# Arsenic and Old Lace

Violet perfume threads through a dry gin Martini while a discarded absinthe rinse leaves only an anise shadow, making this modern normalization much lighter than the startling 1941 namesake.

Strength: 34% ABV before dilution

## Ingredients

- 60 ml [Dry gin](https://stirred.fyi/ingredients/dry-gin.md)
- 22.5 ml [Dry vermouth](https://stirred.fyi/ingredients/dry-vermouth.md)
- 7.5 ml [Crème de violette](https://stirred.fyi/ingredients/creme-de-violette.md)
- 5 ml [Absinthe](https://stirred.fyi/ingredients/absinthe.md)

## Glassware

Coupe glass

## Garnish

- Lemon twist — Express the peel oils over the drink and retain the twist.

## Method

1. Add the absinthe to a chilled coupe, rotate it to coat the interior, and discard the excess.
2. Stir the gin, dry vermouth, and crème de violette with cubed ice until thoroughly chilled and diluted.
3. Strain into the prepared coupe.

## Related drinks

- [Tuxedo No. 1](https://stirred.fyi/cocktails/tuxedo-no-1.md): Equal dry gin and vermouth, a broad lemon peel, and absinthe make Harry Craddock’s 1930 Tuxedo branch austere, aromatic, and deliberately distinct from the sweeter original.
- [Savoy Hotel Special Cocktail No. 1](https://stirred.fyi/cocktails/savoy-hotel-special-cocktail-no-1.md): A tiny trace of grenadine and absinthe pulls a two-to-one dry Gin Martini into the theatrical but still austere world of the Savoy bar.
- [Dirty Martini](https://stirred.fyi/cocktails/dirty-martini.md): A restrained, savoury Martini in which a measured splash of olive brine seasons rather than overwhelms the gin and vermouth.
- [Gibson](https://stirred.fyi/cocktails/gibson.md): A dry gin Martini whose pickled cocktail onion brings a subtle savoury sweetness to the glass.
- [Hoffman House Cocktail](https://stirred.fyi/cocktails/hoffman-house-cocktail.md): A shaken two-to-one dry-gin Martini seasoned with orange bitters and fragrant orange oil.
- [Turf Club](https://stirred.fyi/cocktails/turf-club.md): Dry gin and vermouth become unusually dimensional under measured accents of maraschino, absinthe, and orange bitters, placing this turn-of-the-century Martini relative beside but not inside the Tuxedo family.
- [Marguerite](https://stirred.fyi/cocktails/marguerite.md): An equal-parts ancestor of the Dry Martini, softer and more wine-led, with orange bitters tying gin to vermouth.
- [Bloodhound](https://stirred.fyi/cocktails/bloodhound.md): A Savoy-era perfect Gin Martini shaken with ripe strawberries, where dry juniper and vermouth keep the fresh fruit unexpectedly taut.

## References

- Canonical page: https://stirred.fyi/cocktails/arsenic-and-old-lace
- Photograph: https://stirred.fyi/assets/cocktails/arsenic-and-old-lace-e661f8e0.webp
- Recipe source: https://www.tucsonweekly.com/chow-2/coupe-detat-5950087/