Name: Sunflower
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 2.5 ml Absinthe; 22.5 ml Gin; 22.5 ml Triple sec; 22.5 ml Elderflower liqueur; 22.5 ml Lemon juice

Sunflower
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Photographed in an Essence Cocktail Bowl 31cl

Ingredients:
¹⁄₁₂ oz	La Fée Parisienne absinthe
³⁄₄ oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
³⁄₄ oz	Cointreau triple sec liqueur
³⁄₄ oz	Elderflower liqueur
³⁄₄ oz	Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
RINSE chilled glass with absinthe (swirl around to coat and discard excess) and set to one side.
SHAKE other ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into absinthe-rinsed glass.
EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Elderflower liqueur replaces aromatised wine in this riff on a classic Corpse Reviver No.2. This means the bitter oils from the lemon zest twist are crucial to the balance of this aromatic floral and citrusy cocktail.

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 2008 by Sam Ross at Milk & Honey in New York City.

More cocktails by Sam Ross

Nutrition:

One serving of Sunflower contains 169 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
19.45% alc./vol. (19.45° proof)
18 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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Showing 10 of 26 comments for Sunflower.
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Florian Ruf

27th May at 14:27

I am an outspoken fan of equal parts cocktails, so I love it. A spray of absinthe on the finished cocktail and some drops of saline solution gives a nice touch.

Ben Littlechilds

19th May at 00:07

I quite liked it! Did 0.25 oz less lemon juice and triple sec, and it was perfect.

Caspian Berggren

29th March at 21:04

I tried this with Pierre Ferrand's dry curacao and for this cocktail the triple sec probably works better. This drink wants to be light and bright, and the cognac brings it all down a peg. Despite that, it's lovely. It's floral and tart just like you want a spring drink to be. The elderflower is maybe a bit too forward but overall it's really good.

Christina Strong

14th March at 09:19

I didn't have a London-style gin (used my fave South Australian Applewood standard gin) and subbed lime for the lemon (my preference). I use Cointreau. Still absolutely delicious. Loved the ratios and found the 2.5ml Absinthe was perfect. In fact am sharing this recipe far and wide.👌

Shannon Brown

19th January at 01:59

Looking at the recipe, it sounds great, but it misses the mark for me. My first thought—immediately—was that this would be better with tequila resposado; the gin is lost in it. It’s very sweet forward, and I don’t like how the triple sec and St. Germaine blend. I think it would better with (either) one on its own. The lemon comes through after, but not enough. The absinthe is completely lost in it, and absinthe is not an easy flavour to lose. I’ll give it 3 stars, but I won’t make it again.

David Bailit

29th December 2024 at 00:03

I like it but the lemon seems to overpour the drink. Expected it to be a little more complex - might try .5 oz of lemon next time.

Romina

7th April at 23:23

same here

Calvin Grant

28th November 2024 at 03:21

Awesome possum!

Ruth Harvey

26th September 2024 at 17:16

A real favourite of mine. I wouldn't change a thing!

Tuber Magnatum

22nd July 2024 at 23:13

Very much enjoyed this. On first sips I thought a bit sweet and was going to make a "personal" note to try 1/2 oz elderflower next time. However, on drinking more, the perception of sweetness seemed to diminish. Overall a nicely balanced drink.