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Alfonso (Special)

Name: Alfonso (Special)
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 25 ml Gin; 25 ml Grand Marnier; 15 ml Dry vermouth; 7.5 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth; 2 dash Aromatic bitters; 10 ml Chilled water

Difford’s Guide

Discerning Drinkers (49)

Measurements in:

Serves:

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Ingredients
5/6 fl oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
5/6 fl oz	Grand Marnier or other cognac orange liqueur
1/2 fl oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth
1/4 fl oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
2 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters
1/3 fl oz	Chilled water/mineral water (omit if using wet ice)

How to make

Glassware

Serve in a Coupe glass

Prepare

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.

Method

STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Alfonso (Special) contains 148 calories

Alcohol content:

1.4 standard drinks
23.19% alc./vol. (46.38° proof)
19.3 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Dry vermouth, Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino) — Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

History

A vintage cocktail of unknown origin that features in Harry Craddock's 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book, William "Cocktail Bill" Boothby's posthumously published 1934 World's Drinks And How To Mix Them; and Victor J. Bergeron's 1972 Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide Revised.

ALFONSO (SPECIAL) COCKTAIL.
1 Dash Angostura Bitters.
4 Dashes Italian Vermouth.
¼ Dry Gin.
¼ French Vermouth.
½ Grand Marnier.
Shake well and strain into chilled cocktail.
Harry Craddock, 1930

ALFONSO
Grand Marnier . . . . . ½ jigger
Gin . . > > >. . . . . . . . ¼ jigger
Fr. Vermouth . . . . . . ¼ jigger
Bitters . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 drops
Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass and serve.
William Boothby, 1934

ALFONSO COCKTAIL
½ ounce gin
1 ounce Grand Marnier liqueur
½ ounce French vermouth
4 dashes Italian vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
Shake with ice cubes. Strain into chilled cocktail glass.
Victor Bergeron, 1972

Martini cocktail history and its evolution

Review

Dry yet slightly sweet with hints of orange, gin and warm spice.

Hayman's London Dry Gin 750ml - makes 30 cocktails
$33.99 $1.13 per cocktail Hayman's London Dry Gin image

Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge 375ml - makes 15 cocktails
$16.99 $1.13 per cocktail Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge image

Angostura Aromatic Bitters 120ml - makes 192 cocktails
$13.99 $0.07 per cocktail Angostura Aromatic Bitters image

$2.33 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 15 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.

Orders are processed by a licensed Fulproof retailer. The buy now button is added simply for convenience.

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* May not include all ingredients. Price per cocktail is an estimate based on cost of one cocktail with ingredients shown above and does not include shipping.

Comments & Discussion

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James Pratt Premium Member 4y

This dates back further than Victor Bergeron: it’s in The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) (as the Alfonso (Special) Cocktail) and also in the 1934 edition of Boothby’s World Drinks And How To Mix Them (it’s not in the 1930 edition).

Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member 4y

Thanks James. I've amended the origin as per your notes and I'll look into this more along with the Alice Mince cocktail ASAP.

John Hinojos Premium Member 4y

This is a wonderful martini. The flavours go extremely well together. It is well balanced and perfect as an aperitif. Very much different from the tiki drinks he created.

Andy Parnell-Hopkinson 4y

Would never have expected such a delicately balanced gin drink from such a foul-mouth.

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