Scotch, stirred
Telling Phoebe
Barline 1h,Q,h,h,cc
The code is the shorthand off my printed menu; the Key tab decodes every letter.
- 1 1/2 oz Scotch
- 3/4 oz Sweet vermouth
- 1/2 oz Fernet
- 1/2 oz Bénédictine
Stir with ice until cold, then strain.
Coupe, cherry.
Taste
An ounce and a half of scotch, three-quarters of sweet vermouth, half an ounce each of Fernet and Bénédictine. The whiskey leads a Rob Roy; Fernet is mint against peat, Bénédictine honey and spice. Stirred, coupe, cherry.
History
Chantal Tseng built Telling Phoebe as a homage to R.O. Kwon's novel The Incendiaries, for one of her literary cocktail nights. Brett Adams and Jacob Grier print it in Raising the Bar (2022): an ounce and a half of scotch, three-quarters sweet vermouth, half an ounce each of Fernet and Bénédictine, cherry. It drinks as a Rob Roy with Fernet and Bénédictine splitting the bitter-sweet slot. This menu keeps that pour.
Same shape, other bottles
The Martini family, with the bottle that changed.
- El Presidentelight rum and dry vermouth for scotch and sweet vermouth
- Bobby Burnswithout Fernet
- Burnt Fuselagecognac and dry vermouth for scotch and sweet vermouth
- Claridgegin and dry vermouth for scotch and sweet vermouth
- Newarkapple brandy and maraschino liqueur for scotch and Bénédictine
- Bensonhurstrye and dry vermouth for scotch and sweet vermouth
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.