Gin, both vermouths and a splash of fresh orange: the Bronx sits halfway between a Martini and a brunch drink. Shaking gives it a light froth and a soft, juicy texture, while the vermouths keep it grown-up and herbal. Fresh juice is essential.
1½ oz
London dry gine.g. Tanqueray · Gordon's · Beefeater · Bombay Sapphire · Sipsmith
½ oz
sweet vermouthe.g. Martini · Cinzano · Carpano · Cocchi · Punt e Mes
½ oz
dry vermouthe.g. Noilly Prat · Martini · Dolin · Cinzano
¾ oz
orange juice
1 dash
orange bitters (optional)e.g. Angostura · Regans' Orange Bitters · Fee Brothers · The Bitter Truth
Garnish: Orange twist · Ice: Served up, no ice
Bronx
Fresh and lightly fruity, with juicy orange over juniper and herbal vermouth. Medium-bodied, softly bitter and moderately strong.
Like many pre-Prohibition drinks, the Bronx has a disputed origin. The most repeated story credits Johnny Solon, a bartender at the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, in the early 1900s; he is said to have named it after the Bronx Zoo, which had recently opened. The historian David Wondrich has noted competing claims, including bartenders working in the Bronx itself.
What is certain is that it was a huge hit. In the early twentieth century the Bronx was among the most-ordered cocktails in America, mentioned alongside the Martini and the Manhattan. Its popularity faded after Prohibition, and today it is a rediscovered classic.
Gin, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth and orange juice, often with a dash of orange bitters.
The usual story says Johnny Solon named it after the Bronx Zoo, but the origin is disputed.
Almost: a Perfect Martini uses both vermouths, and the Bronx adds orange juice.
The perfect sound
Lively and bright like Prohibition nightlife.
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