Name: Godfather
Prep time: 1 min
Total time: 1 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: 1 fluid ounce Scotch whiskey; 1 fluid ounce amaretto liqueur

Godfather

The Godfather: two ingredients, Scotch and amaretto, and a movie legend. Why this after-dinner classic is stirred and never shaken.

1 min Easy International 1 servings

Few cocktails carry a name as cinematic as the Godfather, christened after the 1972 film and, by the most-repeated legend, after Marlon Brando's fondness for amaretto. The exact story behind the name is disputed, so it's best enjoyed as bar folklore rather than hard fact.

What isn't up for debate is its elegant simplicity: just two ingredients, Scotch whisky and amaretto liqueur, in proportions each drinker tunes to taste. Balance is the whole art. The amaretto brings sweetness and a deep almond aroma; the smoky, dry Scotch reins it in so the glass never turns cloying.

Technique matters more than it looks. The drink is built over ice and stirred, never shaken: shaking would whip in air and bubbles that cloud a pour meant to stay clear and amber. The ice also lightly dilutes the mix, softening the spirit and opening the aromatics as you sip.

Strong, spirit-forward and unhurried, it's the classic after-dinner sipper to close out the night. Try it in a chilled rocks glass with an orange twist for a citrus turn.