. I have also (hopefully) improved my recipe. For those who are interested, and for the record, my previous recipe was 60ml Ketel One vodka, 7.5 Galliano, 22.5 lime juice, and 15 sugar syrup.

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