Satan's Whiskers

Craddock's Savoy prints both. Straight uses Grand Marnier, as here. Curled swaps in orange curacao, which is lighter and less sweet, so the vermouths come forward and the drink loses some of its cognac weight. Neither is more correct, and the curled one is the cheaper night in.

More than the pour suggests. Add the Grand Marnier at 40 percent and 30 ml of vermouth at around 16, and the glass lands near 18 percent once diluted. It drinks soft and it does not behave softly.

The orange juice, first. Take it to 10 ml and both vermouths get their bitterness back without the glass losing its color. Grand Marnier is the next candidate, down to 10 ml. Leave the gin where it is: it's the only juniper in a glass of fruit and wine, and cutting it makes a cooler.

It does more than the fruit already in the glass. Squeezing peel over the surface throws a film of oil across the top, and oil reads as bright and bitter where juice reads as sweet. Without it the drink smells of very little, which is a strange fate for something this orange.

A classic Satan's Whiskers calls for 15 ml (0.5 oz) Gin, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Dry vermouth, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Sweet vermouth, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Orange juice, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Grand Marnier, 2 dashes orange bitters Orange bitters. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Satan's Whiskers is roughly 23% 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 Satan's Whiskers is shaken. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.