Oxford Comma

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Cocktail History

The Oxford Comma is a modern cocktail that was created by Jeremy Oertel at Dram in New York City, New York. The inspiration for the recipe came from the Loop Tonic, one of Oertel's favorite shaken tequila drinks. According to The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks by the editors of PUNCH, he aimed to combine many of the flavors of the original, including vermouth, Green Chartreuse, and celery, but in a stirred, citrus-free format. Instead, it uses gin as the base spirit, celery shrub as a substitute for the savory, tart flavors of lime juice and celery bitters, and adds cherry liqueur for balance.

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Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Gin: This is a spirit made with juniper berries, botanicals, and alcohol. I chose Uncle Val’s Peppered Gin.

Maraschino Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with Maraschino cherries, honey, herbs, spices, sugar, and alcohol. I used Luxardo Maraschino Orginale Liqueur.

Dry Vermouth: This is a fortified wine made with grapes, sugar, botanicals, herbs, sugar, and alcohol. I used Dolin Dry Vermouth de Chambéry.

Green Chartreuse: This is a liqueur made in France with over a hundred herbs and plants, spices, sugar, and alcohol.

Celery Shrub: This is a syrup made with celery juice, honey, sugar, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, and Everclear. I made mine using this stovetop recipe.

Lemon Peel: This is the peel of a lemon that has been cut into a strip.

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Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Mixing Glass: This is used to hold the ingredients while they’re being stirred. I used the Viski 17 oz Cocktail Mixing Glass.

Bar Spoon: This is used to stir ingredients. I used the Barfly Stainless Steel Teardrop Bar Spoon.

Julep Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is stirred. I used the A Bar Above Julep Strainer.

Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. I used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.

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Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Faint yellow color

• Aroma: Savory celery and lemon

• Taste: Dry herbal flavor that mixes cherry and Chartreuse

• Finish: Peppery juniper and vinegary celery notes

Kendall’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Kendall’s Take: "There's really not much that can be said about this recipe other than that it's definitely fascinating. The celery shrub was a nice touch and added lots of unexpected flavor. I probably won't make the Oxford Comma again because I like the Last Word better, but I found it savory without being too dry for someone like me who typically prefers sweeter drinks."

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Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks by the editors of PUNCH and Megan Krigbaum.