Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin is made with sloe gin, apricot liqueur and lime in a shaken fruit-forward sour, chilled for serving.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe and prepare the garnish before mixing.
Add all measured ingredients to a shaker.
Add ice, seal the shaker and shake until the tin feels thoroughly cold.
Fine strain into the prepared coupe.
Finish with the source’s apricot garnish option.
A thoughtful finish
- Use sloe gin, a sweet fruit liqueur, rather than an unflavored dry gin.
- Squeeze the citrus close to mixing and strain out large seeds before measuring.
- Chill the serving glass as well as the mixture so the first sip stays cold.
Common mistakes
- Plain gin removes the sloe fruit and sweetness that balance the lime.
- Sweetened citrus cordial adds sugar that is not accounted for in a fresh-juice recipe.
- A warm serving glass quickly undoes the chilling achieved during mixing.
A few good questions.
What is in a Charlie Chaplin?
Charlie Chaplin is made with sloe gin, apricot liqueur and lime in a shaken fruit-forward sour.
Can I scale a Charlie Chaplin for more servings?
Multiply every measured ingredient by the same serving count. Prepare the measured still ingredients ahead if useful, but chill, shake or stir each serving as directed; add any carbonated finish at service.
Can I use bottled sour mix?
The selected recipe uses fresh citrus, not sour mix. A premixed sweetened product changes both acidity and sweetness and should be labeled as a substitution.
Who created the Charlie Chaplin?
No individual creator is established by the source used here. The drink is associated with New York City, USA.
Variations
- Another bottle of the base — Editorial bottle variation: use another producer of the same apricot liqueur style at the listed measure; record the bottle rather than assuming identical sweetness or strength.
- Over a large ice cube — Editorial serving variation: serve the same measured mixture over a large fresh cube in a rocks glass; continued ice melt will change its dilution over time.
Where it comes from
before 1920 · New York City, USA · Waldorf-Astoria
Charlie Chaplin is made with sloe gin, apricot liqueur and lime in a shaken fruit-forward sour, chilled for serving.
Sources
- Difford’s Guide — Charlie Chaplin Cocktail Recipe (reference) link
Strength. About 0.85 US standard drinks at an estimated 12.3% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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