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Harvard

Anytime · Classic/vintage · Hall of Fame and must know/try

4.5 51 ratings

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Cognac (brandy)
1 1/2 oz Rosso/sweet vermouth
1/12 oz Gomme syrup
3 dash Aromatic bitters
1/2 oz Soda water

How to make

Serve in a coupe glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

Method

  1. 3 STIR first 4 ingredients with ice.
  2. 4 STRAIN into chilled glass.
  3. 5 TOP with soda.

Garnish

  1. 6 EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

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Flavour profile

18.6% alc./vol. · 1.4 standard drinks · 176 calories

History

An approachable take on a classic. Dry and herbal, this makes a great apéritif.

This recipe remains true to the earliest known mention of the cocktail found in George J. Kappeler's 1895 publication, Modern American Drinks – How to Mix and Serve All Kinds of Cups and Drinks. In his 1931 book, Old Waldorf Bar Days, Albert Stevens Crockett wrote regarding this drink, "Named after a school for young men, whose site is contiguous to the Charles River, in a suburb of Boston. Alumni who drunk it sometimes lost the 'Harvard accent'." The Harvard Cocktail recipe is listed as: One dash gum-syrup, three dashes Angostura bitters, half-jigger Italian vermouth, half-jigger brandy in half a mixing-glass of fine ice. Mix, strain into cocktail-glass, fill up with seltzer. The history of the Manhattan cocktail is also noted.

Also known as New Orleans Manhattan · Created by George Kappeler