Name: Bonnie Prince Charlie
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 40 ml Cognac (brandy); 15 ml Honey herbal liqueur; 7.5 ml Lime juice; 3 drop Saline solution 4:1

Bonnie Prince Charlie
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Photographed in a Speakeasy Nick & Nora 4.75oz

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₃ oz	Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
¹⁄₂ oz	Honey herbal liqueur (e.g. Drambuie)
¹⁄₄ oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
3 drop	Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Nick & Nora glass.
Prepare garnish of half lime slice wheel or dehydrated lime slice.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Garnish with half lime wheel on rim or float dehydrated lime slice.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Honeyed, spiced cognac with a touch of citrus. Fit for a Prince?

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History:

The Bonnie Prince Charlie Cocktail's first appearance in a recipe book is Hyman Gale and Gerald F. Marco's 1937 The How and When.

Bonnie Prince Charlie Cocktail
⅓ Drambuie
⅔ Cognac
Juice of ½ Lime
Shake well
Strain into Cocktail Glass
Hyman Gale and Gerald F. Marco, The How and When, 1937

However, this cocktail is better known due to its being repeated in Victor Bergeron's 1972 Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide (Revised Edition).

BONNIE PRINCE CHARLES
1 ounce Cognac
½ ounce Drambuie
Juice of ½ lime
Shake with ice cubes. Strain into chilled cocktail glass.
Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide (Revised Edition), 1972

Nutrition:

One serving of Bonnie Prince Charlie contains 137 calories

Alcohol content:

1.2 standard drinks
25.85% alc./vol. (25.85° proof)
16.2 grams of pure alcohol

More Classic/vintage cocktails
More Herbal 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 Bonnie Prince Charlie.
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G. M. Genovese

1st May at 07:30

This is not a studious recipe. Lime (yuck, perish the thought) was replaced with lemon in my try... Begs for sweet contrast... 3 or 4 iterations attemptified, plus depletion of my Cognac reserves, yielded this ok thing: 20 ml Cognac, 10 ml Laphroaig, 20 ml Drambuie, 15 ml lemon juice, no saline (1-2 drops might've been mighty nice).

G. M. Genovese

1st May at 07:33

"Might've been mighty bene"... 3 min of edits to my review, and I didn't catch that clear winner?! For shame.

Andy Rankin

10th October 2024 at 06:59

There's an error here, the quantity for saline is 'three scoops'... I don't think that Charlie would be bonnie!

Simon Difford

10th October 2024 at 08:13

Thanks, Andy. Now corrected.

James Brooke

21st September 2024 at 11:12

Interestingly, as with the Amsterdam, 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 the ios app "Martin's Index of Cocktails" says that the recipe for the Bonnie Prince Charlie is on page 98 and is
40ml Cognac
20ml Drambuie
15ml lime juice.
I wonder how many more recipies Trader Vic borrowed from Hyman and Gerald?

Rae Hopcroft

30th August 2024 at 06:47

Not for me. Found the balance off and improved by a dash of maple syrup.

Sally Morgan

27th November 2021 at 19:39

Generally I don’t think you can improve on fresh lime juice in a cocktail. But try this one with yuzu juice instead. Yu-zu going to thank me (sorry - the cocktail is much better than that weak pun)

John Hinojos

24th May 2021 at 02:52

I really enjoyed this cocktail. Just a hint of the Scotch and honey. Great balance. Perfect in the evening or after dinner.

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