The recipe
- 1½ ozDry gin45 ml
- ¾ ozLillet (Kina Lillet in 1937)23 ml
- ¾ ozCrème de cacao (white)23 ml
- ¾ ozLemon juice23 ml
How to make it
- 1Shake everything with ice.
- 2Strain into a chilled coupe.
Garnish: A lemon twist (the modern garnish).
Variations: Punch cuts the crème de cacao to ½ oz. Some bars use Cocchi Americano, which is closer to the more bitter Kina Lillet of the 1930s.
Tuck gives two-fifths gin and a fifth each of the others; the amounts are scaled to 1½ oz gin. The book doesn’t say which crème de cacao; white is usual today.
The ratio
2 : 1 : 1 : 1
In parts, a Twentieth Century is 2 gin, 1 Lillet, 1 cacao and 1 lemon. Change one part and you have a cousin; the closest are below.
Built the same way
Head to head
More Sours
- Amaretto Sour — Amaretto and lemon shaken with egg white into a foamy, almond-sweet sour.
- Aviation — Gin and lemon sweetened with maraschino, with a spoonful of crème de violette for its pale sky color and floral edge.
- Bee’s Knees — Gin softened with honey and brightened with lemon and orange. A gentle, rounded sour.
- Between the Sheets — Cognac and white rum with triple sec and lemon: a Sidecar with a second spirit. Strong and orange-scented.
- Bourbon Renewal — A bourbon sour with crème de cassis and a dash of bitters, shaken and poured over ice: tart, dark-fruited and easy.
- Bramble — A gin sour over crushed ice with blackberry liqueur drizzled through it, bleeding purple as it sinks.