Godfather
Smooth, amber, commanding.
Just two ingredients: Scotch whisky and amaretto, poured over ice. The liqueur's sweet almond rounds out the malt of the whisky in a warm, enveloping after-dinner drink.
- After dinner
- Built
- Glass
- Rocks glass
- Method
- Built
- Strength
- Strong
- Time
- 2 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Ice
- Cubes
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Scotch whisky
35 ml
-
Amaretto
35 ml
Proportions
How to make
- Fill an old fashioned glass with ice.
- Pour the Scotch whisky.
- Pour the amaretto.
- Stir gently.
The story
Origins
DocumentedOrigin attested by written sources of the time.
The Godfather is a 1970s classic and its name recalls The Godfather, Mario Puzo's 1969 novel brought to the screen by Francis Ford Coppola in 1972; who invented it, and where, is unknown. The earliest printed recipe found so far is in Brian F. Rea's Brian's Booze Guide of 1976: one ounce of amaretto and one and a half of Scotch over ice. In 1977 Jones' Complete Barguide gives it in equal parts, a ratio that stayed common through the 1980s. Disaronno claims it was Marlon Brando's favourite drink, but this is an unverified promotional statement. It was on the IBA list until the 2020 revision.
Sources (5)
- Difford's Guide — Godfather Cocktail (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- Wikipedia — Godfather (cocktail) (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- Wikipedia — List of IBA official cocktails (opens in a new tab) recipe
- IBA — All cocktails (page 2) (opens in a new tab) recipe
- Difford's Guide — The Godfather cocktail and its siblings (opens in a new tab) history
Taste profile
- Strong
- 4 out of 5
- Sweet
- 3 out of 5
- Smoky
- 2 out of 5
