Chrysanthemum

2 oz Dry vermouth
1 oz Bénédictine
3 ds Absinthe
Instructions

Serve up with an orange twist.

Notes

Adjust Benedictine depending on preferred sweetness

History

This is a variation of the Chrysanthemum Cocktail, first published in 1916 in Hugo Ensslin's "Recipes for Mixed Drinks". Ensslin uses equal parts vermouth and Benedictine and 2-3 dashes of absinthe.

Cocktail summary
Year
1930
Is an
altered recipe
Reference

Savoy Cocktail Book, pg. 47

Curator
Not yet rated
Average
3.5 stars
(16 ratings)
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From other users
  • Interesting! Made 2:1 instead of the PDT version. ¼ Absinthe will overpower the drink — ★★★★
  • Found this much too sweet, even with benedictine reduced. Was improved by adding some Peychaud bitters, but wouldn't make it again. — ★★
  • I like with 3/4 Benedictine. — ★★★★★
  • 1/3/19: From Cocktail Codex, made with 2.5 oz dry vermouth, 0.5 oz Benedictine, 1 tsp absinthe, orange twist. Less or no absinthe might be worth trying. — ★★
  • 3/4 Benedictine worked well, and light on the absinthe is good. Light, approachable, good. — ★★★★
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Comments

This and a duplex are both great ways to use up dry vermouth. Other herbal liqueurs work as well as benedictine, and you can easily adjust proportions to taste. I'm not a big absinthe fan so I usually just add whatever bitters I'm in the mood for instead.

PDT makes this with only a quarter ounce of Bénédictine. I find a half ounce to be a happy medium.