Cocktails with Bénédictine

[FrogPrincesse]

I bought my first bottle of Bénédictine only recently and have been playing with it quite a bit. I posted my results on various threads but thought it would be good to start a new topic.

Last night I made the Cock'n Bull Special (an old recipe found on the Bartender's Choice app): bourbon, benedictine, cognac, cointreau, angostura bitters. It's very aromatic. If you like the Vieux Carré you will like this one.

[Hassouni]

Good idea for a topic. I too bought my first bottle recently. So far I've made a vieux carré and a de la Louisiane, both very nice.

[sbumgarner]

I, like most people on the Spirits and Cocktails board, don't have much use for vodka when it comes to mixing, but the Gypsy is a great way to both highlight the flavors of Benedictine while softening it at the same time.

2 oz vodka (I used Sobieski because $11 is about as much as I want to spend on vodka)

1 oz benedictine

Dash of Angostura

Stir, strain, coupe, lemon twist

[Rafa]

A few I like:

Elder Monk

by Dan Chadwick, Kindred Cocktrails

1/2 oz Gin

1/2 oz Elderflower liqueur, St. Germain

1/2 oz Bénédictine

1/2 oz Herbal liqueur, Green Chartreuse

1 oz Lemon juice

1 twst Lemon peel (as garnish)

Shake, strain, rocks, low-ball.

Cocktail de la Louisiane (Sam Ross)

by Restaurant de la Louisiane, New Orleans, LA, via Sam Ross

1 oz Rye

1 oz Cognac

1/2 oz Bénédictine

2 ds Peychaud's Bitters

1 ds Absinthe

1 twst Lemon peel

Build in glass; stir with ice; express and drop in twist.

The Doe's Path

by muse of doom, feu-de-vie

1 oz Rye, Dad's Hat

1 oz Dry vermouth, Vya

3/4 oz Cynar

1/4 oz Bénédictine

1 spg Rosemary (as garnish)

Stir, strain, coupe, garnish. Roll the sprig between your fingers to wake it up.

And one of mine:

Tammany Hall

by Rafa García Febles, NYC.

1 oz Irish whiskey, Redbreast

1 oz Genever, Bols

3/4 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Antica Formula

1/4 oz Bénédictine

1 ds Bitters, Angostura

1 twst Lemon peel (Expessed and discarded)

1 Cherry, Luxardo

Stir, strain, up, twist, cherry.

Edited May 9, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Last night was an encounter with the Merry Widow from the Savoy Cocktail Book. She has a beautiful pale orange color and an exuberant flavor thanks to the combination of Benedictine with absinthe/pastis and Angostura bitters. Gin, dry vermouth, Benedictine, Angostura bitters, rinse pastis; ratios from Bartender's Choice which are heavier on the gin and Benedictine compared to the original.

Here was the original as described by Erik.

Merry Widow Cocktail

2 Dashes Absinthe. (St. George)

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters.

2 Dashes Benedictine. (1 teaspoon Benedictine)

1/2 French Vermouth. (1 oz French Vermouth)

1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Plymouth Gin)

Stir well and strain into cocktail glass. Twist lemon peel on top.

When we initially tasted this, it was just too dry. Neyah remarked,"That Widow is just not very merry!" A bit more benedictine seemed to bring it into somewhat more tasty territory, but to my tastes there was still something conflicting in this combination. Maybe the bitters and the Absinthe?

Edited May 24, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Rafa]

Last night was an encounter with the Merry Widow from the Savoy Cocktail Book. She has a beautiful pale orange color and an exuberant flavor thanks to the combination of Benedictine with absinthe/pastis and Angostura bitters. Gin, dry vermouth, Benedictine, Angostura bitters, rinse pastis; ratios from Bartender's Choice which are heavier on the gin and Benedictine compared to the original.

Here was the original as described by Erik.

Merry Widow Cocktail

2 Dashes Absinthe. (St. George)

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters.

2 Dashes Benedictine. (1 teaspoon Benedictine)

1/2 French Vermouth. (1 oz French Vermouth)

1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Plymouth Gin)

Stir well and strain into cocktail glass. Twist lemon peel on top.

When we initially tasted this, it was just too dry. Neyah remarked,"That Widow is just not very merry!" A bit more benedictine seemed to bring it into somewhat more tasty territory, but to my tastes there was still something conflicting in this combination. Maybe the bitters and the Absinthe?

The Bartender's Choice ratios, for those who don't have the app, are as follows:

2 oz Gin

1/4 oz

3/4 oz Dry Vermouth

2 dashes Angostura

rinse Absinthe

I highly recommend getting the app, though; it's hundreds of excellent recipes for an absurdly low price.

The Caprice cocktail, from 1940 (ten years after the Savoy book), is very similar, only with Angostura rather than orange bitters and without the absinthe rinse:

Caprice

by Abe Marco, published in The How and When, 1940

1 1/2 oz Gin, Beefeater

1 1/2 oz Dry vermouth, Dolin

1/2 oz Bénédictine

1 ds Orange bitters

1 twst Orange peel

Stir, strain, coupe, twist.

(These are the PDT Book ratios.)

[Vieux Carré]

Last night I made the Cock'n Bull Special (an old recipe found on the Bartender's Choice app): bourbon, benedictine, cognac, cointreau, angostura bitters. It's very aromatic. If you like the Vieux Carré you will like this one.

I do like the Vieux Carré, but not having an iPhone or iPad, I don't have the Bartender's Choice app. Is their ratio anything like what I found here (http://www.examiner.com/article/new-york-vs-los-angeles-cocktail-competition-part-i) with the addition of the Angostura?

[FrogPrincesse]

Last night I made the Cock'n Bull Special (an old recipe found on the Bartender's Choice app): bourbon, benedictine, cognac, cointreau, angostura bitters. It's very aromatic. If you like the Vieux Carré you will like this one.

I do like the Vieux Carré, but not having an iPhone or iPad, I don't have the Bartender's Choice app. Is their ratio anything like what I found here (http://www.examiner.com/article/new-york-vs-los-angeles-cocktail-competition-part-i) with the addition of the Angostura?

Yes, the same with the addition of 2 dashes of Angostura bitters.

[FrogPrincesse]

The Bobby Burns is another classic cocktail with Benedictine. Scotch, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, angostura bitters.

Here is a variation on the Bobby Burns that we just tried, the Bobby Boucher (John Coltharp). It uses bourbon as the base and subsitutes some of the sweet vermouth for cherry liqueur.

Not crazy about the name, but it's a good cocktail.

[FrogPrincesse]

In the PDT thread I mentioned the Caprice, a dry Martini with Benedictine which I really enjoyed.

In Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails there is something very similar called the Ford Cocktail. Same ingredients, different ratios.

Caprice

PDT Cocktail Book

1.5 oz gin (Beefeater)

1.5 oz dry vermouth (Dolin)
0.5 oz Bénédictine

1 dash house orange bitters (Regan's + Fee's)

Ford Cocktail

Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails
1 oz gin (Old Tom)

1 oz dry vermouth

3 dashes Bénédictine

3 dashes orange bitters

Now the old debate of the volume of dashes... For the 3 dashes of Benedictine I used 1/8 oz (for the bitters, since they come in a dasher bottle, this is more straightforward). In restrospect that may be a little low (according to this post by David Wondrich 1 dash = 0.5 teaspoon and therefore 3 dashes = 1.5 teaspoons = 0.25 oz).

Here is the Ford Cocktail.

The Ford Cocktail is more subtle and less distinctive than the Caprice. I think I prefer the latter but this worked too. According to Ted Haigh the Ford Cocktail (1895) predates the Caprice by 39 years.

[Chris Amirault]

I've got a few of these in the file...

Bitter Yak

1 oz rye
1 oz cognac
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/2 oz Benedictine
-1/4 oz demerara

Stir; strain over new rocks; fat orange twist.

That one's mine; this one's from Mayahuel.

Jacko's End

1 oz Laird's BIB apple brandy

1 oz Minero mezcal
½ ounce Benedictine
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Stir; strain; pear slice garnish.

[Chris Amirault]

Now you got me thinking....

2 oz Broker's gin

2 oz Dolin blanc

barspoon Benedictine

3 dashes Bittermens hopped grapefruit bitters

Stir; strain; lemon twist. Lovely.

[haresfur]

I posted a version of this previously but I really like this new version with Benedictine. Even with the extra Benedictine sweetness it's still an adult drink IMO.

1.5 oz tequila - recently I've been using bianco but reposado should work

0.5 oz green walnut liqueur - made by a friend so I assume it is equivalent to nocino

2 tsp Benedictine

7 drops Xocolato (sp?) mole bitters

I serve over ice but you could stir and strain. A lemon twist wouldn't hurt.

[haresfur]

No photo but Imbibe's website just published a Dave Wondrich article on the Singapore Sling. Nice article and recipe. Since it fits in with my recent drinking and I have some limes to use up, I gave it a shot. Unfortunately I was out of soda so used tonic and used a bit more lime to balance.

Not bad but not high on my list.

[SamChevre]

I keep Benedictine around specifically to make the Singapore Sling--kind of the original tiki drink IMO. Equal parts gin, lime juice, Benedictine, and cherry brandy (I use homemade but Cherry Heering seems to be the common recommendation); shake with cracked ice, top with 2 parts cold seltzer,

[Plantes Vertes]

Kill and Wait

1oz Bénédictine

1oz Cointreau

1/2oz walnut infusion

Brut Champagne

Shake everything but the Champagne, strain, top with Champagne

It's based on a B2C2, but I swapped the oz Courvoisier for 1/2oz of the walnut infusion, which is 80-proof.

This seems quite strong.

[Plantes Vertes]

*160-proof

Counting schmounting

[Adam George]

What are you using to infuse that is 80%?

Edited July 25, 2013 by Adam George (log)

[haresfur]

Kill and Wait

1oz Bénédictine

1oz Cointreau

1/2oz walnut infusion

Brut Champagne

Shake everything but the Champagne, strain, top with Champagne

It's based on a B2C2, but I swapped the oz Courvoisier for 1/2oz of the walnut infusion, which is 80-proof.

This seems quite strong.

Walnut infusion? Green walnut, no sugar? Do tell.

[Plantes Vertes]

What are you using to infuse that is 80%?

Diluted Spirytus Rektyfikowany. A high-consonant spirit.

Walnut infusion? Green walnut, no sugar? Do tell.

No I could not find green walnuts, so it's made with ripe ones. But yes, no sugar.

[FrogPrincesse]

PV - you have to spill the beans and share your walnut infusion recipe. Because there is a MxMo challenge that's perfect for this!

 

Last night it was Déjà Vu all over again for various reasons that have little to do with cocktails. This one by Riccardo Semeria has armagnac (cognac can also be used - I went with Delord Armagnac Napoleon), French vermouth (Dolin), Benedictine, absinthe (St. George).

 

 

I love any occasion to mix with armagnac. The taste of this cocktail is very intriguing. Nothing really dominates and I kept detecting new aromas with every sip. Apparently the inspiration behind this drink was the Bombay No. 2 from the Savoy Cocktail Book.

[Plantes Vertes]

PV - you have to spill the beans and share your walnut infusion recipe. Because there is a MxMo challenge that's perfect for this!

 

I'll post it in the MxMo thread. I actually found a tiny drop in the back of my mother's fridge the other day (along with my long-lost rhubarb, grapefruit and thyme bitterses) and was thinking of doing something with it for the challenge...

[FrogPrincesse]

Last night, Daniel Shoemaker's Chrysanthemum variation with white vermouth (Dolin), Benedictine, absinthe (St. George). Very herbal and maybe less busy than the original with dry vermouth.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My only reason for keeping Benedictine on hand is Kappeler's widow's kiss.  Though that is more than enough excuse.  Even if this is not the weather for one.

[BillBuitenhuys]

Made a lovely Caprice (PDT ratios) this weekend using Beefeater, Dolin dry, Benedictine, and orange/fennel/saffron bitters.