Copenhagen Cocktail (1939 recipe)
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 21% ABV ∙
The Copenhagen Cocktail is a three-way equal split of gin, cherry liqueur and rosso vermouth with lemon juice and bitters, shaken and strained into a coupe. Cherry sweetness and gin botanicals arrive together, vermouth adding a wine-like depth before lemon and bitters tighten the finish dry.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: London dry gin 25 mlCherry liqueur 25 mlRosso vermouth 25 mlLemon juice 10 mlAngostura aromatic bitters 2 dashes
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with a maraschino cherry on a skewer
Tips
- Shake hard for 12-15 seconds with fresh ice: the equal-parts gin, cherry liqueur and vermouth need vigorous agitation to dilute enough and offset the liqueur's sugar.
- Measure the lemon juice precisely at 10 ml; too much throws off the balance among the three equal 25 ml base ingredients.
- Add the 2 dashes of Angostura into the shaker before shaking, not as a float, so the bitters integrate through the whole drink.
- Fine-strain into a chilled coupe to keep the texture silky, since shaking cherry liqueur can leave small ice shards or foam.
History
The Copenhagen Cocktail 1939 comes from the personal bar notebook of Axel Sørensen, a bartender at Café de la Reine in Copenhagen in the late 1930s. Sørensen recorded the recipe by hand in his notebook, known as Lommebogen ("the pocket notebook"), alongside other drinks he served at the bar. The notebook remained a private family keepsake, passed down to his granddaughter, until Henrik Steen Petersen, associated with the former Moltkes Bar in Copenhagen, borrowed it, photographed its pages, and published it in December 2013, making Sørensen's recipes public for the first time. The "1939" in the name distinguishes this original notebook recipe from a separate, unrelated modern cocktail also called the Copenhagen Cocktail, created decades later for a Cherry Heering-sponsored competition.
FAQ
What is in a Copenhagen Cocktail?
London dry gin, cherry liqueur, and rosso vermouth in equal measure, with fresh lemon juice and a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters, shaken and strained into a chilled glass. It is garnished with a maraschino cherry.
Is a Copenhagen Cocktail shaken or stirred?
Shaken. The lemon juice needs the aeration and quick chill of a shake to blend cleanly with the two liqueurs and vermouth; stirring would leave it flat and under-diluted.
What glass is a Copenhagen Cocktail served in?
A coupe glass, served up with no ice, garnished with a maraschino cherry.
How strong is a Copenhagen Cocktail?
It comes in at about 21% ABV, making it lighter than a straight spirit-forward drink but still solidly boozy thanks to the equal-parts gin, cherry liqueur, and vermouth base. At roughly 161 calories per serving, it sits in the range typical for a shaken cocktail of this size.
Is a Copenhagen Cocktail vegan?
Yes, this recipe is vegan, vegetarian, and lactose-free, since it is built entirely from gin, cherry liqueur, vermouth, lemon juice, and bitters with no animal-derived ingredients.
