CLASSIC COCKTAIL · 1850–1889
Adonis
A low-alcohol Waldorf classic: dry sherry and sweet vermouth stirred with orange bitters.
1885–86Historical classicResearched
The Adonis first appears in print in a March 1887 New York Sun column, where a bartender serves “Adonis cocktails” without knowing what they are. The drink is named after the Broadway musical Adonis, which opened in Chicago in 1884 and moved to New York that September. Its familiar recipe — two-thirds sweet vermouth to one-third sherry with orange bitters — was first recorded by Jacques Straub in 1913.
THE RECIPELight, nutty and elegant
Ingredients
- Dry sherry60 ml
- Sweet vermouth30 ml
- Orange bitters2 dashes
- Orange peelto garnish
Method
Stir the sherry, vermouth and bitters with ice until chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe, express an orange peel over the surface and drop it in.
Coupe · no ice · orange peel