Turf Club Cocktail

The Turf Club, like the original Gin Martini, has a bit of a mysterious past. No one is quite sure who invented it or how it came to be. If you've enjoyed a Martinez, you'll also see similarities between that and the Turf Club as well. While we've seen different stories around the Martini, the Turf Club, and the Martinez, it seems that the Turf Club and the Martinez came first. Perhaps it's the Turf Club Cocktail that's the missing link between the Martinez and the Martini?

Since we're talking about cocktails, we're talking about things that were invented in bars while drinking. Stories can get blurry. However, we do know that the recipe for the Turf Club did appear in How to Mix Drinks by George Winter in 1884. So, what we do know, is this is an old cocktail recipe!

Any way you look at it though, if you're looking to up your Martini game, the Turf Club is a fun cocktail to put on the menu.

Total Time 3

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

60 mL Gin Try a London Dry or Plymouth Gin, but also have fun.
20 mL Dry Vermouth
10 mL Maraschino Liqueur
2 dashes Absinthe
2 dashes Orange Bitters

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice.
Stir everything until it's cold and well mixed.
Strain into a Coupe or Martini glass.
Optionally garnish with a twist of Lemon and serve.

Notes

While the Turf Club moves away for the simplicity of the Martini, it goes to show that some of the classic bartenders really knew what they were doing when it came to mixing different spirits. The Turf Club Cocktail has all the hallmarks of a pre-prohibition classic cocktail! We haven't done the research as to why, but these types of recipes just love to use Absinthe and Maraschino Liqueur. And why not? They taste great!

As mentioned in the recipe, we recommend using either a London Dry or a Plymouth Gin for the Turf Club Cocktail, but feel free to have fun. Using a different style of Gin, especially one with less history than the London Dry or Plymouth, will really change this cocktail quite a bit. Will it change it for the better? There's only one way to find out!

Our Review of the Turf Club Cocktail

I like a riff on the classic Gin Martini, so I was excited to review the Turf Club, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Essentially, the Turf Club Cocktail is a wet Martini with some added flavour. The maraschino liqueur adds sweetness and the absinthe adds bitterness, making a really fun cocktail to make and an equally fun cocktail to drink.

This maraschino liqueur/absinthe combination is relatively common in classic cocktail, and for good reason: they go really well together! The Improved Whiskey Cocktail is a great example of another classic that does the same thing. If you like the Turf Club here, I highly suggest you try an Improved Whiskey Cocktail. Or if you like an Improved Whiskey Cocktail, try making a Turf Club because you’ll probably enjoy it too!

I’ve already mentioned that the Turf Club is a riff on the Martini, this is pretty obvious. This gives the Turf Club Cocktail lots of class and makes it suitable to drink in a variety of situations. Sure, the Turf Club isn’t quite as well known as the Martini, but if you’re at a bar or a cocktail party and the bartender knows how to make a Turf Club, I’d take the Turf Club instead of a Martini! I don’t want it to sound like I don’t like Martinis (because I do like them), I just feel like I’ve had way too many of them. Changing things up is a good thing!

Although the Turf Club has a few more ingredients than the Martini, it’s still a pretty basic cocktail. Fans of the classics will definitely have these ingredients on hand, so it shouldn’t be too hard to make this cocktail with what you have. So I’m going to assume that you have the ingredients to make a Turf Club with you right now. If that’s the case, what’s stopping you? Make one of these cocktails now!

8.5/10

Review by Ziggy

Like what you see? Keep browsing!

If you’re having fun exploring the world of cocktails, why not try our cocktail builder to see what else you can make with the ingredients you have? Otherwise, feel free to browse:

All Martini variations: the Martini has tons of variations to it. If you like the formula, why not check out the other riffs on this classic cocktail.

All Gin cocktail recipes: if Gin is your thing, why not browse all the Gin cocktail recipes we have on the site? There are plenty!

Top Gin cocktail recipes: alternatively, check out our favourite Gin cocktail recipes. We’ve narrowed it down for you a bit!