Duchess

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass.

Garnish:

Orange zest twist.

Comment:

Aniseed and liquorice notes from absinthe pervade this vermouth based cocktail, even though we have dramatically reduced the amount used from the original recipe which calls for equal parts of each ingredient. The Duchess is a drink for absinthe lovers.

About:

Adapted from a recipe in the 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book which specifies one-third of each: absinthe, French vermouth and dry vermouth with the instruction to “stir well and strain into cocktail glass.” The recipe for the Duchess Cocktail in the 1931 The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book calls for the same trio of equal parts ingredients but with the addition of a dash of orange bitters and the indication that the drink should be served frappé. Interestingly, the instruction to serve “frappé” is omitted from the 1935 third edition of The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book.