Name: Yale Fence
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Calvados apple brandy; 30 ml Gin; 30 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth

Yale Fence
Jump to

Photographed in a Waterford Mixology Coupe Clear

Ingredients:
1 oz	Calvados / apple brandy / straight applejack
1 oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
1 oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of lemon (or orange) zest twist.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

The combination of apple brandy, gin and vermouth produce a delicious spirit-forward cocktail with unexpected delicious creamy vanilla notes.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Warday's Cocktail

History:

An exhumed classic recommended to me by Jason E. Clapham of the St. Edward's MCR at Oxford, who told us that this recipe was eponymously named after the Yale Fence which crossed the Yale University campus in Connecticut, USA. The three-rail fence was the main social hub for students at the university with various sections reserved for students of different years, clubs, teams and societies. A carved stone plaque, "The Old Yale Fence Stood Here", now commemorates the fence which stood for 51 years until its demise in 1888, leading to the formation of The Yale Fence Club. Jason surmises that the cocktail "was probably created at the Yale Fence Club in the early 1900s."

This cocktail first appears in David Embury's 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.

YALE FENCE
1 part Italian Vermouth
1 part Applejack
1 part Gin
Stir. A twist of lemon over each drink.
David Embury, 1948

Nutrition:

One serving of Yale Fence contains 186 calories

Alcohol content:

1.6 standard drinks
25.51% alc./vol. (25.51° proof)
23 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.

Join the discussion

Showing 4 comments for Yale Fence.
See discussion in the Forum

Please log in to make a comment

Felicia Stratton

22nd October 2024 at 22:30

So I didn’t go to Yale and I’ve never been to Duke’s (though I live next door to Duke U…I loved this! Used to local amazing apple brandy from Fair Game - it’s a keeper.

Scott McIsaac

24th July 2023 at 23:34

I don't remember this when I was attending Yale, but I only visited the Fence Club a couple of times. Anyway, I tried it with Hayman's Old Tom on the theory that they would have originally made it with Old Tom, and it was exquisite!

Jason Edward CLAPHAM

21st January 2023 at 17:01

Just tried this again using some Sacred English Spiced Vermouth, which is apparently what they use at Duke's in Mayfair. Fantastic!

John Hinojos

6th December 2022 at 03:56

What a perfect after-dinner or evening sipping cocktail The gin and calvados work perfectly together. The vermouth enhances the herbal flavours and adds some sweetness. Balanced and none of the ingredients overshadow. Pleasantly spirit forward. On my favourites, but may try with a 1/4 oz of applejack-in-bond to spike it up a bit.

See discussion in the Forum