Fino sherry and sweet vermouth meet in equal measure, stirred to a clear, silky chill and lifted by orange bitters and the bright oil of an orange peel. It drinks low-proof and nutty, gently bittersweet with a dry, saline edge from the sherry, an aperitif light enough to stay endlessly drinkable.
Garnish: Orange Peel
Stirred · Coupe · Up
add
Add the fino sherry, sweet vermouth, and orange bitters to a mixing glass with ice.
stir
Stir until well chilled and properly diluted; do not shake — stirring keeps the drink clear and silky.
strain
Strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass.
garnish
Express an orange twist over the surface and drop it in.
The Adonis dates to the original Waldorf-Astoria in New York in the mid-1880s, though no individual bartender is on record as its maker. It took its name from Adonis, an 1884 Broadway burlesque that became the first production there to pass 500 performances. By 1930 the Savoy Cocktail Book was printing it with twice as much sherry as vermouth and a single dash of orange bitters — a drier balance than the equal-parts pour that has since become the standard.