Betsy Ross

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (57 ratings)

Photographed in a Bespoke Nick & Nora

Ingredients:
1 12 oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
1 12 oz Cockburn's Tawny Eyes Port
0.08 oz Orange Curaçao liqueur
2 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
× 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 orange zest twist.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 5/10

Review:

Deep burgundy red and boozy. Based on the classic combination of port and brandy, this is a drink to finish a night. (Benefits from some dilution so stir well.)

View readers' comments

AKA: Imperial

History:

This combination of brandy, port and curaçao is also known as the Imperial, indeed it first appears under that name in William "Cocktail Bill" Boothby's posthumously published 1934 World's Drinks And How To Mix Them.

IMPERIAL
Cognac . . . . . . . . . . 1/3 jigger
Port Wine . . . . . . . . 1/3 jigger
Curacoa . . . . . . . . . . 1/3 jigger
Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass and serve.

William Boothby, 1934

It then appears, in line with the proportions I favour, under the name Betty Ross in the 1932-1933 season menu of Cuba's famous Sloppy Joe bar.

BETTY ROSS
One half glass of Fundador Cognac.
One half glass of Oporto Wine.
Drops of Curacao.
Drops of Angostura Bitters.
Shake with cracked ice and serve in a Manhattan glass.

Sloppy Joe Bar menu, 1932

It is not until 1940 that this cocktail appears under the title Betsy Ross (the name it is known by today) most notably in Crosby Gaige's 1940 book Crosby Gaige's Cocktail Guide.

Betsy Ross Cocktail
1 jigger Brandy
1 jigger Port Wine
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Dash of Curaçao
Stir well in cracked ice and strain into large cocktail glass. Try this one with the yolk of 1 egg and 1 teaspoon sugar. Sprinkle a grating of nutmeg on the top of each glass. In any event you don't have to buy lunch.

Crosby Gaige, 1940

Who was Betsy Ross?
Legend has it that Betsy Ross sewed the first U.S. flag. There's no evidence to support this but she was the niece of George Ross, the Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania. She is also known to have prayed in the pew next to George Washington and had sewn buttons for him.

It's probable that the members of the Flag Committee formed by the Continental Congress asked Betsy to sew the flag and in an affidavit made public in 1870, Betsy Ross's daughter, Rachel Fletcher, testified: "[The committee] showed her [Betsy Ross] a drawing roughly executed, of the flag as it was proposed to be made by the committee, and that she saw in it some defects in its proportions and the arrangement and shape of the stars. That she said it was square and a flag should be one third longer than its width, that the stars were scattered promiscuously over the field, and she said they should be either in lines or in some adopted form as a circle, or a star, and that the stars were six-pointed in the drawing, and she said they should be five pointed."

Nutrition:

One serving of Betsy Ross contains 180 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.6 standard drinks
  • 23.53% alc./vol. (23.53° proof)
  • 21.9 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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John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
30th October 2024 at 13:07
Rich and indulgent. Very delicious. Loved the delicate touch of orange Curacao. Nutmeg would also work well in the garnish.
Avery Garnett’s Avatar Avery Garnett
16th October 2023 at 19:31
With a VS cognac it was nice but not as good as just drinking the (10 year old) port alone. I imagine you need a VSOP or XO for this.
4th March 2023 at 16:24
The egg yolk version with the grated nutmeg starts to remind me of a Coffee Cocktail.
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
7th November 2022 at 04:34
Have tried this twice and was impressed both times. It is a great after-dinner or evening cocktail. Almost tasted as if a cherry liqueur was in the cocktail, but it is from the balance in the recipe.
Nathalie O'Flynn’s Avatar Nathalie O'Flynn
14th October 2022 at 11:45
A new fabulous one from my “Must Try” list. Funny thing, in the book it calls for Ruby port and on the site Tawny port. I never have Ruby port so used Tawny anyway, however I only had 30 year Ramos Pinto so the port was quite present but still this is a 5 star for us.
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
18th October 2022 at 08:03
Well spotted Nathalie. I've made a note to fix in future books. I have found that I prefer tawny (at least 10 years old) to ruby in most cocktails.