Income Tax
Gin, dry and sweet vermouth, orange juice and Angostura, shaken. A Bronx with bitters, named with a grimace in the 1920s — and the bitters make it the better drink.
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.
Add the gin, both vermouths, orange juice and bitters to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake for 10 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe and garnish with an orange peel.
A thoughtful finish
- Fresh orange juice; the drink is a quarter orange.
- The bitters are the difference from a Bronx; two dashes.
- Both vermouths fresh; they are a third of the drink.
Common mistakes
- Carton orange juice.
- Skipping the bitters, which makes it a Bronx.
- Stirring; the juice wants the shake.
A few good questions.
What is the difference between an Income Tax and a Bronx?
Two dashes of Angostura bitters. Otherwise identical.
Why the name?
A 1920s joke: the drink arrived with the bitters the way the year arrived with the tax.
What is a Bronx?
Gin, dry and sweet vermouth and orange juice — the most popular cocktail in America around 1910 and now rarely ordered.
Can I use blood orange?
Yes, and it is a better drink for it.
Variations
- Bronx — Gin, two vermouths and orange juice.
- Damn the Weather — Gin, sweet vermouth, orange juice and curaçao.
- Perfect Martini — Gin with dry and sweet vermouth.
- Blood and Sand — Scotch, cherry liqueur, vermouth and orange.
Where it comes from
c. 1920s · United States
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
The Income Tax is a Bronx — gin, both vermouths, orange juice — with a dash or two of Angostura added, and the name is a Prohibition-era joke about the one certainty besides death; Harry Craddock printed it in the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, and American bar books of the 1920s have it. Nobody is credited. The Bronx was the most popular cocktail in America around 1910 and fell hard; the Income Tax’s bitters give the same drink a spine the Bronx never had, and it is the version most modern bartenders would rather make.
Sources
- Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930 (book)
- David Wondrich, Imbibe!, 2015 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Income Tax, 2015 (reference)
Strength. About 1.42 US standard drinks at an estimated 20.6% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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