Gentleman's Exchange Recipe
A dark, layered rye drink: sweet vermouth, gentian liqueur and amaro, with a teaspoon of coffee liqueur and a lift of absinthe.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 25%
- Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
- Rye whiskey45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth22.5 ml (0.8 oz)
- Gentian liqueur15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Amaro15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Coffee liqueur1 tsp
- Absinthe4 dash
- Angostura bitters2 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled and diluted.
- Strain into an old fashioned glass over one large ice cube.
- Express a grapefruit peel over the drink and drop it in.
Garnish
Grapefruit peel
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone, the spirit is right out front and it is layered, giving you something different each sip.
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 heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Rye whiskey
- Rye whiskey. Where bourbon is sweet, rye brings black pepper and a mint-like sharpness; in drinks with sweet vermouth, like a Manhattan, that sharpness is what holds the balance.
- Sweet red vermouth
- Once opened it lives IN THE FRIDGE and should be finished within a month; a bottle left at room temperature oxidises in a few weeks and sours the drink.
- Gentian liqueur
- A liqueur made from gentian root (Suze, Salers). Its bitterness is drier and earthier than Campari's, and it adds no red colour — so the drink looks different too.
- Amaro
- The umbrella name for Italian bitter liqueurs, and no two are alike. Averna is sweet and caramelly, Fernet sharp and minty, Montenegro floral — which is why a recipe naming a brand means it.
- Coffee liqueur
- Coffee liqueur. It is not a stand-in for coffee — it is very sweet and low in caffeine; in drinks with espresso the two are used together, not instead of each other.
- Absinthe
- The anise spirit, 55-70% alcohol. In cocktails it is used as a rinse rather than a measure: most recipes have you coat the glass and pour the rest away, leaving only the aroma.
- Angostura bitters
- The salt of the cocktail world. Measured in dashes, not millilitres: a few of them cut the sweetness and add spice. One bottle lasts years.
The Story
A contemporary bar recipe in the Manhattan family, where part of the vermouth gives way to bitter liqueurs.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Gentleman's Exchange mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Gentleman's Exchange?
- Roughly 25% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a Gentleman's Exchange 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 Gentleman's Exchange hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
The main ingredient here is also a dream symbol: Coffee in a dream
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.