Amsterdam Cocktail

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (19 ratings)

Photographed in a Bespoke Nick & Nora

Ingredients:
1 12 oz Oude genever
34 oz Cointreau triple sec liqueur
34 oz Orange juice (freshly squeezed)
2 dash Orange Bitters by Angostura
× 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. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10

Review:

Orange-yellow in flavour with genever adding a pleasant spiritous bready backbone to orange fruit. Perhaps serve with marmalade on toast for breakfast.

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History:

Adapted from Hyma Gale and Gerald F. Marco's 1937 book The How and When.

Amsterdam Cocktail
½ Holland Gin
¼ Orange juice
7.5 Cointreau
4 dashes Orange bitter
Strain into Cocktail Glass
(A favorite at the Carlton Hotel, Amsterdam, Nederland)

Hyma Gale & Gerald F. Marco, The How and When, 1937

This cocktail also appears in Victor Bergeron's Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide (1972 revised edition).

Amsterdam Cocktail
1 ounce Holland Gin
½ ounce orange juice
½ ounce cointreau
4 dashes orange bitters
Shake with ice cubes. Strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide, 1972

Nutrition:

One serving of Amsterdam Cocktail contains 134 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 22.05% alc./vol. (22.05° proof)
  • 20 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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James Brooke’s Avatar James Brooke
27th October 2023 at 16:17
Interestingly, it would appear that Victor Bergeron ‘borrowed’ this recipe from a book called “The How and When” by Hyman Gale & Gerald F. Marco, published by Harmanson in New Orleans in 1937. I don’t have a copy of the book, but I’m told that the recipe is on page 90 and the comment is:
“A favorite at the Carlton Hotel, Amsterdam, Netherland”
and the recipe is:
30 ml genever
15 ml orange juice
15 ml Cointreau
4 dashes orange bitters
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
29th October 2023 at 17:41
Many thanks, James. I've added both recipes and will revisit and rephotograph this cocktail ASAP.
Jochum Elsinga’s Avatar Jochum Elsinga
7th March 2021 at 06:38
I like to up the genever a bit (60ml) and add one or two dashes of absinth.