Bamboo
ClassicSherry and dry vermouth. The original low-proof aperitif.
Dry, nutty, and delicate, with fino sherry's saline, almond-skin edge woven through dry vermouth's herbal crispness. Two bitters add aromatic lift and just enough spice — light, savory, and a genuine appetite-whetter.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Fino Sherry
- 1.5 oz Dry Vermouth
- 1 dash Angostura Bitters
- 1 dash Orange Bitters
- Lemon peel · optional garnish
Method
- 1
Add every ingredient to a mixing glass with ice.
- 2
Stir until well chilled.
- 3
Strain into a chilled coupe.
- 4
Express a lemon peel over the surface and drop it in.
The Story
The Bamboo is credited to Louis Eppinger, an American bartender running the Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan, in the 1890s. Built from equal parts dry sherry and dry vermouth, it was one of the first cocktails designed around fortified wine rather than a base spirit — an aperitif you could drink before dinner without derailing the evening. More than a century later it reads as thoroughly modern.
Recipe card
The whole recipe in one shareable image.
