Forget The Negroni And Martini: This Vintage Low-Alcohol Cocktail Made A Comeback, And It's A Must-Order

Fads and fashions are often cyclical, with the cutting edge actually dating back years, decades, or, in some cases, centuries. Finding a spot in the last of those categories is the Bamboo cocktail, a low-alcohol drink whose invention dates all the way back to the late 19th century. Like the Negroni, Martini, and Old Fashioned, it is a drink worthy of a spot in the cocktail annals, but unlike those more famous drinks, this one had largely disappeared from bar menus until a recent resurgence in popularity saw it begin to reclaim its spot in the zeitgeist.

The ingredients in a Bamboo are all relatively tame, keeping the proof low while inviting drinkers to explore a variety of spirits that they may not often try. Credited to a man named Louis Eppinger, who is said to have invented the drink in Yokohama, Japan, in the 1890s, the Bamboo is constructed around the uncommon pairing of dry sherry and dry vermouth. In addition to the two liquors, a splash or two of bitters and a twist of citrus peel round out the simple ingredients list, resulting in a drink that is much more than the sum of its parts.

Some consider this old-school sherry cocktail essentially a martini with sherry instead of gin, a swap made at least in part to reduce the punch and increase the number of drinks one can enjoy. Others, however, disagree, noting that while the vermouth in a martini is famously variable — with some individuals opting almost to skip it entirely — it is a key element in this drink, and the balance of flavors of those two main spirits is what makes for a well-executed Bamboo.

It is precisely this careful balance that has brought the Bamboo back to the forefront for bartenders across the industry. Low-alcohol cocktails are popular at the moment, and the simple ingredient list of the Bamboo allows drink makers to flex their knowledge of spirits and ratios to craft something simple and elegant. Recipes for this drink make use of many different types of sherry, vermouth, and bitters, each with its own ratio as well. There is always some variation in how a cocktail might be prepared from one bar to the next, but with a drink like this, it is more of an open invitation for bartenders to play. And any such invitation is also an invitation for bar-goers to sidle up and see what the clever minds of the cocktail world are cooking up.

In addition to the minutiae of mixing different sherries, vermouths, and bitters, the Bamboo has also spawned a number of playful variations that envision the classic cocktail in a different light. From the beginning, there were relatives like the Adonis, a similar drink to the Bamboo that swaps the dry vermouth out for its sweet cousin. Elsewhere, though, bartenders may stretch the drink out into a highball with the addition of tonic water, top it with a bit of effervescent cider, or even go so far as to infuse the alcohol with fruits for additional aroma, or fat-wash the spirits for a whole new world of flavor. This low-alcohol cocktail may have been born all the way back in the 1800s, but the Bamboo has now returned to the fore, with 130-plus years of cocktail knowledge accumulated since its inception, leading to the best versions yet.