Name: Bijou Cocktail (inspired by Lawlor's 1895 recipe)
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Gin; 22.5 ml Grand Marnier; 22.5 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth

Bijou Cocktail (inspired by Lawlor's 1895 recipe)
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Bijou Cocktail (inspired by Lawlor's 1895 recipe) image

Photographed in a Waterford Mixology Coupe Clear

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
³⁄₄ oz	Grand Marnier or other cognac orange liqueur
³⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth

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:

Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A boozy sipper of a cocktail that's medium dry with honeyed richness. Gin-based with zesty orange freshness and sweet vermouth adding deep herbal complexity. A great after-dinner cocktail that also works well on-the-rocks.

This should not be confused with the more commonplace equal parts gin, Chartreuse and vermouth Bijou which first appeared in Harry Johnson's 1900 Bartender's Manual.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Bijou cocktail (Difford's recipe)
Bijou cocktail (by Jamie Gordon)
Bijou shot

History:

Adapted from the original equal parts gin, Grand Marnier and sweet vermouth recipe in C. F. Lawlor's 1895 book The Mixicologist in which he describes this as "a delicious drink." Handily adding, "Grand Marnier can also be served in a pony-glass like any liqueur." Remember, Louis-Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle only created Grand Marnier 15 years earlier and it must have taken a while for the new liqueur to find its way from France to the Grand Hotel in Cincinnati where Lawlor worked, so he was commenting on what was then an exciting new product.

Bijou Cocktail.
Take
1/3 Grand Marnier.
1/3 Vermouth.
1/3 Plymouth Gin.
Mix and strain ; a delicious drink. Grand Marnier can also be served in pony-glass like any liquor.
C-F-Lawlor, 1895

Nutrition:

One serving of Bijou Cocktail (inspired by Lawlor's 1895 recipe) contains 191 calories

Alcohol content:

1.8 standard drinks
27.24% alc./vol. (27.24° proof)
24.5 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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Showing 9 comments for Bijou Cocktail (inspired by Lawlor's 1895 recipe).
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Simon Sedgley

10th February at 07:19

We followed Annabelle's lead and included 10ml of Amontillado...a better balance on the original for us. Then we made a second one with an added 10ml of Sake...it's this one that is our favourite variation on the theme. It seems to us that one of the characteristics that a cocktail must embody if it is to be called a 'classic' is a generous and open-hearted invitation to experiment with variation...this one certainly fits the bill for us.

Dave D.

1st December 2024 at 00:13

I just love Bijou…even using a timeless classic like Gordon’s Gin….and Martini and Rossi….but ONLY Grand Marnier!❤️

John CARR

28th June 2024 at 14:39

One senses the DNA of so many other and later cocktails here. Appreciate the simplicity and richness of the flavours.

Ian Carpick

2nd June 2024 at 06:25

I've made this a few times, and each time, it seemed like something was missing; it was always a little bit one-note. Tonight, I tried adding a barspoon of Pernod anisette, and the hint of liquorice and bitterness harmonized surprisingly well with the Grand Marnier. This might become a regular for me.

Tuber Magnatum

16th May 2024 at 23:13

Tried this tonight and took a flyer as per comments below and upped gin to 2 oz. I found this to be well balanced. What I would like to try next time though is to sub out the Grand Marnier for Cointreau; I found the Grand Marnier to be a bit unctuous for my palate.

John CARR

28th June 2024 at 14:42

So, in terms of the period, you’ve made an ‘improved’ cocktail. Congrats!

Dave Smith

9th February 2024 at 01:54

A great cocktail! I agree with comments that it is a little sweet. Next time I’ll dial back the grand marnier and increase the gin.

Annabelle Egginton

3rd February 2024 at 18:48

Nice but slightly too soft in taste because of the mellow and sweet orange liqueur and red vermouth. I added 10ml of dry Sherry just to balance out that sweetness.

John CARR

15th September 2023 at 11:49

Found it on the sweet side ( as commented by others below) but improved as it warmed up actually.. and with a few other experimental cocktails on board… this grew on me! A classic of it’s time - and today?!?

Kirk McElhearn

11th October 2021 at 00:16

I stumbled in this looking for ways to combine gin and Grand Marnier. It is fabulous, though a bit too sweet. I’ll have to try it with a bit less Grand Marnier, or, perhaps, a bit more gin to compensate for the Grand Marnier and sweet vermouth.