3-Ingredient Golden Cadillac Cocktail Recipe

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If you are a fan of white Russians, grasshopper cocktails, or any other sweet, creamy drinks, you will find a new favorite in the golden Cadillac. The story of this drink dates back to 1950s California, where it is said to have been concocted for a newly-engaged couple who had also just gotten a new car. The lovebirds requested the bartender at Poor Red's BBQ to come up with a cocktail to celebrate both occasions. The task fell on Frank Cline, the drink-slinger on duty, who crafted a drink that matched the color of the couple's car — a gold Cadillac — and the rest, as they say, is history.

Recipe developer A.J. Forgets keeps it simple with his own take on the golden Cadillac. The resulting beverage surprisingly contains an astounding level of complexity despite only involving three ingredients and needing only a minute to whip up. Everything combined creates the perfect dessert cocktail, with each sip bringing forth the taste of Galliano — an Italian liqueur made with a diverse cast of botanicals — and the aroma of chocolate. You can drink it on its own as an after-dinner treat or serve it alongside a chocolatey dessert as the perfect complement.

For this recipe, all you need is Galliano liqueur, white crème de cacao, and heavy cream. Once you have those, you are just a quick shake with ice away from a delicious dessert cocktail.

Fill a cocktail shaker a quarter of the way with ice.

Pour in the Galliano liqueur, white crème de cacao, and heavy cream.

Cover and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds or until nicely chilled.

Strain into a coupe glass and serve immediately.

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Galliano is certainly not the sort of bottle that you are likely to find in every home bar, but once you taste its unique flavor, you will certainly be looking for other ways to work it into your cocktail repertoire. The complexity of the liqueur comes from a wide range of botanicals, including juniper berries, star anise, cardamom, sandalwood, caraway seeds, cinnamon, sage, and vanilla, among others. This Italian liqueur can be sipped on its own after a meal or used in a spritz with lemon juice and club soda for a refreshing pre-dinner cocktail.

There aren't too many famous cocktails out there that make use of this liqueur, but one that has been around for a while is a riff on the screwdriver called a Harvey Wallbanger. To enjoy this disco-era drink, make a standard screwdriver — just vodka and orange juice — and then float around ½ ounce of Galliano on the top. The liqueur adds aromatic depth to what can otherwise be a drab, one-note drink.

The golden dream is another dessert cocktail containing Galliano, just like the golden Cadillac. It doesn't have white crème de cacao — the golden dream uses equal parts Galliano, orange juice, and Cointreau, as well as a bit of heavy cream. Shaken together, it's like a citrusy and chocolate-free version of the golden Cadillac.

Three ingredients are all you need to make a lovely dessert cocktail with a surprisingly complex flavor. But sometimes it does pay to gild the lily, and there are some simple additions that you can make to add additional layers to your golden Cadillac cocktail.

Orange is one of the most frequent flavor additions to this cocktail, in various forms. Chocolate and orange are a well-known flavor pairing, as is orange and cream. Galliano is the outlier in that it is a less familiar flavor for many, but the subtle herbs and anise of this Italian liqueur also work wonders with a splash of orange. You can try introducing a touch of fresh orange juice or adding a bit of triple sec or Cointreau to accomplish this. If you opt for the orange liqueurs, you may want to adjust the amount of the other liqueurs so the cocktail doesn't come out overly sweet.

If you want the drink to be extra classy, you can do so with a simple garnish. The crème de cacao gives the cocktail a strong chocolate flavor, so a little bit of dark chocolate grated over the top not only complements the drink but also serves as a nice color contrast to the pale yellow cocktail.

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