Classic cocktail · Guided recipe
Twelve Miles Out
Start makingA Prohibition rum-runner’s drink: white rum and apple brandy braced with sweet vermouth. Named for the limit of the law at sea.
In the glassWhite rum · Apple brandy · Sweet vermouth
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
- White rum30 ml
- Apple brandy30 ml
- Sweet vermouth30 ml
From bottle to glass
Method
- 01
Measure into the shaker Pour 30 ml white rum into your shaker
White rum
- 02
Measure into the shaker Add 30 ml apple brandy
Apple brandy
- 03
Measure into the shaker Add 30 ml sweet vermouth
Sweet vermouth
- 04
Ice the shaker Fill the shaker with ice
- 05
Seal and shake Seal and shake hard
- 06
Strain cleanly Strain into a chilled glass — no ice
- 07
Finish the drink Finish it — add an orange slice
Know your drink
About the Twelve Miles Out
Where the name came from
Twelve miles was roughly where American law ran out during Prohibition, after treaties in the mid-twenties pushed the enforcement line out from three. Supply ships anchored beyond it and sold to small fast boats that ran the last stretch to shore, a floating market the papers called Rum Row.
Apple brandy and rum sound like an odd pair until you taste them over vermouth: cane sweetness under orchard sharpness, with wine and bitter herbs holding the seam together. Equal thirds is the usual printing. Leaning it 2:1:1 toward the rum makes it a good deal easier to drink twice.
Common questions
Twelve Miles Out FAQ
Is applejack the same as apple brandy here?
Bonded applejack is what suits it, and it is the better buy, since blended applejack is largely neutral grain spirit with apple along for the ride. Calvados works and brings more orchard funk. American bottled-in-bond keeps the drier, sharper profile the rum needs opposite it.
Which sweet vermouth holds up against two spirits?
A full third of the glass is vermouth, so it needs body. Carpano Antica is rich enough to be tasted through the apple; Cocchi di Torino is the balanced middle ground. Refrigerate after opening and buy the half bottle unless Manhattans are a regular habit.
Would aged rum be better than white?
It changes the drink rather than improving it. White rum leaves room for the apple to be recognized as apple; an aged Jamaican or Demerara covers it and drags everything toward a Vieux Carré. For more weight, use a lightly aged Cuban-style rum instead of a heavy pot still.
How sweet does it finish?
Sweeter than the ingredient list suggests, because a full third of vermouth plus orchard fruit adds up quickly. If it cloys, take the vermouth to 22 ml and add a dash of Angostura. That trims the sugar and sharpens the seam between the rum and the apple.
What ingredients are in a Twelve Miles Out?
A classic Twelve Miles Out calls for 30 ml (1 oz) White rum, 30 ml (1 oz) Apple brandy, 30 ml (1 oz) Sweet vermouth. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.
How strong is a Twelve Miles Out?
A standard Twelve Miles Out 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.
Is a Twelve Miles Out shaken or stirred?
A Twelve Miles Out 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
If you like the Twelve Miles Out, try these.
El Floridita
The Havana bar’s signature daiquiri riff: white rum with a touch of sweet vermouth, curaçao, lime and grenadine. Dry and ruby-tinged.
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Fair and Warmer
Rum where the whiskey usually goes. Sweet vermouth at roughly a third of the pour, plus a teaspoon of orange liqueur, which is enough to lift the thing without making it taste of oranges.
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Daiquiri
Forget the frozen slush machine — the real daiquiri is white rum, lime and sugar, shaken ice-cold and served straight up. It is the drink bartenders order to judge other bartenders, and you can make it on your first try.
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