Angel Face Cocktail Recipe
Equal parts gin, apricot brandy and calvados — floral, orchard-fruited and deceptively strong.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 27%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Gin30 ml (1 oz)
- Apricot brandy30 ml (1 oz)
- Calvados30 ml (1 oz)
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled.
- Strain into a chilled coupe.
Garnish
None
What it tastes like
Fruit notes come forward and it hits hard.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A stemmed, shallow coupe. The stem keeps your hand's warmth away from the drink, and the wide bowl carries the aroma to your nose. Served without ice.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Gin
- London dry gin: juniper up front, citrus and coriander behind it. Brand really does show here — Beefeater is sharp, Hendrick's floral, Tanqueray juniper-heavy.
- Calvados
- Normandy's apple brandy. It is distilled from cider, not from juice, so it is dry and earthy rather than sweet — dry cider is not a substitute for it.
The Story
First printed in Harry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, and one of the few classics built on three spirits and nothing else.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Angel Face mixed?
- It is stirred and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a Angel Face?
- Roughly 27% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a Angel Face be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Angel Face hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.