Absolute Recipe

Chill glass

Place a coupe or martini glass in the freezer or fill with ice water to chill while you prepare the cocktail.

Prepare garnish

Using a vegetable peeler or small knife, cut a 1-inch wide lemon twist from the peel avoiding too much pith. Set aside.

Combine ingredients

Add the chilled vodka (2 oz), dry vermouth (0.5 oz), fresh lemon juice (0.5 oz), simple syrup (0.25 oz) and 2 dashes of orange bitters into a cocktail shaker.

Add ice and shake

Add 8 cubes of ice to the shaker. Secure the lid and shake vigorously for 12–15 seconds until the outside of the shaker feels cold and slightly frosted. This both chills and gives the drink slight dilution for balance.

Strain

Discard the ice or water from the chilled serving glass. Double-strain the cocktail into the chilled coupe or martini glass using a Hawthorne strainer and a fine mesh strainer to remove tiny ice shards and any pulp from the lemon juice.

Express and garnish

Hold the lemon twist over the drink and give it a firm squeeze to express the oils over the surface, then rim the glass with the peel and drop it into the cocktail (or rest on the rim).

Optional on the rocks

If you prefer the ABSOLUTE served on the rocks, fill a rocks glass with 3 ice cubes and pour the strained cocktail over the ice instead of using the chilled coupe.

Serve immediately and enjoy. The recipe yields one cocktail.