San Francisco, ~1930s.
| 2 oz · 60 ml | RYE WHISKEY | 45 % |
| ½ oz · 15 ml | BENEDICTINE | 40 % |
| ½ oz · 15 ml | LEMON JUICE | |
| ¼ oz · 8 ml | LIME JUICE |
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
| Pre-batch | 3.25 oz mixed with ice, 1.1 oz of it pure alcohol |
|---|---|
| Melt | Shaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.65 oz of water |
| Served | 3.25 + 0.65 = 3.9 oz in the glass |
| Strength | 1.1 ÷ 3.9 = 28.2 % ABV as served |
| Ethanol | 1.1 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 26 g · about 180 kcal from the alcohol alone |
FROM RYE · from oak barrel aging
Bourbon's fingerprint, extracted from the charred American oak the law requires for aging. Same molecule as the vanilla bean's signature, so a well-aged bourbon legitimately tastes like vanilla. Chemistry, not metaphor. Cognac, aged rum, tequila reposado all extract vanillin from oak too. Different barrels, same molecule.
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FROM BENEDICTINE
The bitter from gentian root, used across Campari, Aperol, sweet vermouth, Angostura, and most amari. Bitter compounds activate TAS2R taste receptors that evolved to detect plant alkaloids. The same machinery that makes broccoli taste bad to children also makes a Negroni taste like an adult ordered it.
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FROM LEMON · the lemon aroma
Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.
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Rye, Benedictine and two citrus juices. Benedictine's honey-herbal 27-botanical blend is load-bearing, a sweetener with function rather than a simple sugar. It is what distinguishes the Frisco from a standard Whiskey Sour.
Named for San Francisco, where the drink was a Russian Hill specialty through the 1930s. The combination of rye and Benedictine is unusual; most rye sours used simple syrup. Benedictine provides not just sweetness but herbal complexity, making the Frisco a sour with significantly more depth than its constituent ingredients suggest. Trader Vic's 1947 book printed the canonical recipe.
