Gin, stirred
Ford Cocktail
Barline 1h,1h,q,2,co
The code is the shorthand off my printed menu; the Key tab decodes every letter.
- 1 1/2 oz Gin
- 1 1/2 oz Dry vermouth
- 1/4 oz Bénédictine
- 2 dashes Orange bitters
Stir with ice until cold, then strain.
Coupe, orange twist.
Taste
Equal ounces and a half of gin and dry vermouth, then a quarter ounce of Bénédictine, which puts honey and herbs through the middle of it. Two dashes of orange bitters keep peel in the mix. Stirred, coupe, orange twist. A wet Martini with an herbal film.
History
George J. Kappeler prints the Ford Cocktail in 1895 Modern American Drinks: three dashes of Bénédictine, three dashes of orange bitters, half a jigger of Tom gin, half a jigger of French vermouth, orange peel. He does not name a Ford. Ted Haigh, in Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, points to Malcolm Webster Ford, the 1880s all-around athlete and journalist, rather than Henry, whose company postdates the recipe. Gin and dry vermouth stay equal and the orange bitters stay; the Bénédictine goes up to a quarter ounce, coupe, orange.
Same shape, other bottles
The Martini family, with the bottle that changed.
- Martinezmaraschino liqueur for Bénédictine
- Fitchettsweet vermouth for dry vermouth
- Racquet Clubcrème de cacao for Bénédictine
- Dry Orange Martiniorange liqueur for Bénédictine
- Affinityscotch for gin
- Fifty-Fiftywithout Bénédictine
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.