Name: Ford Cocktail
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Old Tom gin; 45 ml Dry vermouth; 10 ml Bénédictine D.O.M.; 2 dash Orange bitters; 2 drop Saline solution 4:1

Ford Cocktail
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Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Hayman's Old Tom Gin
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth
¹⁄₃ oz	Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur
2 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura
2 drop	Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Dry vermouth - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

I like both spirit-forward cocktails and gin, so although the original recipe calls for equal parts gin and dry vermouth, I previously opted for two-parts (60ml/2oz) old tom gin to one part (30ml/1oz) dry vermouth with 10ml (⅓oz) Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur (not Bénédictine B&B) with an all essential two dashes of orange bitters and orange zest twist.

However, respecting the original recipe and comments made by fellow Discerning Drinkers, I have switched to the present equal parts old tom gin and dry vermouth. The original recipe also specifies a mere "three dashes of Bénédictine D.O.M. (B&B was not made back then), but even 7.5ml (¼oz) is not enough, so I've stuck with a whopping 10ml (⅓oz). The orange bitters and zest remain essential to this cocktail's success.

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Variant:

Caprice
Chrysanthemum
Fifty-Fifty Martini
Merry Widow(er)
Minnie the Moocher
Poet's Dream
Poet's Martini
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth Wine
Rolls Royce
Tip Top
Vancouver

History:

Adapted from a recipe in George J. Kappeler's 1895 Modern American Drinks – How to mix and Serve All Kinds of Cups and Drinks.

FORD COCKTAIL.
Three dashes Benedictine, three dashes orange bitters, half a jigger Tom gin, half a jigger French vermouth. Mix in a mixing-glass half-full fine ice. Strain into a cocktail-glass. Add a twisted orange peel.
George J. Kappeler, 1895

Nutrition:

One serving of Ford Cocktail contains 180 calories

Alcohol content:

1.7 standard drinks
24.17% alc./vol. (24.17° proof)
24.3 grams of pure alcohol

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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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Stephen Broughall

9th February at 01:35

Must use equal parts of gin and vermouth in this outstanding cocktail. Upping the Benedictine slightly is also a good idea. I used Himbrini Icelandic Old Tom which is a bit different than my usual Haymans. I now prefer the Himbrini and the complexity it brings. Did not use the saline solution but will try it next time. A great cocktail!

Justin Aniello

24th November 2024 at 01:14

Was disappointing per the recipe, basically a wet martini, was barely getting the Benedictine. I started by doubling, then tripling the Benedictine and it was much improved. Nothing wrong with a wet martini but wasn't what I was looking for.

Caspian Berggren

27th January at 19:00

Did you try it with equal parts gin and vermouth as per the original recipe? I personally found that to be a lot better, with the Benedictine carrying the vermouth and orange bitters forward. It's still basically a riff on a wet martini but slightly different.

2 replies

Peter McCarthy

27th April 2024 at 00:16

This is nice if you're in the mood for something gin-forward! You're hit with the gin up front, but then it quickly fades into sweet/orange/herbal/spice from the rest of the ingredients!

Shannon Burns

17th March 2024 at 01:01

I enjoyed this much better than Poet's Dream. My only deviation from the recipe was that I flamed the orange peel as I had just watched "The Educated Barfly" do so on You Tube. I figured adding a hint of caramelised orange to my cocktail couldn't hurt. I was NOT wrong.

David Henderson

5th June 2023 at 21:39

First ever comment here on Diffords to state I did not enjoy, nor did my guests! It was my first cocktail using Benedictine, and first using Old Tom Gin. Will search for other uses of the Benedictine, which is delicious.

Sander Pastoor

11th February 2023 at 21:56

Excellent cocktail. I'm not a huge martini dan but this one works for me. A new favorite!

Nicholas Sowards

16th November 2022 at 23:37

Enjoyed this one, 4.5. A local old Tom seasonal fall gin made a great star in it. I added 4 drops Bittermens Spiced Cranberry Bitters to my side-by-side version, and liked it even better. The smidge of cranberry goes so well with orange and the baking spices really sang with the fall gin.

Greg Klump

5th October 2022 at 20:46

Tonik Distillery's Origin Old Tom for gin. No Martini extra dry vermouth on hand, so had to sub in Dolin Dry. Only had 2/3 of oz in the heel of the bottle, so used 1/3 oz Guerro Bianco to round the vermouth up to 1 oz.
Not at all sweet. Nuanced layers. V. nice :)

John Hinojos

27th September 2022 at 00:13

Great aperitif. Did not feel it was as sweet as I was expecting from the other reviews. I love the various burst of flavours with each sip.

Geoff B.

16th March 2021 at 04:14

I enjoyed the sweetness and vermouth back-end of this drink. I used Barr Hill as my gin, which has honey added and close to an old Tom. Benedictine seems to bridge the vermouth and gin nicely and compliments the aroma of the bitters and zest. This drink is sweet and pair with that in mind.