Name: Night Cap (Sloppy Joe's 1935)
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 22.5 ml Cognac (brandy); 22.5 ml Gin; 22.5 ml White crème de cacao; 22.5 ml Lime juice; 5 ml Sugar syrup (2:1); 3 drop Saline solution 4:1

Night Cap (Sloppy Joe's 1935)
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Photographed in an UB Retro Coupe 1910

Ingredients:
³⁄₄ oz	Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
³⁄₄ oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
³⁄₄ oz	White crème de cacao liqueur
³⁄₄ oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₆ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
3 drop	Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water) optional

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of express and then float coin-sized orange zest twist.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Night Cap (Sloppy Joe's 1935) lifestyle image

Review:

This sweet 'n' sour, gin and cognac-laced cocktail is perhaps more suited to be enjoyed as an aperitivo, or even with breakfast, than the nightcap the name suggests. Unless you have a very sweet white cacao then the recipe needs the bar spoon of sugar syrup I've added for balance.

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AKA: Chocolate Word

History:

Adapted from a recipe in a 1935 souvenir pamphlet from the famous Sloppy Joe's bar in Havana, Cuba (courtesy of Beachbum Berry's Potions of the Caribbean).

Nutrition:

One serving of Night Cap (Sloppy Joe's 1935) contains 182 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
18.48% alc./vol. (18.48° proof)
17.6 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 6 comments for Night Cap (Sloppy Joe's 1935).
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Dávid Ugróczi

20th January 2024 at 20:56

Strongly sweet, strongly sour with a hint of chocolate. Not bad.

Chris Dimal

8th August 2023 at 12:17

Bracingly tart. So tart, I doubt it's a nightcap! It's really intense. The gin and brandy are mostly lost, only the Creme de Cacao has any influence.

Simon Difford

9th August 2023 at 20:42

Agreed, Chris. I've added sugar and saline to rebalance and amended the comment re occasion.

Amy Chard

1st October 2022 at 23:20

The instructions say to garnish with a lime twist zest coin, but the photo shows an orange zest coin. Could you confirm which is right? Thank you in advance!

Simon Difford

9th August 2023 at 20:45

Both zest work and benefit this cocktail but of the two I prefer orange so I've amended accordingly. (Lime dries this cocktail already finely balanced cocktail.)

Steve Anderson

6th July 2021 at 21:24

I wanted to make a Last Word but I was out of Green Chartreuse. My taste buds were set! What to do? Fortunately, I remembered making this, and that it didn't taste like a late night drink but more of a summer sipper. My wife agrees! I know this cocktail has historic roots, but I would vote for a new name. A Chocolate Word??

Simon Difford

7th July 2021 at 07:26

Agreed! I've added Chocolate Word as an AKA above and also added to our search terms, so now if you search for a Chocolate Word you should see this Night Cap recipe listed.

John Hinojos

11th April 2021 at 03:21

Boozy and wonderful for sipping. I also did it on the rocks as it is a little sweet for me.

Anonymous

18th February 2021 at 19:39

Delicious. So good that I had to revisit a week later. Boozy and tangy, but with a long sweet white chocolate aftertaste. I preferred sipping it on the rocks though.

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