Hocus Pocus

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (74 ratings)

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
2 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
34 oz Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
34 oz Orange Curaçao liqueur
16 oz Fernet Branca liqueur
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of orange zest twist .
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Review:

Bittersweet with gin's botanical complexity and orange zest freshness.

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from a drink discovered in 2010 at Forty Four, New York City, USA. Hocus Pocus by the Dutch rock band Focus was a chart-topper both sides of the Atlantic in 1971. Famous for its yodelling, whistling, accordion, and flute, this is a tune that has to heard to be believed. We're fans!

Alcohol content:

  • 2.2 standard drinks
  • 28.19% alc./vol. (28.19° proof)
  • 31 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.

Join the discussion

Showing 5 comments for Hocus Pocus.
See discussion in the Forum

Please log in to make a comment
John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
31st October 2024 at 12:07
Not a massive fernet fan but this was very good. Quite a large drink, but the measures lent themselves to reduction by a third, and fernet down to halfish. Happy Halloween/Samhain!
John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
31st October 2024 at 12:32
Wonderfully rich and herbal. Riffing on the Witches’ negroni, tried swapping fernet for Strega, which worked quite well. More mellow, and more emphasis on the citrus and liquorice notes.
G. M. Genovese’s Avatar G. M. Genovese
3rd May 2024 at 15:39
Slightly unique. The Fernet is very much detectable and it lingers in the aftertaste. I want to say this reminds me a bit of a Martinez, but it has a little too much presence of Curacao to make that connection. Speaking of connections and lack-there-ofs, I'm well familiar with the Focus song, and whaaa??
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
1st November 2022 at 03:00
This was a perfect digestive/evening sipper. Had it to close out Halloween night. Had to have something while giving out candy. Nice flavours that have blended together well.
29th October 2022 at 00:41
We used the Austin local, Paula’s Orange Liqueur…delicious
Jeremy Harrold’s Avatar Jeremy Harrold
26th October 2022 at 16:40
Interesting. The flavours change and build as you drink. First off, orange with a sweetness and a hint of mint. Then the Fernet kicks in with a menthol mint and liquorice (such a tiny amount as well) and it all gets complicated and you are searching for adjectives. It’s serious.