The Opera is a classic cocktail from somewhere around the 1920s. I came across it on a bar menu and then found it in my 1960s version of the Old Mr. Boston De Luxe Official Bartender’s Guide. It features my favorite spirit–gin–and one of my favorite fortified wines–Dubonnet. A slightly different recipe is feature on the Small Screen Network with a video of how to make the drink. Don’t worry: the guy in the video knows what he’s doing. I also like that it’s featured in this strange site with very odd grammar (a Russian site, perhaps???).

For my Old Mr. Boston version, combine in a mixing glass

• 1/2 oz maraschino
• 1/2 oz Dubonnet
• 1 1/2 oz gin

Stir it well, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Strangely enough, I knew I wanted something more to the drink, so I added orange bitters on my own. Then I went back and watched the video and he uses orange bitters, as well. It tells me that I know something of what I’m doing.

My version still didn’t turn out quite right, though. The maraschino liqueur completely took over the drink and made it taste like sweet cherry. So I tried it again with the proportions that Robert Hess recommends in his video:

• 2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz Dubonnet
• 1/4 oz maraschino liqueur

and garnish it with a lemon twist. The Old Mr. Boston, like most of the old books, doesn’t recommend a garnish. This version was much more pleasant. The maraschino did not take over, and it was much more balanced, although still a bit stiff to drink.