Poet's Dream

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (622 ratings)

Glass:

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
34 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
12 oz Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur
34 oz Strucchi Dry Vermouth
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

  1. Select and pre-chill a NICK & NORA GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

How to make:

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

Garnish:

  1. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10

Review:

Subtly boozy, honeyed and herbal.

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from a recipe in the 1949 edition of Esquire's Handbook for Hosts.

POET'S DREAM
1/3 Benedictine
1/3 French vermouth
1/3 Gin
Lemon peel squeezed on top

Esquire's Handbook for Hosts, 1949

Nutrition:

One serving of Poet's Dream contains 125 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.1 standard drinks
  • 25.35% alc./vol. (25.35° proof)
  • 15.2 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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Mike’s Avatar Mike
28th September at 03:15
Perfection in a Nick & Nora. Fords gin, Noilly Prat Extra Dry. An orange twist works as well as lemon.
Matt’s Avatar Matt
24th September at 02:06
Maybe a favorite "dry" martini. I found I liked it more using **bianco vermouth** vs. dry vermouth (the variant with the dry had me confused, too similar to the baseline dry martini). Bianco vermouth strips out the savory element of dry vermouth, and complements the Benedictine. Barely dry enough for before dinner, and certainly sweet enough for after dinner.
23rd August at 15:09
A cocktail lover’s cocktail 🍸
10th August at 10:15
Use the kiss method and don't even bother with the vermouth, make it really simple and it's perfectly fine with a decent London dry and the Dom B - ooh la lahhh
Ruth Harvey’s Avatar Ruth Harvey
25th April at 16:41
A delicious aperitief. I added a thinly peeled lemon peel and 1/6 measure of Grand Marnier for a citrus twist.
Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
22nd March at 02:04
Revisited, made a double and it was TWICE AS GOOD! No, I jokes. It was just twice as much. Still a 5+ masterpiece though.
Simon Sedgley’s Avatar Simon Sedgley
13th February at 03:12
We had this again, this time easing back a bit on the Benedictine. Like Goldilocks, we enjoy our Martinis not too sweet and not too dry.
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
9th February at 02:31
Had again since over 3 years. It is still well balanced, but does have a little more sweetness. Love the hints of orange and honey, but would consider increasing the gin to make a drier cocktail.
Leslie’s Avatar Leslie
17th April 2024 at 23:31
Lovely, perfect apperitivo, I added pear bitters which chastened the sweetness of the Benedictine.
Simon Sedgley’s Avatar Simon Sedgley
9th April 2024 at 16:05
A contemplative, monastic Martini.
Great website btw; a real education and very much appreciated.
Simon Sedgley’s Avatar Simon Sedgley
9th April 2024 at 16:12
James Bond meets Saint Benedict. Now that would be an interesting conversation.