Name: 1919
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 40 ml Vermouth amaro; 22.5 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 22.5 ml Aged Jamaican rum; 15 ml Bénédictine D.O.M.; 1 dash Xocolatl mole bitters

1919
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Photographed in a Retro Coupe

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₃ oz	Punt E Mes vermouth amaro
³⁄₄ oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
³⁄₄ oz	Jamaican aged blended rum with funk
¹⁄₂ oz	Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur
1 dash	Xocolatl mole bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into chilled glass.
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:

Rum and rye-laced, herbal and faintly fudge-like with delicate spice.

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History:

Adapted from a cocktail created in 2008 by Ben Sandrof at Drink Bar in Fort Point, Boston, USA. (Sadly, shuttered in January 2024.) This cocktail was perhaps inspired by the bar's Fort Point cocktail.

Not named after Angostura 1919 Rum, this cocktail was originally made with Old Monk Rum, the molasses notes of which inspired the name which references the Great Molasses Disaster of 15th January 1919 when 10 million litre tank of molasses stored for distilling exploded. The ensuing flood drowned and killed many. Coincidently, Prohibition started at the stroke of midnight the next day.

More cocktails by Ben Sandrof

Alcohol content:

1.8 standard drinks
25.78% alc./vol. (25.78° proof)
25.9 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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Chris Brislawn

12th June at 03:38

Only had a dribble of Punt E Mes so had to improvise with a blend of Carpano Antica and Amaro Averna, complemented with Smith & Cross for Jamaican funk. Cut the Benedictine back to 1/3 oz (10 ml). This really lives up to the memory of the Great Molasses Explosion of 1919. And as if that wasn't bad enough for Boston, on the day after Christmas 1919 the Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees, initiating The Curse of the Bambino.

Caspian Berggren

4th May at 17:30

Really interesting cocktail. I was a bit hesitant about the large amount of Punt E Mes but it absolutely works, albeit on the sweeter side. The wine brings some acidity which really helps to elevate all of the other components. The rye is not lost, it helps support the herbal notes from the Benedictine and brings some oak. The rum is noticeable but maybe I'll use a slightly more funky one next time so it asserts itself even more.

Simon Sedgley

11th March at 14:35

Really lovely...but 10ml Benedictine is enough for us.

Cole Hladun

17th February at 07:30

Nearly perfect. Complex and balanced, but a bit sweet. I'll go light on the Benedictine next time. The rum was Hampden HLCF classic.

Tuber Magnatum

2nd December 2024 at 23:39

Sipping this lovely cocktail for the first time to celebrate my birthday! Depending on your flavour profile, I think the choice of rum is what will make this drink shine. What I particularly enjoyed was the chocolate notes from the bitters. Definitely a repeat!