Widow's Kiss

A turn-of-the-century after-dinner classic, the Widow's Kiss layers two French monastic liqueurs — herbaceous yellow Chartreuse and honeyed, spiced Bénédictine — over a backbone of apple brandy, knit together by a couple of dashes of aromatic bitters. The result is rich, warming, and deeply botanical, equal parts orchard fruit and apothecary. George J. Kappeler set it down at New York's Holland House Hotel in his 1895 Modern American Drinks, and it later earned a near-verbatim spot in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book.

ClassicSpirit-ForwardAfter Dinner

Ingredients

  • 1.5 ozApple Brandy
  • 0.75 ozBénédictine
  • 0.75 ozChartreuse Yellow
  • 2 dashAngostura Bitters

Garnish: Lemon Peel

Preparation

Stirred · Coupe · None

  1. 1.

    add

    Combine the apple brandy, Bénédictine, yellow Chartreuse and aromatic bitters in a mixing glass with ice.

  2. 2.

    stir

    Stir until well chilled and properly diluted.

  3. 3.

    strain

    Strain into a chilled coupe.

  4. 4.

    garnish

    Express a lemon twist over the surface and drop it in.

Flavor Profile

sweet
41%
spiced
38%
body
37%
fruity
35%
herbal
32%
viscosity
22%
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