I make this drink quite often. It’s an interesting, highly-drinkable twist on the Martini that brings a whole lot more flavor to play thanks to the addition of curacao and the use of Lillet Blanc in favor of a more typical dry vermouth.
If you haven’t tried Lillet Blanc, you really should give it a shot … especially if you’re a person who’s not too fond of dry vermouth. Lillet has a very different taste profile. It’s much less subtle, which makes it not-so-great for dry Martinis, where you mostly want the gin to be the star, but in ensemble drinks like the H&H? It’s perfect.
The original recipe doesn’t use any bitters, but that’s kind of boring so I usually add them. I like to use my homemade Asian Citrus Bitters, but any citrus-based bitters will work great with this drink.
A note on Patron Citronge: it’s made by the tequila people, but it’s not made with tequila and doesn’t taste like tequila. It’s an orange liqueur made from neutral spirits and flavored with bitter oranges, and thus is the very definition of a curacao (though it doesn’t call itself one).
This article is a modified and enhanced version of a post that ran on my nightly cocktail blog, DrinkShouts.
The H&H Cocktail Recipe
Equipment
- Bar spoon
- Cocktail Strainer
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Gin New Amsterdam
- 1 oz. Lillet Blanc
- .25 oz. Curacao Patron Citronge
- Dash Asian citrus bitters
- Lemon twist Garnish
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a pint glass over ice and stir thoroughly. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
