Name: Greta Garbo
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Light white rum; 7.5 ml Maraschino liqueur; 15 ml Sugar syrup (2:1); 30 ml Lime juice; 5 ml Aniseed liqueur

Greta Garbo
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Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Light white rum (charcoal-filtered 1-4 years old)
¹⁄₄ oz	Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
¹⁄₂ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
1 oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₆ oz	Aniseed (anise) liqueur

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of star anise.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Garnish with star anise floated on surface.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A deliciously clean and cleansing Daiquiri with delicate notes of maraschino and anise.

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Variant:

The Doctor No.2 cocktail is also known as a Gretta Garbo (according to David A. Embury's 1948 Fine Art of Mixing Drinks), this consists of equal parts lemon juice, Swedish Punch and gin.

History:

The origins of this cocktail are unknown but it is named after the Swedish film actress and Hollywood star. Born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson on the 18th September 1905, Greta Garbo received three Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and an honorary one in 1954. She was ranked the fifth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute in 1999, behind Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, and Ingrid Bergman.

Garbo's career launched with the 1924 Swedish film, The Saga of Gosta Berling. Although her role was minor, her performance caught the attention of Louis B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) who signed her to his studio in 1925. The next year she appeared in MGM's silent film, Torrent, then Flesh and the Devil in 1926, which propelled her to international stardom. Garbo's first talking film was Anna Christie (1930) which MGM marketed with the catch-phrase "Garbo talks!". Garbo retired from the screen after the failure of Two-Faced Woman in 1941 at the age of 35 having appeared in 28 films. An avid art collector, she never married, had no children and lived alone shunning publicity. Greta Garbo died 15th April 1990.

Nutrition:

One serving of Greta Garbo contains 212 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
17.77% alc./vol. (17.77° proof)
20.9 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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Miguel Perales

11th January at 23:21

A very light, flavorful cocktail. I'm not that crazy about absinthe so, like Florian, I misted Absinthe on the glass instead of using the full amount. Citrusy with a hint of anise ( d.t spritzing of Absinthe). Very enjoyable.

Florian Ruf

23rd March 2024 at 19:25

And I forgot to mention: some drops of saline solution is perfect to even lift the taste.

Florian Ruf

23rd March 2024 at 19:22

Wonderful cocktail. I used a bit less Absinthe and gave it instead a spray of Absinthe on the ready cocktail in the glass.

Luca Viviani

29th January 2024 at 20:29

I loved it. Next time I will try reducing Maraschino to 5 ml, I found it a little prevailing.

jeff gathergood

26th March 2022 at 17:20

This is my wife’s favourite cocktail

John Hinojos

2nd December 2021 at 01:40

Being a big rum and absinthe fan, this is a perfect cocktail. It could be an aperitif or digestive. Tart with the beautiful hints of absinthe coming through. Highly recommend.

C Baker

18th September 2021 at 04:16

Pro: nice balance Con: now that I've had one, I vant to be alone

Beverly Stanton

7th August 2021 at 22:34

Not bad, but very ordinary.

Daniel Chapman

21st June 2021 at 18:25

I bought Pernod not realising it was like sambuca ??

However this is now one of my favourite cocktails. The measures all seem about right for me. Nicely balanced

G. M. Genovese

18th October 2020 at 18:48

Just made this a moment ago. Only had 1/4 oz 2:1 cane simple, so I brought it up to a 1/2 with some 'triple syrup' (Dale DeGroff). Lowered the Pernod to 1/12 oz as well. Fantastic! So lovely when on-the-fly adjustments exceed expectations.

G. M. Genovese

12th February at 20:43

Doctor Bird and Herbsaint took this in a more palate-ively effusive expression of blocky, exotic flavors... but the latter was arguably a bit too much or, rather, accentuated itself against the unrestrained esters of the former.

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