dunhill

1/4 jigger Gin (1 oz Hayman's Navy Strength)
1/4 jigger Sherry (1 oz Lustau East India Solera)
1/4 jigger Dry Vermouth (1 oz Noilly Prat + Dolin)
2 drop Curaçao (1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand)
1 dash Absinthe (1 barspoon Obsello)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an olive (omitted).
Two Thursdays ago, we began the cocktail hour with the Dunhill, a drink from the 1934 reprint of William Boothby's World Drinks and How to Mix Them. The recipe enticed me since it appeared like a 19th century Perfect Martini variation. Once mixed, it began with an anise and herbal-filled bouquet from the absinthe. Next, a grape sip led into a swallow that began with gin followed by a raisiny orange flavor, and finished with absinthe notes. Overall, it felt like the sherry and dry vermouth combination donated more body than if it were a double part of sweet vermouth here instead.