This cocktail is old school, with roots back to 1930 in the Savoy Cocktail Book. It’s also potent and a bit sharp tasting, too, probably a result of all those pungent mixture of herbs in both the vermouth and absinthe. Now that I’ve made it and tried it, I think the Duchess would benefit from a more sweet dry vermouth, like Vya Whisper Dry or Contratto Bianco, as regular dry vermouth felt like it contrasted with the absinthe.

Give this 85-year-old cocktail a try and let me know what you think:

Duchess

• 1 oz absinthe
• 1 oz dry vermouth
• 1 oz sweet vermouth
• stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• garnish with a lemon twist