Name: Psychopathia Sexualis
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 22.5 ml Old Tom gin; 22.5 ml Palo cortado sherry; 22.5 ml Dry vermouth; 22.5 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth; 1 dash Orange bitters; 2 drop Saline solution 4:1

Psychopathia Sexualis
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Glass:

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
³⁄₄ oz	Hayman's Old Tom Gin
³⁄₄ oz	Lustau Palo Cortado Península Sherry
³⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth
³⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
1 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura
2 drop	Saline solution (20g sea salt to 80g water) or merest pinch of s

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

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

How to make:

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

Garnish:

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

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Palo cortado sherry, Dry vermouth, 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

Psychopathia Sexualis lifestyle thumbnail

Review:

My previous recipe was also equal parts, but based on London dry gin. In November 2025, I discovered that using old tom gin produced a better cocktail. Your choice of sherry is also impactful, and I ummm'd and ahhhh'd between amontillado and oloroso before settling on palo cortado. However, any of these three styles of sherry, paired with either old tom or dry gin, produces a delicious cocktail.

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AKA: Psycho Sex Cocktail

History:

Recipe adapted from Grosby Gaige's 1941 Cocktail Guide And Ladies' Companion which instructs, "Shake well with cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass. Sadly, Gaige doesn't stipulate what kind of sherry, merely stipulating "¼ part Sherry."

This cocktail takes its name from Richard Freiheer von Krafft-Ebing's 1886 book Psychopathia Sexualis (Psychopathy of Sex). This controversial German book "deals with the psychology of deviant sexual behaviour" and is noted for being the first to use the terms sadism and masochism.

Nutrition:

One serving of Psychopathia Sexualis contains 136 calories

Alcohol content:

1.2 standard drinks
18.58% alc./vol. (37.17° proof)
16.8 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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Carolyn Rush

23rd November at 19:01

Excellent! Nice balance, nice color.
I added a dash of chocolate bitters for extra depth.

Steven Jepson

21st November at 23:43

I used a Oloroso and Asterley Bros Estate Sweet Vermouth.
The Sherry shone through and I agree it needs an Old Tom Gin to provide that extra bit of sweetness

Simon Sedgley

15th November at 12:25

Absolutely delicious...excellent balance and complexity. We went total expressive dry on the Sherry, using an aged dry flor.

John CARR

24th November 2024 at 12:10

I’d go siofar as to say that selection of most of the ingredients can significantly alter this, not just the sherry. I also tried ford’s versus four pillars gin, and Dolin versus Cocchi Storico. Quite different beasts. The lighter vermouth worked quite well, emphasising the aperitif qualities, and less tendency to overwhelm the sherry. Still not sure of this one; needs further experiments 😉

John CARR

1st March at 14:44

Did a “dessert” version with cream sherry, which suited my palate this evening. Still nice and complex.

John CARR

24th November 2024 at 12:13

I used oloroso as Palo cortado not available locally that I can find. The computer suggests fino as an alternative, though Simon’s description gives amontillado

1 reply

Bert Schouterden

19th May 2024 at 21:00

I tried it with a London Dry, Fino Sherry, Noilly Prat, and a Martini Riserva Speciale Rubino and I must say that this version, although it seems 'simple', evolves quite complex. I accompanied it with an after dinner cheese and what a match !

William Smith

28th August 2022 at 03:25

I upped the gin a little, because gin. Used Amontillado. Interesting! It reminded me of a less-sweet Martinez.

Miguel Perales

20th August 2022 at 22:53

I used Amontillado sherry, which gave it a dry, slightly acidic taste. Quite a complex drink. Glad this was for a Nick & Nora. Anything larger may have been too much. Will have to try other Sherries to see how it changes.

John Hinojos

12th June 2022 at 00:21

Was looking for a unique cocktail for International Gin Day. The name caught my eye, and decided to try.
What a great way to observe the day and a perfect aperitif with nuts and cheese. Bursts of flavours which change as the cocktail has a chance to breathe. It is small, but does deliver with great taste.