The fourth and final version of the Queen Elizabeth Cocktail is most similar to the version we tried last time from the Absolut Website. This one adds absinthe and uses Cointreau instead of regular triple sec.

In a mixing glass, combine

• 1 oz gin
• 1/2 oz Cointreau
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1 dash absinthe

shake well, and strain into a cocktail glass.

This is the version that is also from the Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930 that is featured on the Wormwood Society website and also described in the Underhill-Lounge blog. It’s on the Wormwood Society website because it features absinthe, that recently legalized liquor notorious for its pernicious effects.

I was a fan of the Absolut Queen Elizabeth version that I described in my last post, due to its simplicity and clear, overpowering citrus flavors, and this Savoy version is even better. The taste is nearly exactly like the Absolut Queen Elizabeth cocktail, but the smell is about the absinthe. The anise smell is the first thing I notice, and it penetrates each sip. I like to breathe in when I sip my cocktails (not with plain spirits, though!), and I like the smell of the absinthe on top. The taste is citrus, again, with a bit of gin on the back of the throat, but the smell of the absinthe makes the drink.

The Underhill-Lounge blog says,

I was really kind of hoping this would be a super tasty variation on the White Lady Cocktail.  Unfortunately, it takes the simple elegance of that drink and muddies it with Absinthe.  And while I think Anise and Orange are often nice flavor combinations, they just don’t work for me here.

I respectfully disagree, for my palette enjoys the combination, even here. We’ll try the White Lady Cocktail next, for it merely adds an egg white to the Absolut version of the Queen Elizabeth Cocktail.