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Bamboo

A stirred sherry and dry vermouth cocktail with orange and second bitters.

Go to the recipe ↓

The Bamboo is stirred over ice and strained, built on equal measures of sherry and dry (French) vermouth with orange bitters and a second bitters. All three cited versions keep that equal base. The real choice is sweetening. Joaquín Simó's version, published by Punch, adds a teaspoon of rich simple syrup, which Punch says balances the drink's dryness and gives it more texture. Punch does not give the syrup's ratio, so you will need to make or buy your own rich syrup. Amanda Schuster's version, excerpted by Imbibe from her book Signature Cocktails, uses no sweetener. Neither does Paul Clarke's adaptation recorded by Cocktail Virgin.

Recipe 1 · imbibemagazine.com

Amanda Schuster via Imbibe: unsweetened

Contains alcohol

Ingredients

Original recipe quantities.

Method as published

  1. Chill a Nick & Nora glass.
  2. Combine the sherry, French vermouth, orange bitters and the second bitters in a mixing glass with ice.
  3. Stir until well chilled.
  4. Strain into the chilled glass.
  5. Twist a lemon or orange peel over the drink, then drop it into the glass.
  6. If you are using the olive, spear a green olive on a cocktail pick and rest it across the rim.

Garnish Lemon or orange twist; green olive on a pick, optional.

  • The ingredient list says only sherry and French vermouth, and does not name the second bitters. The source's note recommends fino sherry, French dry vermouth and Angostura bitters.
  • The orange bitters are measured in dashes and the second bitters in drops.
  • Excerpted by Imbibe from Signature Cocktails by Amanda Schuster (Phaidon, 2023). The quantities make one drink.

Recipe source: imbibemagazine.com ↗

Recipe 2 · PUNCH

Joaquín Simó via Punch: with rich syrup

Contains alcohol

Ingredients

Original recipe quantities.

See the proportions

Share of the measured liquid, before ice. Unmeasured additions and non-volume ingredients are excluded.

dry vermouth
90%
rich simple syrup
10%

Method as published

  1. Chill a coupe or cocktail glass.
  2. Pour the fino sherry, dry vermouth, rich simple syrup, Angostura bitters and orange bitters into a mixing glass.
  3. Add ice and stir until chilled.
  4. Strain into the chilled glass.

Garnish None listed by the source.

  • This is the only cited version with added sweetener: 1 teaspoon of rich simple syrup.
  • Punch gives no ratio or preparation for the rich simple syrup. Use your own rich syrup; no sourced formula is provided here.

Recipe source: PUNCH ↗

Bitters and garnish

Cocktail Virgin's version is Paul Clarke's adaptation. It matches Simó's ingredients without the syrup: two dashes each of Angostura and orange bitters, stirred and strained into a cocktail glass. Schuster's version keeps the two dashes of orange bitters but measures the second bitters in drops rather than dashes.

Clarke twists lemon peel over the top and makes an olive optional. Schuster allows a lemon or orange twist, with an optional green olive on a pick. Simó's recipe on Punch lists no garnish.