Bourbon, stirred
Derby
Barline 2,Q,h,h,cm
The code is the shorthand off my printed menu; the Key tab decodes every letter.
- 2 oz Bourbon
- 3/4 oz Lime juice
- 1/2 oz Sweet vermouth
- 1/2 oz Orange liqueur
Stir with ice until cold, then strain.
Coupe, mint.
Taste
Two ounces of bourbon against three-quarters of an ounce of lime, so the lime is loud. Half an ounce each of sweet vermouth and orange liqueur dress it: grape and peel under the citrus. Stirred, despite the juice. Coupe, mint. Bourbon and lime sit in the same glass, cold.
History
At least three drinks share the name Derby. The gin-and-peach-bitters version is Harry MacElhone, 1926, later in the Savoy. The version here is the bourbon one: lime, sweet vermouth, and orange curacao, which Ted Haigh reprints from Trader Vic's 1947 Bartender's Guide, one of three Derbies Vic listed. Vic's formula is a short pour of bourbon against a heavy lime, and it is shaken. The lime, the vermouth, the orange liqueur, and the mint are Vic's; the two ounces of bourbon and the stir are this menu's.
Same shape, other bottles
The Daisy family, with the bottle that changed.
- Man o' Warlemon juice for lime juice
- Vermouth-aritatequila for bourbon
- Margaritatequila for bourbon
- Mezcal Margaritamezcal for bourbon
- Whiskey Daisylemon juice for lime juice
- Elderflower Daiquirilight rum and elderflower liqueur for bourbon and orange liqueur
This is one drink on my home bar's menu. Tick the bottles you own and the menu lists which of all 185 drinks they pour.