Name: Bamboo (Difford's 'Perfect' recipe)
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Fino sherry; 15 ml Dry vermouth; 15 ml Bianco/blanc/blanco vermouth; 15 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth; 1 dash Orange bitters

Bamboo (Difford's 'Perfect' recipe)
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Bamboo (Difford's 'Perfect' recipe) image

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Lustau Jarana Fino Sherry
¹⁄₂ oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth
¹⁄₂ oz	Strucchi Bianco Vermouth
¹⁄₂ oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
1 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Fino sherry, Dry vermouth, Bianco/blanc/blanco vermouth, Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

This Bamboo recipe achieves a 'perfect' balance between the dry mineral notes of fino sherry in contrast to both rich bianco and dry vermouths. Classically, two vermouths are used in an attempt to strike this balance, but a vermouth threesome is so much more pleasing.

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Variant:

Bamboo Cocktail (Difford's 'classic' recipe) with 2 parts fino sherry to 2 parts split vermouths.
Bamboo Cocktail (Stuart's 1904 recipe) with 2 parts fino sherry to 1 sweet vermouth.
Bamboo Cocktail (Boothby's 1908 recipe) with equal parts dry vermouth and fino sherry, 2 dash orange bitters and 2 drops Angostura bitters.
Bamboo Cocktail (Savoy 1930 recipe) with 1½ parts fino sherry, ¾ vermouth and ¾ sweet vermouth.
Bamboo Cocktail (Joaquín Simó's recipe) with equal parts fino sherry and dry vermouth sweetened with a splash of sugar syrup.
Bamboo Cocktail (with Palo Cortado Sherry) with 2 parts Palo Cortado sherry to 1 dry vermouth
Bamboo Cocktail (with triple-sec) with equal parts fino sherry and dry vermouth with a splash of triple sec liqueur.

History:

Adapted from numerous other Bamboo recipes by yours truly on 2nd August 2014 and further 'perfected' in January 2023.
Bamboo Cocktail history

More cocktails by Simon Difford

Nutrition:

One serving of Bamboo (Difford's 'Perfect' recipe) contains 101 calories

Alcohol content:

0.8 standard drinks
12.5% alc./vol. (12.5° proof)
11.3 grams of pure alcohol

More Classic/vintage cocktails

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 6 comments for Bamboo (Difford's 'Perfect' recipe).
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Egg McKenzie

23rd April at 17:56

Delicious. Perfect light aperitivo. I didn’t even use good ingredients.

Robert Holen

12th December 2024 at 18:46

Don't do the same mistake I did!
I used Martini Blanco, Extra dry and Rosso. Talk about two dimensional...
I'll abstain from scoring it until I try it with more varied vermouths.

Robert Holen

16th December 2024 at 17:11

Tried it again with: Martini Extra dry, Vermut Lustau and Carpano Antica. The result was a lot better this time. I couldn't shake the feeling that it felt like it was lacking some sparkle though.

It won't be the same cocktail, but adding 3 cl of Rosé Champagne really did wonders!

John CARR

12th May 2024 at 13:11

Nutty, fruity, sweet, and SO much herbal complexity. My first sip took me by surprise, but then I adjusted to the dryness. White wine lovers will find this a delight. Cleansing and even better as it warmed up slightly, releasing some of the sweetness from the vermouths.

Jeremy Harrold

16th November 2022 at 03:52

A bit left field but I substituted a Marsala Secco for the Fino Sherry. A delicious cocktail with a lovely balance of dry and sweet fortified wines with a dose of botanicals.

Andy Quan

14th July 2021 at 00:18

I am a huge fan of fino, and this seems like a fino amped up: it mostly tastes of fino but has more depth and body from the other vermouths. I loved it.

Geoff B.

2nd March 2021 at 04:31

This is a delicious version of the bamboo and prefer this over a 1:1 sherry and blanc combo! I used Amontillado instead of Fino sherry and worked great. Orange bitters and zest elevate the drink. My favorite low ABV cocktail.

G. M. Genovese

5th October 2024 at 10:41

I made this with Amontillado and Noilly Prat, Cocchi Americano, and Punt e Mes, with Regan's for the bitters... Looking at my notes over the past 5 years, this recipe (divvying up the vermouth) is clearly my favorite.

David M.

3rd March 2021 at 01:26

Tried this with an Amontillado Medium and Noilly Prat for both the dry and sweet vermouths. Tasty, but mostly still tasted like I was drinking the Amontillado, despite the generous portions of vermouth. I’d prefer my Amontillado straight.