rolls royce

1/2 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeater)
1/4 Sweet Vermouth (3/4 oz Cocchi)
1/4 Dry Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat)
1 dash Benedictine (1/4 oz)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added a lemon twist.

After returning home from Ward 8, I was in the mood for a nightcap, so I turned to the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. There, I spied the Rolls Royce Cocktail that came across as a Perfect Martini with a dash of Benedictine. The Savoy has other car-related drinks like the Bentley with a similar feel, and I was surprised that I had never written about this classic despite discussing variations of it like the Aston Martin. I did make reference to it in my old drink journal when writing about the Lamb's Club (which has equal parts gin and the two vermouths with two dashes of Benedictine), but I could not confirm if I had ever had the Rolls Royce itself.
In the glass, the Rolls Royce gave forth lemon notes to the nose before giving way to a slightly sweet grape on the sip. Next, the swallow proffered gin and a rounded herbalness with a light minty finish. The sweet vermouth in the mix seemed to obscure the Benedictine that shone through more in the Poet's Dream that only contained the dry vermouth.