duke of marlborough

1/2 Sherry (1 oz Lustau Amontillado)
1/2 Sweet Vermouth (1 oz Dolin)
3 dash Raspberry Syrup (1/2 oz Royal Rose)
Juice 1 Lime

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Saturdays ago, we began the cocktail hour with a drink from the 1975 edition of Patrick Duffy's The Official Mixer's Manual called the Duke of Marlborough. I was drawn to the drink for it felt like it was the aperitif form of the Quaker Cocktail or perhaps the sherry-fied version of the Davis Cocktail. While I could have used a sweeter sherry and less raspberry syrup, I felt amontillado would work well here, and that also allowed me to use these more standard proportions. In retrospect, perhaps bumping the ounce of sherry and sweet vermouth to an ounce and a half might work even better.
The Duke of Marlborough presented the sherry and vermouth's grape aroma. Next, a crisp lime-berry combination supplemented by the grape on the sip led in to a nutty sherry swallow. Indeed, the raspberry and sherry combination definitely worked rather well here which supported my gut instinct to reach for the amontillado (although I could see other sherries such as Lustau's East India Solera prospering here).