TUXEDO NO. 3

Modern craft variant, ~2015.

COUPE
ETHANOL 22 G153 KCAL FROM ETHANOL4.12 OZ SERVED

SPEC

1½ oz · 45 mlGIN40 %
1½ oz · 45 mlDRY VERMOUTH18 %
½ barspoonsMARASCHINO LIQUEUR32 %
2 dashesORANGE BITTERS25 %
¼ barspoonsABSINTHE60 %
1 splashEGG WHITE

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

METHOD

  1. 01DRY-SHAKE ALL INGREDIENTS TO EMULSIFY
  2. 02ADD ICE, SHAKE HARD
  3. 03DOUBLE-STRAIN INTO A CHILLED COUPE
  4. 04GARNISH WITH A LEMON TWIST

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

STRENGTH // WORKED

Pre-batch3.44 oz mixed with ice, 0.94 oz of it pure alcohol
MeltShaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.69 oz of water
Served3.44 + 0.69 = 4.12 oz in the glass
Strength0.94 ÷ 4.12 = 22.7 % ABV as served
Ethanol0.94 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 22 g · about 153 kcal from the alcohol alone

IN THE GLASS

α-PINENE

FROM GIN

Formula
C₁₀H₁₆
Mass
136.24 g/mol
IUPAC
2,6,6-trimethylbicyclo[3.1.1]hept-2-ene

The pine note in juniper berries, and the reason gin tastes like a forest. Co-distilled with the spirit during production. Found in actual pine trees, rosemary, basil, and a good London Dry. The "Christmas tree" smell of gin and the smell of a forest floor share a single molecule.

GENTIOPICROSIDE

FROM DRY VERMOUTH

Formula
C₁₆H₂₀O₉
Mass
356.33 g/mol
IUPAC
(3S,4R)-4-ethenyl-3-[(2S,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy-4,6-dihydro-3H-pyrano[3,4-c]pyran-8-one

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.

α-THUJONE

FROM ABSINTHE · the wormwood compound, mythologized

Formula
C₁₀H₁₆O
Mass
152.24 g/mol
IUPAC
(1S,4R,5R)-4-methyl-1-propan-2-ylbicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-3-one

The wormwood compound that got absinthe banned for ninety years over a panic that turned out to be mostly wrong. A GABA-A antagonist at high doses, but the doses in actual absinthe, both modern and historical, were always too low to cause the hallucinations the lore promised. Bans lifted between 1988 and 2007 once the chemistry was finally measured properly.

CHEMISTRY

Tuxedo No. 2 with egg white. It is the shaken variation of the stirred Tuxedo, a postmodern addition. The egg white foam traps the thujone from absinthe at the surface.

PROVENANCE

An invented variation on the original Tuxedo cocktail. The egg-white addition transforms the stirred Tuxedo No. 2 into a shaken sour with foam cap. The recipe isn't historic but represents the modern bartending tendency to apply egg-white technique to historical recipes. Whether this counts as improvement or sacrilege is bartender's choice.

GIN // NEARBY