The Boss

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (59 ratings)

Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
1 23 oz Bourbon whiskey
56 oz Disaronno amaretto
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into ice-filled glass.
  5. EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 5/10

Review:

Amaretto brilliantly enriches bourbon. I tried adding a couple of dashes of bitters but found myself preferring the simplicity of just the two ingredients.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Godfather (Scotch whisky and amaretto); Godmother (vodka and amaretto); Godchild (brandy and amaretto)

History:

Adapted from a recipe in Stanley M. Jones' 1977 Jones' Complete Barguide:

(The) BOSS
Old Fashioned Glass
Build
1-1/2 oz Bourbon
1/2 oz Amaretto
Fill with ice

Stanley M. Jones, Jones' Complete Barguide, 1977

Godfather cocktail story and variations

Alcohol content:

  • 1.7 standard drinks
  • 30.97% alc./vol. (30.97° proof)
  • 23.2 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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Graeme McPherson’s Avatar Graeme McPherson
22nd June at 23:06
Quite an enjoyable nightcap. Really smooth. A bit subtler than the Godfather.
Robert Dahlgren’s Avatar Robert Dahlgren
6th September 2024 at 14:04
Wow! I really like Godfather, but didn't think that Bourbon would make that much a difference. I was wrong. Only had Maker's Mark at home but next time I'll try with a different one!
Juniper Lately’s Avatar Juniper Lately
27th September 2023 at 19:48
Adapted slightly with 2oz bourbon, 3/4 oz amaretto, 1/4 oz luxardo maraschino. It was really delicious! After a hard day at work I’m calling this “Screw the Boss” ;)
28th May at 02:25
I'd adapted this as well to these exact specs and called it "Glory Days" as a nod to "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen. Very tasty.
Kevin Haynes’ Avatar Kevin Haynes
16th December 2023 at 23:05
Excellent adaptation! Since there was Luxardo Maraschino in the cocktail, it absolutely needed a Luxardo Maraschino cherry as a garnish!
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
22nd February 2022 at 04:43
Instead of bourbon, decided to use a double barrel American Whiskey with the final aging in port casks. It was great. Very smooth with the hints of almond. Great as a night cap.