No spirit, no citrus, just two fortified wines stirred until ice cold. Salty, nutty fino meets the spice and dark fruit of sweet vermouth, and a couple of dashes of orange bitters tie them together into an aperitif you can enjoy before dinner without feeling it.
1½ oz
fino sherry well chilled, from a freshly opened bottlee.g. Tio Pepe · Lustau · La Ina
1½ oz
sweet vermouthe.g. Martini · Cinzano · Carpano · Cocchi · Punt e Mes
2 dash
orange bitterse.g. Angostura · Regans' Orange Bitters · Fee Brothers · The Bitter Truth
Garnish: Orange twist · Ice: Served up, no ice
Adonis
Dry, saline and nutty from the fino, with raisin, spice and gentle bitterness from the vermouth. Light in alcohol and silky in texture.
The Adonis takes its name from "Adonis", a burlesque musical that opened on Broadway in 1884 and became one of the longest-running shows of its time. The drink is generally said to have been created in New York to celebrate the production, although the exact bar and bartender are not reliably recorded.
It belongs to a small group of 19th-century cocktails built on sherry, a wine that was hugely fashionable in American bars at the time. The closely related Bamboo, which uses dry vermouth, appeared around the same period. Both faded during the 20th century and were rediscovered by bartenders looking for lighter, lower-alcohol aperitifs, a role the Adonis fills perfectly.
No. Made only with sherry and vermouth, it lands at around 15% ABV, similar to a glass of strong wine.
Fino or manzanilla for the classic, dry profile. Avoid cream sherry, which makes the drink far too sweet.
It is named after the Broadway burlesque "Adonis", which opened in New York in 1884.
The perfect sound
Dry sherry elegance from Andalusia.
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