Stinger Cockail Recipe

The Stinger is a two-ingredient cocktail made with cognac and white crème de menthe. It has a refreshing, frivolously candy, boozy, and minty taste profile. The cocktail will get stirred in a mixing glass and served, with out a garnish, in a rocks glass crammed with crushed ice.

One of many earliest printed references to the Stinger could be present in Jacques Straub’s 1914 cocktail e-book, Drinks. In it, Straub requires equal components brandy and white creme de menthe and instructs the reader to shake the cocktail and garnish it with a lemon peel. Many cocktails of this period referred to as for equal components, then skewed drier over time. Take, for instance, the Martini whose first references referred to as for equal components gin and vermouth, however then developed right into a 2:1 cocktail (then ever-drier) as drinks that put emphasis on spirits turned extra fashionable with shoppers.

Different variations of the Stinger could be discovered all through historical past, together with variations that decision for bourbon in lieu of cognac, or those who embrace greater than two substances. In David Embury’s 1948 The Wonderful Artwork of Mixing Drinks, he notes that whereas the standard recipe for the Stinger options the 2 substances in equal components, he prefers a “Dry Stinger” of his personal creation, which requires lime juice along with a 3:1 ratio of brandy to white crème de menthe.

The drink remained a well-liked after dinner cocktail within the many years following Prohibition and fell off across the Nineteen Seventies. Within the early twentieth century, the drink was a favourite amongst New York excessive society, together with Reginald Vanderbilt (Gloria Vanderbilt’s father) who, in line with cocktail historian David Wondrich, was recognized to have combined up Stingers at his house bar till his loss of life in 1925.

Why the Stinger nonetheless works

Whereas cognac and white crème de menthe are an unlikely mixture to trendy shoppers, the 2 substances mix seamlessly to create a scrumptious drink. For greatest outcomes, use a mellow, younger cognac that has a mix of candy, spiced, and citrus notes that add brightness to the cocktail.

The most typical recipe for the Stinger (and the model codified by the Worldwide Bartenders Affiliation) requires a 2:1 ratio of cognac to white crème de menthe. Nonetheless, dialing down to three/4 ounce white crème de menthe as an alternative of a full ounce might help to maintain the sweetness of the cocktail in examine, enhancing general steadiness and making certain the cognac nonetheless comes by way of.

White crème de menthe is a candy liqueur that has recent mint taste however stays colorless as it’s made (in comparison with green-hued options). The white crème de menthe has a comparatively low ABV (round 25% in comparison with that of cognac at round 40%) so it helps mood the kick of the brandy.

Serving the Stinger over cracked ice retains the drink fairly chilly and refreshing, and spurs further dilution because the ice melts into the cocktail.