20th Century Cocktail
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 20.2% ABV ∙
The 20th Century Cocktail is a shaken gin sour with white crème de cacao, an aromatized wine such as Lillet Blanc and lemon juice, served up in a coupe.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: London dry gin 50 mlWhite Crème de Cacao 30 mlAromatized wine (e.g., Lillet Blanc) 30 mlLemon juice 10 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express an orange twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- With 30 ml of crème de cacao, the mix is dense, so shake hard with plenty of ice for a full 12-15 seconds to chill it and loosen it up.
- Squeeze the lemon fresh; at 10 ml it's the drink's only acid, so it has to taste fresh.
History
The 20th Century cocktail was created in 1937 by British bartender C.A. Tuck, who worked at London's Café Royal. The recipe first appeared that year in the Café Royal Cocktail Book, compiled by William J. Tarling, head bartender at the Café Royal and president of the United Kingdom Bartenders' Guild. Tuck is said to have named the drink after the 20th Century Limited, a famous express train that ran between New York City and Chicago from 1902 to 1967, though the recipe's publication predates the train's celebrated Art Deco redesign of 1938.
The original build, a gin sour built on Kina Lillet with white crème de cacao and lemon juice, is widely described as a riff on the Corpse Reviver No. 2, substituting crème de cacao for the orange liqueur used in that earlier drink.
FAQ
What is a 20th Century cocktail?
A 1930s gin sour of gin, white crème de cacao, an aromatized wine such as Lillet Blanc and lemon juice, shaken and served up with an orange twist. It sits at roughly 20% ABV.
What does a 20th Century cocktail taste like?
Drier than the chocolate liqueur suggests. The cacao is a soft undertone, not dessert sweetness, against Lillet's floral bitterness and firm lemon. It is silky from the shake, with a clean, citrusy finish, closer to a classic gin sour than to a cream drink.
How do you make a 20th Century cocktail?
Shake 50 ml gin, 30 ml white crème de cacao, 30 ml aromatized wine such as Lillet Blanc and 10 ml lemon juice with ice. Fine-strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with an expressed orange twist.
Is a 20th Century cocktail shaken or stirred?
Shaken. The lemon juice needs the air and fast chill of a shake. The 30 ml of crème de cacao also makes the mix dense, so shake hard for a full 12-15 seconds.
What glass is a 20th Century cocktail served in?
A coupe glass, served up with an orange twist. There is no ice in the glass, since the drink is fine-strained after shaking.
