Leap Year

Take the Grand Marnier to 10 ml and put 5 ml more gin in its place, leaving the vermouth alone. You keep the orange and shed about a third of the sweetness. Cut further and you have a Martini with an orange accent, which is a good drink but a different one.

Yes, and that's the point of it. Those 4 ml aren't there to make a sour, they're there to stop the vermouth and the orange liqueur going flabby. Push past about 10 ml and you lose the rich, faintly syrupy character the drink is known for.

Because the modifiers are meant to be felt rather than tasted separately. Fifteen milliliters is the point where Grand Marnier and sweet vermouth stop reading as themselves and start reading as weight behind the gin. Push either to 22 ml and it steps forward, and the drink tips from spirit-led to liqueur-led.

A classic Leap Year calls for 45 ml (1.5 oz) Gin, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Grand Marnier, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Sweet vermouth, 4 ml (0.25 oz) Fresh lemon juice. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Leap Year is roughly 33% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

A Leap Year is shaken — the rule of thumb is to shake anything with citrus juice. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.

Serve a Leap Year in a chilled coupe glass, well chilled — this drink is served without ice, so a cold glass keeps it cold.