Cocktail recipe
Godfather
Scotch and almond liqueur: two ingredients, an unexpectedly long finish.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) blended Scotch whisky
- 20 ml (⅔ oz) amaretto
- Garnish: none
Preparation
Add Scotch and amaretto to a mixing glass with ice; stir briefly to marry the whisky's grain and smoke with the almond. Strain over a large cube in a rocks glass. Serve without garnish and allow the aroma of the whisky to do the talking.
Glassware
Rocks glass, one large cube
History
The Godfather belongs to the 1970s wave of amaretto-based mixed drinks and is widely associated with the cultural success of Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film. It appears in Brian F. Rea's *Brian's Booze Guide* (1976), which specifies 1 oz amaretto to 1½ oz Scotch; Stanley M. Jones's 1977 bar guide prints an equal-parts variation. A brand-promoted story that it was Marlon Brando's favourite lacks independent corroboration and should not be treated as fact. No specific inventor is securely documented. The Godmother (vodka) and French Connection (brandy) are related period drinks.
Mixology View
Our 3:1 Scotch-to-amaretto ratio is a deliberately drier modern choice than the 1976 3:2 and later equal-parts versions. Whisky should remain the protagonist.