A sharp, sophisticated gin sour, served bracingly cold in a coupe with the bright oil of a lemon twist over the top. Lemon and London dry gin frame an unlikely flourish of white crème de cacao, whose cocoa whisper turns floral rather than sweet against Lillet's quinine-tinged wine.
Garnish: Lemon Peel
Shaken · Coupe · Up
add
Add the gin, Lillet Blanc, white crème de cacao, and lemon juice to a shaker with ice.
shake
Shake hard until well chilled.
strain
Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
garnish
Express a lemon twist over the surface and drop it in or rest it on the rim.
British bartender C.A. Tuck devised the drink, and its recipe made its first known appearance in print in the Café Royal Cocktail Book, a 1937 volume that William J. Tarling compiled for the United Kingdom Bartenders' Guild. Its name salutes the 20th Century Limited, an express train that ferried well-heeled travellers between New York and Chicago. Tuck's original spec called for Kina Lillet; with that aperitif long discontinued, bartenders now reach for Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano instead.