Don't Give Up the Ship

1 1⁄2 oz Gin (Juniper-forward style)

1⁄2 oz Triple sec, Cointreau

1⁄2 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Antica Formula

1⁄2 oz Fernet Branca

1 ds Orange bitters, Angostura

Instructions

Stir over ice for 30 seconds; strain into chilled cocktail glass; garnish with orange peel.

History

See reference for history.

Cocktail summary

Created by

Unknown?

Is an

altered recipe

Reference

http://drinksanddrinking.com/2012/10/10/dont-give-up-the-ship/

Curator

Not yet rated

Average

4 stars

(27 ratings)

Cocktail Book

From other users

Backed off the Fernet by .25 oz and that was a good call. — ★★★★
Gostei da formula. Preciso testar
Lower Fernet Branca to 0.25. Use sweet vermouth, vice Punt e Mes. Maybe too much Fernet?
Subbed vermouth for cynar
Very tasty, kind of cola like.
Smooth and sophisticated. A bit medicinal. — ★★★★
I think the 1/4 of Cointreau and fernet would be better

Similar cocktails

Staying Together For The Children — Gin, Sweet vermouth, Amaro Montenegro, Fernet Branca, Bitters, Peychaud's Bitters, Lemon peel
Solomon Grundy — Gin, Amaro Lucano, Sweet vermouth, Fernet Branca
Hocus Pocus — Gin, Triple sec, Sweet vermouth, Fernet Branca, Orange peel
Directorial Debut — Old Tom Gin, Fernet Branca, Sweet vermouth, Honey syrup, Lime juice
Monkey Business — Gin, Sweet vermouth, Crème de Banane, Fernet Branca, Orange peel
Fixer Upper — Gin, Sweet vermouth, Bigallet China-China, Fernet Branca, Bénédictine, Absinthe, Peychaud's Bitters, Grapefruit peel
606 — Genever, Sweet vermouth, Fernet Branca, Orange peel
Spanky Panky Martini — Gin, Sweet vermouth, Fernet Branca, Mint
Broken English — Gin, Sweet vermouth, Strega, Fernet Branca, Bénédictine, Orange bitters, Peychaud's Bitters, Grapefruit peel
Sun Stealer — Gin, Sweet vermouth, Crème de Cacao, Fernet Branca, Orange bitters, Lemon peel

Comments

Looks good, as soon as I save up for Antica I'll try! The version I had, from the capable bartender at Pourhouse in Vancouver (recommended!) is 1 1/2 oz Tanqueray, 1/4oz fernet branca, 1/4oz orange curaçao and 1/2 oz Dubonnet. Also very tasty.

These are also the ratios from the Bartender's Choice app. This is a top three fernet drink for me.

I carefully followed the recipe for "Don't Give Up the Ship," but I have to agree with two users who suggested less Fernet Brana. Both suggested only 1/4 oz instead of 1/2 oz. Using 1/2 oz of Fernet Branca overwhelms the other ingredients. I enjoy Fernet Branca in cocktails, but in this case, I believe more people will enjoy the drink by reducing the Fernet Branca to 1/4 to 1/3 oz. As is, I rated this drink at 3.5.

NOTE: I used Bombay Sapphire gin. Tanqueray gins tend not to be very "Juniper-forward," except for the recently released "Bloomsbury." It is definitely a Juniper-forward gin, that, in my opinion, gin-lovers in general will enjoy,

Made with Botanica, which is awfully junipery. The Fernet is good at 0.25 oz or just above.

With Patron Citronge as the triple sec, 0.25 oz is too light & 0.5 oz is possibly a little heavy. I'd likely use a 0.25 and up the orange bitters.

This drink is promising enough that I gave it a 4, though I agree it benefits strongly from measuring-to-taste.

Fernet was a bit much at first and overpowered the orange but it improved as it warmed up so a longer time stirring might help as well.

ETA, I used Botanist gin which might not have the necessary heft. Also, source blog was very entertaining and full of scientific method cocktail nerding out.

The source is Crosby Gaige's Cocktail Guide and Ladies' Companion but calls for Dubonnet, not sweet vermouth. Also, Gaige copied the recipe of the Napoleon from the 1930 Savoy but renamed it (as he often did with recipes to fit that book's chapters' themes).