Delmonico Special

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (65 ratings)

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 12 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
14 oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
34 oz Strucchi Dry Vermouth
34 oz Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
2 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. EXPRESS orange 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:

A very wet gin martini dried with a splash of cognac and two dashes of bitters.

View readers' comments

AKA: Delmonico No.1

Variant:

Delmonico

History:

Also known as Delmonico No. 1, Cocktail historian, David Wondrich, says it's probable this cocktail originated soon after the Delmonico restaurant near Madison Square opened in 1876. In his 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, David Embury describes a Delmonico Special as "merely a Medium Martini with 1 teaspoon of brandy to each drink and a twist of orange peel."

Nutrition:

One serving of Delmonico Special contains 177 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.7 standard drinks
  • 23.65% alc./vol. (23.65° 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.

Join the discussion

Showing 3 comments for Delmonico Special.
See discussion in the Forum

Please log in to make a comment
Chris Dimal’s Avatar Chris Dimal
2nd June at 10:04
The version I made straddles the line between digestif and aperitif, also keeping in mind the numerous variations: 15 each of dry and sweet vermouths, 2 dashes Ango, 30 each of gin and brandy with a twist of lemon. I found this from a cocktail video uploaded by Epicurious.
Shay Dabush’s Avatar Shay Dabush
10th July 2023 at 23:02
I really like this build/recipe.
Much more balanced than the half-half Cognac & Gin split, and the 0.5 OZ split between sweet and dry vermouth.
Recommended!
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
13th October 2022 at 00:13
This is delightful and perfect for an aperitif. Herbal flavours combined with the cognac allows for a fragrant and dry cocktail. Went perfectly with a strong cheese (we used Red Leicester) and vegetables. On my favourites.
Richard Christmas’ Avatar Richard Christmas
7th March 2023 at 19:19
Cheese seems like a very good idea. This one needs exploring further.