Skip advertisement Advertisement

Hunter

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (214)
Measurements in:
Serves:
1
Ingredients
1 2/3 fl oz Bourbon whiskey
2/3 fl oz Cherry (brandy) liqueur
1/12 fl oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
2 dash Orange Bitters by Angostura

How to make

Glass

Photographed in an UB Koto Old Fashioned 30cl

Prepare

  1. Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of orange zest twist and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

Method

  1. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  2. STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish

  1. EXPRESS orange zest twist over cocktail and discard.
  2. Garnish with skewered maraschino cherry.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 9/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Hunter contains 200 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.6 standard drinks
  • 30.45% alc./vol. (60.89° proof)
  • 22.3 grams of pure alcohol
Skip advertisement Advertisement

History

The Hunter cocktail first appears in Jack A. Grohusko's 1908 book Jack's Manual: Recipes for Fancy Mixed Drinks and When and How to Serve. This original recipe simply comprises three-parts rye whiskey stirred over ice with one-part cherry brandy.

The Hunter cocktail was reincarnated and reimagined by the famous Japanese bartender Hidetsugu Ueno San at his High Five bar in Ginzo, Tokyo.

HUNTER COCKTAIL.
75% rye whiskey
25% cherry brandy.
Fill glass with ice, stir, strain and serve.

Jack. A. Grohusko, Jack's Manual, 1908

Review

A spirit-forward, bourbon-laced, late-night sipper with rich cherry. (Traditionally served straight-up in a coupe, but it's better served over ice.)

Cocktail of the day:

18th July 2026 is Hunter S. Thompson's birthday

Skip advertisement Advertisement

Gallery

Skip advertisement Advertisement

Comments & Discussion

Wiggles 101
What a delightful drink.
I didn't have any barrel proof bourbon as per much of the comment suggestions, so I upped the bourbon quantity to 60ml.
It's sweet, but not at all sickly sweet like many cherry cocktails. Favourited
score: 0
CJ Grant
The cherry dominates the front of this one, and I think my decision to use a barrel-proof bourbon (thanks to reason the Difford's selected it for cocktail of the day) helped a bit as there is a bite that forces through in the end. Wastn't sure what so little Luxardo would bring, but I think it does fill in at the edges by mid-taste.

I think I'd prefer a more whiskey-heavy ratio, but this grew on me. Though I think it could be almost too easy drinking with a regular proof bourbon.
score: 3
Michael Cronin
I took your comment and used a Barrel Proof Elijah Craig with mine. It provided a solid backbone for a silky start and real bite at the end as well. Its a mature drink.
score: 2
Matthew Parshchikov
Just what you expect it to be. Perfect as is
score: 1
Garcia Bronson
Adopted recipe in ounces. Great cocktail
score: 1
Rick Rosemont
I like this, tasty, not OMG! But tasty. I didn’t have Cherry Heering on hand and used Luxardo Cherry Sangue Morlacco. Jeez what a name. So not sure how it would be with the Cherry Heering. I will add it to my favorites list.
score: 1
Jaime M
Much improved by a dash of campari and a dash of syrup from the maraschino cherries, at least to my tastes.
score: 3
Simon Sedgley Premium Member
It's a very nice touch to add the Campari but we usually rinse our cherries as garnish. Cheers.
score: 1
John CARR Premium Member
Pleasant without being amazing. I was concerned it would be excessive with 20ml Cherry Heering but it is in fact balanced. Maker’s 46. Other bourbons or cherry liqueur could potentially work better. My favourite part was the aroma actually!
score: 1
Stig Hansen
Ive tried the recipe and its very good, but why is it that in the video, and all the videos ive seen about this cocktail, they only use the bourbon or Rye and the cherry Heering ?
score: 2
CL Potts
As far as I am aware, just the Rye & Cherry Heering is the "original" version from circa 1908 and this bourbon version is a take on the "modern" 2010 version
score: 1
Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member
Many thanks, I've updated the history accordingly.
score: 1
G. M. Genovese Premium Member
I'm in a stretch of trying to use up (just for the sake of freeing up shelf space) a Portuguese cherry liqueur a friend gave a couple years back, Mariquinhas. Great on its own, but not necessarily a sub for Heering. But I didn't have any Heering on hand either, just Sangue Morlacco... Vastly different drink going from the former to the latter. I prefer it with the Luxardo. But the big takeaway is how interesting this simple cocktail is (or could be), depending on the brands.
score: 2
Amarette Speights
Three years later, I agree with Nathalie. This is going on my list of favorite after dinner drinks. I’ve seen a few Americans push back on Heering because the cherry flavor reminds us of a common childhood medicine. It’s not that I disagree, but that Cherry flavor is more of a candy like cherry flavor that is pervasive here. I taste the same flavor is old school cherry soda and homemade cherry candies. It’s one of my favorite flavors.
score: 3

Showing the first 10 of 15 comments.