Vandell's Poet's Dream
By Shawn Lickliter (@shawninverta), Vandell (@vandell.losangeles), Los Angeles, CA
About
This version of the Poet’s Dream was created by Shawn Lickliter (@shawninverta) for Vandell (@vandell.losangeles) in Los Angeles, where it debuted in 2025. It is his modern take on a 1930s classic he first encountered at Normandie Club, whose bartenders were working from the version published in the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book.
Lickliter splits the base with pisco to soften the gin’s juniper and bring the Bénédictine forward. Quince liqueur reinforces the pisco’s stone-fruit character and adds subtle acidity, creating a layered, Martini-adjacent drink with notes of honey, pear, and herbs. If quince liqueur proves difficult to find, pear liqueur makes a fitting substitute.Cheers y’all!
Ingredients
- 1½ oz · 45 mlLondon dry gin
- ¾ oz · 22.5 mldry vermouth
- ½ oz · 15 mlpisco
- ¾ tsp · 3.75 mlBénédictine
- ¾ tsp · 3.75 mlquince liqueur (or pear liqueur)
- 1 dashsaline solution
- lemon peel oil
Method
- 1
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass.
- 2
Add ice and stir until chilled.
- 3
Strain into a chilled coupe or Nick and Nora.
- 4
Express lemon peel oil over the surface.
- 5
Garnish with a lemon twist.
anatomyofadrink.com/cocktails/vandells-poets-dream