Classic cocktail · Guided recipe
Diplomat
Start makingTwo parts dry vermouth to one sweet, with maraschino measured in drops rather than spoons. Wine weight rather than spirit weight, cherry and a faint nuttiness over a herbal base. An aperitif that leaves you able to eat dinner afterwards.
In the glassDry vermouth · Sweet vermouth · Maraschino liqueur · Angostura bitters
See exact amounts
What goes in
Ingredients
Set up before you pour
Use a coupe glass.
The stem keeps your hand away from a cold drink, while the rounded bowl makes an up serve easy to sip.
- Standard size
- 200 ml6¾ oz
- Ice & serve
- Chill it first; serve without ice.
- If you don’t own one
- Use a small martini glass or stemmed dessert glass.
- cocktail shaker
- strainer (or a small sieve)
- jigger or measuring spoon
- Dry vermouth45 ml
- Sweet vermouth22 ml
- Maraschino liqueur4 ml
- Angostura bitters1 dash
From bottle to glass
Method
- 01
Measure into the shaker Pour 45 ml dry vermouth into your shaker
Dry vermouth
- 02
Measure into the shaker Add 22 ml sweet vermouth
- Sweet vermouth
- 03
Measure into the shaker Add 4 ml maraschino liqueur
- Maraschino liqueur
- 04
Measure into the shaker Add 1 dash Angostura
Angostura bitters
- 05
Ice the shaker Fill the shaker with ice
- 06
Seal and shake Seal and shake hard
- 07
Strain cleanly Strain into a chilled glass — no ice
- 08
Finish the drink Finish it — add a cocktail cherry
Know your drink
About the Diplomat
Maraschino in small doses
Maraschino is not a cherry liqueur in the way most people mean the phrase. Marasca cherries go into the still whole, stones and stems included, and what comes out is dry, nutty and faintly bitter rather than sweet and red. That is why four milliliters can carry a drink of this size and fifteen can flatten it completely.
Common questions
Diplomat FAQ
My Diplomat came out sweet and heavy. What went wrong?
Almost certainly the ratio. Dry vermouth is meant to be two thirds of the glass, and eyeballing the pour tips it toward the sweet bottle fast. Measure both. Forty-five to twenty-two is the shape that keeps this lean instead of syrupy.
Is a Diplomat related to a Bamboo?
Same idea, different base. A Bamboo runs on dry sherry and dry vermouth, while this one uses two vermouths and skips sherry entirely, so it comes out rounder and more obviously grapey. Both sit near wine strength and both want to be drunk cold and quickly.
Does the cherry garnish matter?
Only if it is a real one. A Luxardo or Amarena cherry echoes the maraschino in the glass and leaks a little syrup as it sits. A bright red cocktail cherry adds sugar and almond flavoring, which is precisely what the drink already has, only done badly.
Can I serve it over ice instead of straight up?
You can, and it stretches a small drink into a longer one, but watch the dilution. There is no spirit here to survive a melting rock, so use one large cube rather than a handful of small ones and drink it before it goes slack.
What ingredients are in a Diplomat?
A classic Diplomat calls for 45 ml (1.5 oz) Dry vermouth, 22 ml (0.75 oz) Sweet vermouth, 4 ml (0.25 oz) Maraschino liqueur, 1 dash Angostura Angostura bitters. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.
How strong is a Diplomat?
A standard Diplomat is roughly 18% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it about as strong as a glass of wine.
Is a Diplomat shaken or stirred?
A Diplomat is shaken. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.
Sharpen the technique
Skills used in this recipe
Where to go next
