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The Ansonia

Martini-style

4.2 93 ratings

Ingredients

1 2/3 oz Scotch whisky
1/2 oz Rosso/sweet vermouth
1/4 oz Maraschino liqueur
1/12 oz Absinthe

How to make

Serve in a coupe glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare garnish of skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

Method

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

Garnish

  1. 5 Garnish with skewered maraschino cherry.

Flavour profile

27.8% alc./vol. · 1.5 standard drinks · 162 calories

History

Scotch with delicate notes of rosso vermouth, maraschino, and absinthe. This is a subtle and refined drink.

This drink is adapted from a recipe by Charles Christopher, featured in his 1934 book, Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars. It is named after a grand hotel on Manhattan's Upper West Side, The Ansonia. Constructed in 1904, The Ansonia was a long-term residence for notable figures such as baseball player Babe Ruth, composer Igor Stravinsky, writer Theodore Dreiser, and tenor Enrico Caruso. It was New York's first air-conditioned hotel, renowned for its lavish amenities, including a lobby pool with a fountain that housed live seals. The initial recipe specified dashes of Ojen bitters instead of absinthe. As absinthe was prohibited in the USA at the time, using Ojen, a Spanish absinthe brand, was a subtle method for bartenders to indicate the use of absinthe without alerting authorities. ANSONIA 2/3 Scotch 2 Dashes Maraschino 2 Dashes Italian Vermouth Dash Ojen Bitters Glass No. 1. Stir. Charles Christopher's Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars also contains two other distinct cocktails named "Ansonia": one a Scotch-based drink with port, orgeat, and lime; the other featuring apricot brandy, rye, sherry, and lemon.