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Bamboo

Classic/vintage

4.5 149 ratings

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Fino sherry
1/2 oz Dry vermouth
1/2 oz Bianco/blanco vermouth
1/2 oz Rosso/sweet vermouth
1 dash Orange bitters

How to make

Serve in a coupe glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.

Method

  1. 3 STIR all ingredients with ice.
  2. 4 FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

  1. 5 EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour profile

12.5% alc./vol. · 0.8 standard drinks · 101 calories

History

This Bamboo recipe balances fino sherry's dry mineral notes against rich bianco and dry vermouths. While two vermouths are classically used, three vermouths are more pleasing.

The Bamboo cocktail is said to have been invented in Yokohama, Japan, in 1890 by a German-American bartender named Louis Eppinger. Eppinger, who hailed from Hamburg, Germany, was working at the Grand Hotel in Yokohama at the time of the drink's creation. The Bamboo is a classic aperitif, often compared to a drier Martini, and is made with dry sherry and dry vermouth. It is sometimes garnished with a lemon twist or an olive. The drink gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly among expatriates living in Japan. No earlier reference to the Bamboo cocktail has been found.