Cocktail
Chrysanthemum
The Chrysanthemum is an early-1900s herbal aperitif cocktail — a stirred, spirit-free-of-whisky mix of dry vermouth and Bénédictine lifted with a few dashes of absinthe, strained up and finished with an orange twist. Pale gold and softly aromatic, it is one of the classic vermouth-forward drinks recorded in the Savoy Cocktail Book, gentle in strength but complex, honeyed and faintly anise-scented on the nose.
Bittersweet18% ABV
At a glance
Signature
Honeyed herbs & Anise
Orange oil
Pale straw-gold, the Chrysanthemum smells of honeyed, spiced Bénédictine and dry botanical vermouth threaded with a haunting green-anise wisp of absinthe, brightened by orange oil expressed from the twist. On the palate it is gently sweet and softly herbal — the honeyed, brandy-based liqueur rounding the dry, wine-like vermouth, with a cool anise lift and a light, faintly bitter herbal finish at only about 18 percent alcohol in the glass. It is elegant and low-strength, complex out of all proportion to its modest proof.
Taste balance
BitternessMedium
SmoothBitter
StrengthStrong
LightStrong