Tract · Cocktails

Spirit-forward · Stirred · Historical · complexity 1/5

Bamboo Cocktail

Didier's Bamboo Cocktail keeps the low-proof sherry-and-vermouth aperitif line in clear working form.

dry · nutty · herbal · light · aperitif · formal · digestif

Served in Cocktail glass. Ice: Half a goblet of cracked ice.

Family

Variants (9)

The Reminder by Jacob A. Didier (1909, p.31) — Didier 1909

1 dashorange bitters — orange bittersbase
1 drinksherry — Sherry winemodifier
1 drinksweet vermouth — Italian vermouthmodifier
  1. Use half a goblet of cracked ice.
  2. Add the orange bitters, Italian vermouth, and sherry wine.
  3. Stir, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

Ice: Half a goblet of cracked ice

Nose
Nutty sherry and vermouth herbs lead the nose.
Palate
This is softer and lower-proof than the whiskey and gin aromatics around it, but it still behaves like a true aperitif cocktail rather than a wine cooler.
Finish
The finish is dry, savoury, and quietly bittered.
Summary
A classic low-proof aperitif branch held in practical bartenders' form.

Jack's Manual by J. A. Grohusko (1910, p.35)

0.5 portionsherry — sherry winebase
1 dashorange bitters bitter
0.5 portionItalian vermouth modifier
0.5 glassice other
  1. Stir the sherry wine, Italian vermouth, orange bitters, and ice.
  2. Strain and serve.

Ice: Ice

Rawling's Book of Mixed Drinks by Ernest P. Rawling (1914) — Rawling 1914, cocktail section

1 piecelemon peel acid
0.5 measuredry vermouth — French vermouthbase
3 dropPeychaud bitters bitter
1 wholeOlive garnish
0.5 measuresherry modifier
  1. Stir with ice, strain, and add olive and lemon peel.

Garnish: Olive and lemon peel

Ice: Lump ice

Recipes for Mixed Drinks by Hugo R. Ensslin (1917, p.10) — Ensslin 1917

0.5 drinksherry base
1 dashAngostura bitters — Angostura Bittersbitter
0.5 drinkItalian vermouth — Italian Vermouthmodifier
  1. Shake well with cracked ice.
  2. Strain and serve.

Ice: Cracked ice

This matters because Ensslin keeps the Bamboo visible as a fortified-wine aperitif rather than burying it inside later Martini narratives.

The shake is notable; Ensslin does not treat this as a purely stirred wine aperitif.

The Ideal Bartender by Tom Bullock (1917, p.17) — Bullock 1917

0.5 jiggersherry — Sherry Winebase
0.5 jiggerItalian vermouth — Italian Vermouthmodifier
  1. Fill a large bar glass half full of fine ice.
  2. Stir, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

Ice: Fine ice

This matters because Bullock confirms the strong survival of the sherry-vermouth aperitif branch in club service.

The fine-ice stir and stripped formula are part of the drink's identity as a low-proof aperitif.

Manual del Barman by Antonio Fernandez (Tony) (1924) — Tony 1924, Torino vermouth version with dry option

1 chorroorange bitters base
1 garnishfruit garnish
0.5 copadry sherry modifier
1 chorroMaraschino modifier
0.5 copavermouth Torino modifier
ice other
  1. Stir with ice in a large glass and strain with fruit into an Oporto glass; use French vermouth instead of Torino if a dry drink is desired.

Garnish: Fruit

Ice: Ice

L'Art du Shaker by Dominique Migliorero (1925, p.11)

0.5 partsherry — Sherrybase
0.5 partItalian vermouth — Vermouth Turinmodifier
  1. Stir cold and serve.

Cocktails by Piero Grandi (1927, p.25)

1 dashorange bitters — orange Bittersbase
0.5 glassdry sherry — Sherry drymodifier
0.5 wine glassdry vermouth — Vermouth Francaismodifier
  1. Mix the ingredients well and serve in a cocktail glass.

The Art of Mixing by James A. Wiley and Helene M. Griffith (1932) — Wiley 1932, opening A-B recipe run

1 dashorange bitters base
0.5 wineglassdry sherry modifier
0.5 wineglassdry vermouth — French Vermouthmodifier
  1. Shake and divide among glasses.

Related recipes

See also: Tuxedo Cocktail, Coronation Cocktail