Stinger

A spare, bracing digestif of just two ingredients: cognac smoothed and chilled by white crème de menthe, stirred to a cool, mentholated finish. It emerged in the United States around the 1890s and became a society after-dinner drink, enduring through Prohibition partly because mint could mask the era's rough bootleg brandy. Its earliest print ancestor is "The Judge" in William Schmidt's 1892 The Flowing Bowl.

DigestifClassicSpirit-ForwardAfter Dinner

Ingredients

  • 1.5 ozCognac
  • 0.5 ozCrème de Menthe(white)

Garnish: Mint Sprig

Preparation

Stirred · Coupe · None

  1. 1.

    add

    Add the cognac and white crème de menthe to a mixing glass filled with ice.

  2. 2.

    stir

    Stir well until thoroughly chilled and properly diluted.

  3. 3.

    strain

    Strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass, served straight up.

  4. 4.

    garnish

    Optionally garnish with a fresh mint sprig.

Flavor Profile

sweet
40%
fruity
38%
body
35%
spiced
25%
viscosity
25%
heat
23%