Brainstorm
Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 32.2% ABV ∙
Spirit-forward and stirred, the Brainstorm blends Irish whiskey with Bénédictine and dry vermouth in an Old-fashioned glass. Warm honeyed spice from the Bénédictine wraps around the whiskey's malt, while dry vermouth and an orange twist keep the finish crisp rather than syrupy.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir all ingredients with ice: Irish whiskey 60 mlBénédictine D.O.M. liqueur 10 mlDry vermouth 10 ml
- Strain into the ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice)
- Express an orange twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- Chill the old-fashioned glass beforehand so the large cube it is served over lasts instead of melting the moment the drink lands on it.
- Measure the Bénédictine and dry vermouth precisely at 10 ml each; being heavy-handed with either easily overwhelms the 60 ml whiskey base.
- Express the orange twist over the surface to release its oils, then rub the rim before dropping it in as garnish.
History
The Brainstorm is a Prohibition-era cocktail first documented in Hugo R. Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks, published in 1916 and reissued in a second edition in 1917. Ensslin was a German-American bartender who tended bar at the Hotel Wallick in New York City, and his book recorded the drink as a dry, Irish-whiskey-based relative of the Manhattan and Rob Roy, built with Irish whiskey, Bénédictine, and dry vermouth. The recipe was later reprinted by Harry Craddock in The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930 under the tidied-up single-word spelling "Brainstorm," which became the more common rendering of the name. Over time bartenders substituted other whiskeys and vermouth styles and adjusted the original proportions, and a distinct straight-up rendition was later created in 2022 by bartender Al Sotack at Jupiter Disco, a science-fiction-themed cocktail bar in Brooklyn, New York.
