Tuxedo Cocktail Recipe
A dry Martini dressed up with maraschino, absinthe and orange bitters.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 24%
- Difficulty: Medium
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Gin45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Dry vermouth45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Maraschino liqueur5 ml (0.2 oz)
- Absinthe2 dash
- Orange bitters3 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled.
- Strain into a chilled coupe.
- Garnish with a cherry and a lemon twist.
Garnish
Maraschino cherry and lemon twist
What it tastes like
The spirit is right out front.
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.
- Dry vermouth
- Dry white vermouth. Same rule as the sweet one: fridge, one month. When someone asks how dry a martini should be, this is the ingredient they are talking about.
- Maraschino liqueur
- A clear liqueur made from marasca cherries. It has nothing to do with the red jarred cocktail cherry — it smells of almond kernel and flowers, and it is dry, not sweet.
- 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.
- Orange bitters
- Orange-peel bitters. Where Angostura brings spiced weight, this brings citrus lift; in gin and tequila drinks the two are not interchangeable.
The Story
Named for the Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park, New York — the same club that gave the dinner jacket its name.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Tuxedo mixed?
- It is stirred and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a Tuxedo?
- Roughly 24% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Tuxedo 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 Tuxedo hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.