Ingredients

   
  Absinthe, to rinse glass
3/4 oz London dry gin
3/4 oz Lillet blanc
3/4 oz orange liqueur
3/4 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Steps

  1. Rinse the inside of a chilled coupe with absinthe. Discard the excess.

  2. Add gin, Lillet blanc, orange liqueur, and lemon juice to a shaker with ice. Shake until well-chilled.

  3. Strain into the prepared glass.

Analysis

Total drink: ~135g (after shaking; equal 3/4 oz gin, Lillet, orange liqueur, lemon + absinthe rinse)

Component Amount % of drink
Alcohol (ethanol) ~17g 12.7%
Sugar ~7g 5.2%
Water + dilution ~111g 82.1%

An equal-parts sour — ~13% ABV finished and only lightly sweet at ~5%. Four 3/4 oz pours balance against each other, and shaking adds ~45g of dilution (about a third of the glass) that softens the gin and stretches the citrus. Most of the sugar is the orange liqueur’s; the Lillet and lemon barely register. The absinthe rinse is aroma only, no measurable weight.

Notes

  • Equal parts of everything is the classic ratio.
  • The absinthe rinse is aromatic — it comes through on the nose more than the palate.
  • “Four of these taken in swift succession will un-revive the corpse again.” — Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930).