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All cocktails Barney Barnato

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Barney Barnato

Aperitivo/aperitif · Classic/vintage · Herbal

4.5 55 ratings

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Cognac (brandy)
3/4 oz Blanc quinquina/kina
3/4 oz Aromatized wine
1/12 oz Orange Curaçao
1 dash Aromatic bitters

How to make

Serve in a coupe glass

Prepare

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

Method

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

Garnish

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

Flavour profile

22.9% alc./vol. · 1.5 standard drinks · 176 calories

History

Dry, with bittersweet undertones, and aromatic. This recipe is improved by a blend of two apéritif wines rather than Caperitif.

This cocktail originates from Harry Craddock's 1930 "The Savoy Cocktail Book," which specified the use of Caperitif, a South African aromatised wine. The drink is named in honor of Barney Barnato, born Barnett Isaacs in 1852 in London's Whitechapel slum. He leveraged his Jewish-Cockney wit and humor, starting with only a box of cigars. In 1873, Barney left poverty behind to join his brother in the South African diamond rush, adopting a new name. He established the Barnato Diamond Mining Company and became a millionaire within a decade. Ultimately, he and his brother sold their company to Cecil John Rhodes for $5,338,650, a sum that represented the largest check ever written at that time. This considerable fortune offered little solace for losing the struggle to control the Cape diamond mines, as Rhodes went on to found the now-dominant De Beers. Following a brief involvement in South African politics, Barnato died in 1897. He was lost overboard near the island of Madeira while traveling back to England. Questions persist regarding whether he jumped, fell, or was pushed. His body was recovered, but the mysterious circumstances of his death were never clarified. He is interred at Willesden Jewish Cemetery in London. His substantial wealth was distributed among his relatives, including his sister Sarah and her husband Abraham Rantzen, who were the great-grandparents of English television presenter Esther Rantzen. Another recipient was his son, Woolf Barnato, who utilized a portion of this inheritance to become one of the celebrated "Bentley Boys," participating in motor racing during the 1920s.

Created by Harry Craddock