Tipperary Cocktail

A classic Irish cocktail that dates back to the turn of the century, the Tipperary is a simple drink that every home bartender should have in their rotation.

Over the years there have been numerous variations of this classic cocktail. It’s most similar to a Bijou in construction but supplements the gin for Irish whiskey. It’s a well balanced drink that highlights the spirit by including minimal additional ingredients. The sweetness of the vermouth highlights the sweeter notes in the whiskey, while the green Chartreuse kicks up the spice a bit. Top it off with an expression of orange peel oils for acidity and you’ve got, in my opinion, the perfect drink. 

The cocktail made its first appearance in Recipes of Mixed Drinks in 1916, a pioneering cocktail book that brought many of the classics to the general public. That recipe called for equal parts Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Chartreuse, and Italian Vermouth. It showed up again in the 1922 Cocktails: How to Mix Them, but this time skipped the whiskey all together and added gin in its place. That same year, Harry MacElhone included it in his ABC of Mixing Cocktails but with two ounces of Irish whiskey, one-half ounce green Chartreuse, and one ounce sweet vermouth. 

The cocktail has gained some notoriety in recent years with the Dead Rabbit’s version, which goes with one-and-a-half ounces of Irish whiskey, one ounce sweet vermouth, and a half-ounce of green Chartreuse. For our recipe, we’ve settled on a higher portion of whiskey compared to the additional ingredients to really showcase the spirit — I mean, Ireland produces some of the best whiskey in the world, so why not make it the standout of the drink — with equal parts green Chartreuse and sweet vermouth to compliment the sweet and spicy flavors. Then just two dashes of angostura bitters to add an extra bite and an expression of orange peel oils to brighten it up.